Where did the name “Medvedka” come from?
Mole crickets got their name because of their appearance, large size, brown-brown color and clawed front paws. All this gave reason to compare this insect with a brown bear.
The mole cricket’s second name, “cabbage mole cricket,” comes from its love for young cabbage seedlings. But the third name “mole cricket” comes from the Latin “Gryllotalpa” (properly translated as “mole cricket”) and it is also not accidental. The mole cricket is similar to a cricket in its body structure and ability to make sounds, and it is similar to a mole in its ability to burrow into the ground and extended hands of the front paws, which help dig the ground.
Popular ways to fight mole crickets
Fighting a mole cricket is much more difficult than preventing the appearance of a pest in your summer cottage. If you properly care for the soil and plants, this insect will not appear in the garden.
Planting some types of plants will be an excellent prevention of the appearance of insect pests on your site. For example, sowing marigolds will drive away not only mole crickets, but also mice.
Among the folk methods of combating mole crickets, an infusion of onion peels is effectively used. If you take one kilogram of onion peel in a bucket of water, then this composition will affect the fertility of the insect and force it to leave your area. Water the plants where the mole cricket has infested with onion solution. At the same time, do not forget to dilute the concentrate in a ratio of 1:5.
A mole cricket lays up to 500 eggs per season
Radical methods of combating mole crickets include the use of chemicals. Read the instructions for such products carefully so as not to harm yourself or the soil.
Medvedka: description, structure, characteristics. What does a bear look like?
Mole crickets are arthropod insects and are quite large (for insects) in size. The body length of the mole cricket is from 3.5 to 5 cm. Its body is brownish-brown on top and brownish-yellow below. The body of the mole cricket is covered with thin hairs.
Visual structure of a mole cricket.
The insect's head has a direct or prognathic location in relation to the body. The axis of the body coincides with the axis of the head. The mouthparts are powerful and forward-directed jaws, and next to them are two pairs of tentacles.
The mole cricket's eyes are quite large and clearly visible; they have a facet structure and are located on the sides of the head. On the head itself there are small thread-like antennae.
The pronotum of the mole cricket with the side parts (blades) that hang down is large and flat, it is a distinctive feature of this insect. The head and front part of the body of this creature are covered with a dense chitinous shell, with its help the mole cricket can push and compact the earth when digging holes. Thanks to him, she is somewhat reminiscent of a crayfish.
The abdomen of the mole cricket is thick, it has 1 cm in diameter, and on its top there are anal and genital plates.
The mole cricket has two pairs of wings:
- The fore wings are transformed into short leathery elytra, they are covered with thick veins. In length they reach the middle of the abdomen.
- The hind wings of the mole cricket are long, wide, transparent and membranous, with thin veins. In a calm state, they fold fan-shaped along the abdomen in the form of cords. But during the flight of the cabbage fly, it is the hind wings that take the main part, while the front wings are involved only to a limited extent.
An interesting fact: it is by the venation of the mole cricket's wing elytra that one can distinguish males from females. The larvae of this insect do not have wings.
The mole cricket also has three pairs of limbs, and each of them consists of a coxa, trochanter, femur, tibia and a 3-segmented tarsus. The hind legs are strong, as they are designed for movement and have 1-4 spines on their inner side. The forelimbs, somewhat reminiscent of claws, are essentially a digging apparatus.
Interesting fact: the mole cricket's hearing aid is located on the shins of the forelimbs, just like in grasshoppers, crickets and some other chirping insects.
How a mole cricket reacts to needles in the garden
Experienced summer residents know that mole crickets are afraid of the smell of pine needles.
Therefore, collected and chopped coniferous branches are laid out in the garden between the rows of cultivated plants. It is better to sprinkle them with earth - this way the pine aroma will last longer. Needles can also be placed in holes when planting potatoes.
It is not known why mole crickets cannot tolerate the smell of pine, but the fact remains: the pest avoids areas with pine.
This method uses branches of pine, fir, and spruce.
If there is a mole cricket in the garden, fighting it is inevitable.
Otherwise, the plants will be destroyed, because this pest devours the root systems. There are a lot of methods to combat mole crickets, and some of them involve the use of ordinary products and items available on the farm. Armed with one or more of them, you can quickly overcome this scourge, thus preserving the harvest and cultivated plants.
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The mole cricket is also called the “underground knight,” but, of course, not because of the “noble character” of the insect. This beetle simply gives the appearance of a creature clad in armor.
