Mole cricket damage is characterized by small networks of underground paths with elevated and bulged-up soil. The crickets damage grass seedings, foliage and stem tissue above ground and while below ground, (roughly 20 cm from the surface) they feed on roots and tubers. They tunnel below soil surface up to 20 feet per night dislodging plants and exposing the grass roots to desiccation, which causes them to dry out from reduced ability for water intake. They can lay 25 to 60 eggs beneath the soil, upon hatching, they burrow to the soil surface to feed (typically during the evening hours). The damage these ‘nymphs’ cause increases as they disperse and grow to adulthood.  

The mole crickets are active year-around in southern states, but do most of their damage in spring from March until June, or in the fall from late August to early October. 

Before you even begin a control program, you need to determine you actually have a mole cricket infestation. First, mix 3 tablespoons of dish soap with 2 gallons of water, pour solution over suspected infested area. If you’re infested, the mole crickets will emerge from their burrows rather quickly, if present. It is then you can catch and neutralize them.

Another beneficial organism that will swim through soil and attack adult mole crickets are the parasitic nematodes, or microscopic round worms found in the mole cricket’s native South America. Once the nematode has entered the mole cricket’s body, a bacterium is released, killing the cricket and allowing the nematode to reproduce several hundred more to continue searching the soil for more hosts.

Granular fertilizer plus an insecticide is recommended to control these pests and repair the damage to the roots and stems of the turfgrass affected. Insecticides (Active Ingredients, AI's) such as bifenthrin and imidacloprid ( found in brands like Allectus, Merit and Talstar) have proven to be effective methods of control. These technologies have sufficient residual activity so that applications for control of subsurface feeders, such as mole crickets, can be made preceding the egg-laying activity. It is recommended that you follow application with sufficient irrigation or rainfall to move the active ingredient into the soil.

If you are in an area, which is prone to mole cricket damage or if you have had an infestation in the past, prevention is key. Typically, once an infestation is discovered the damage may be to grave repair. Annual applications of control products (example: Allectus, Merit and Talstar) are often recommended because an area that has been infested by mole crickets are likely to be re-infested. It would be wise to keep a record of these preferred mole cricket habitats for future application.