The same type of insect (mole cricket), as in Russia, is found everywhere - from cold Norway to the sultry countries of North Africa.
Although the mole cricket is capable of living on the ground, it prefers underground shelters and rises to the surface of the soil mainly at night. To winter, it descends to a fairly large depth - about 2 m.
The common mole cricket is a large insect, exceeding 5 cm in length. Moreover, her abdomen is several times longer than her cephalothorax. A reliable shell protects the insect’s chest; in case of danger, the beetle also pulls its head into it. The abdomen ends in two long thread-like appendages.
The mole cricket is the most dangerous garden pest.
The mole cricket has tentacles, long mustaches, and its jaws are unusually strong. All this is very important for underground life and hunting. In addition, nature has endowed this type of insect with claws - they end with the forelimbs of mole crickets. With their help, the insect can move quite quickly across the soil.
There are several more interesting facts that not many people pay attention to. They can swim, and at good speed, and also fly. At night, mole crickets “sing”, making chirping and chirping sounds.
The mole cricket is a very prolific insect. The larvae hatch from eggs that the beetle lays underground. One nest can contain several hundred eggs. The mole cricket larva resembles an adult insect, only its color is grayish.
With the appearance of the mole cricket, seedlings in the beds begin to wither and young shoots die.
Why is mole cricket dangerous? Its powerful jaws are perfectly suited for biting into vegetables. If this pest appears in your garden, you will almost certainly lose your harvest of root vegetables: carrots, beets, radishes. The mole cricket will destroy potatoes and cucumbers if the latter are lying on the ground. Her delicacies include onions and cabbage.
And a large and strong beetle is capable of gnawing the roots of bushes and trees, and lime bulbous flowers. Therefore, gardeners perceive the mole cricket as their worst enemy and make every effort to get rid of it
Where does the bear live?
Photo: Medvedka in Russia
The insect's habitat is quite extensive. The mole cricket is unpretentious, the only thing it is afraid of is frost, and the desert is also not suitable for it to live in. It inhabits almost the entire territory of Eurasia except the Scandinavian countries, North Africa, both Americas, and Australia. But it did not conquer Antarctica and the northern Arctic territories.
Favorable places for mole crickets to live are meadows and river floodplains. Insects prefer damp areas. Underground passages, wetlands and irrigation canals are favorite habitats. It is also easy to find mole crickets in melon and melon fields, as well as in places that are characterized by deep groundwater.
Any type of soil is suitable for mole crickets to live in; the best option is loose, warm and moist soil, saturated with organic fertilizers. Under the ground, the insect digs passages that create an entire system that performs transport, protective and ventilation functions.
Interesting fact: The mole cricket digs holes of a perfectly regular oval shape.
In a humid habitat, the mole cricket spreads very quickly. But if the habitat becomes no longer inhabitable for it, the mole cricket is forced to move to a new territory. It often moves at night on water, land or air.
Interesting fact: Medvedka loves to live in dung heaps. An excellent option for them is well-heated wet manure (mullein).
Now you know where the mole cricket is found. Let's see what she eats.
The mole cricket threat and where it comes from
Comes from the cricket family. It is quite large in size, some individuals can reach 5-6 cm in length. The common mole cricket has well-developed forelimbs, which can also be called digging limbs. Like a mole, it easily digs tunnels underground, destroying root growth along the way. This pest is popularly called earthen crayfish or cabbage weed.
What does it eat?
Her diet includes all the vegetation in the garden, from flowers to melons. By laying eggs in the soil, one individual is capable of reproducing up to 300 units of offspring at a time. The trouble is that not only adult insects, but also larvae are very active. Starting in early spring, they destroy crops, and in summer and autumn - the ripening harvest of vegetables.
It is almost impossible to secure the area from attack. Most often, it ends up in the soil along with manure brought for fertilizer. This seemingly underground insect is also capable of migrating at night.
Singing mole cricket
The first sign of the presence of a pest in the garden is the characteristic voice of a mole cricket. In the evening or at night, you can clearly identify its singing, a little reminiscent of the chirping of a cricket. If you hear similar sounds in your area, you should seriously worry about the continued safety of all crops growing on the site. Another indicator of its presence in the garden are characteristic holes in the ground in the form of passages.
What does a bear eat?
Photo: Mole cricket insect
The mole cricket is an omnivorous insect, its gluttony resembles a locust. She does not disdain weeds, small insects and spineless ones.
Feeding characteristics of mole crickets:
- are distinguished by greed, which causes enormous damage to the crop;
- destroy plantings of tomatoes, potatoes, cabbage, legumes and melons;
- per day one individual can gnaw up to 15 plants;
- The larvae eat the crops that the adults did not have time to eat.
Mole crickets eat all parts of plants: roots, aerial parts, seeds. In the forest, the insect feeds on the roots of young seedlings of trees and bushes; in summer cottages, all plantings are eaten. They don’t even disdain exotic citrus fruits (oranges, tangerines, lemons).
The main food products of mole crickets are:
- vegetables: potatoes, cabbage, tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, corn;
- sowing of grain crops, soybeans, rice, buckwheat;
- roots of young trees: apple, oak, pine, cherry.
It is a mistaken belief that mole crickets are vegetarians. 40% of their food consists of living things. They can eat earthworms and small insects and larvae.
Interesting fact: Cabbage can be beneficial for humans. It exterminates some types of harmful insects, such as the Colorado potato beetle.
In exceptional cases, a mole cricket can become a cannibal when there is an acute shortage of food.
How do mole crickets harm you?
Mole crickets are enemies of plants. Most of the damage caused by these insects is the result of their digging activities. By digging their tunnels to a depth of several centimeters in the soil, they push out the soil in small ridges, increasing the evaporation of surface moisture, which greatly disrupts seed germination and damages the fine roots of young seedlings. In addition, mole crickets are harmful to turf and lawn grass because the insects feed on grass roots, causing plants to dry out and reduce yield.
This article contains answers to various questions about mole crickets.
Does a mole cricket bite or not?
The appearance of this insect can really frighten an unprepared person. The front legs of this beetle, which look like unique strong and developed “paws,” may cause particular concern. These “paws” have pointed teeth, with the help of which the mole cricket bites into the ground and root system of plants.
With these teeth, the mole cricket can scratch human skin. However, the mole cricket cannot bite either with its mouthparts or with its “paws”, since it does not have strong enough “muscles” for this. So the answer to the question of whether a mole cricket bites is definitely negative.
What is the largest mole cricket?
Unfortunately, there are no official institutions, like the Guinness Book of Records, that would document the maximum size and weight of mole crickets.
At the same time, gardeners claim that they have seen giant mole crickets up to 12-15 cm in size and several centimeters thick. Theoretically, this is quite possible.
A mole cricket can grow to such a size if there are very good living conditions - an optimal level of soil moisture, mild winter frosts and a varied diet.
Does the bear fly or not?
Yes, the bear flies. In May, the most romantic period in the life of mole crickets begins - the mating period. Young mole crickets remember that they have wings, which they do not need at all the rest of the time, and at night they fly off in search of a mate.
People, with their inherent cunning, take advantage of the love blindness of mole crickets: at night they put out lanterns, and under them there are troughs with a mixture of water and kerosene. Like all nocturnal insects, mole crickets fly into the light, hit a lantern, fall into a trough and die.
Can a bear sing?
Oddly enough, the answer to this question is yes. During the mating season, mole crickets show similarities with their cricket relatives; they begin to chirp in order to attract a partner. Like crickets, mole crickets' wings serve as musical instruments. On one wing there is a “bow”, on the other there are “strings”. Rubbing one wing against the other, the mole cricket makes sounds that are called the “mole cricket song.”
However, the sounds of this song evoke a completely unsentimental mood among gardeners. Hearing her, they grab a shovel and run to dig up the mole cricket, guided by its song as a guiding thread.
In 1976, American scientists conducted an interesting experiment. The bear's calling song was recorded on a tape recorder. When this recording was turned on at night, it attracted a considerable number of female mole crickets. However, it is unknown what continuation this experience received.
How long does a bear live?
In nature, in one and a half to two years, the mole cricket larva grows into an adult, which, in turn, exists for about one year. If a mole cricket is grown purposefully with the creation of the necessary conditions, then such an adult insect can live for 2-3 years.
Thus, the full life cycle of a mole cricket in the natural environment is relatively short - 2.5 - 3.5 years.
Spoiled roots of adult plants and young shoots, leading to their death, in most cases indicate the presence of mole crickets, an underground pest, in the garden plot.
Types of mole crickets
There are several different species that practically do not differ from each other: they have the same lifestyle, taste preferences and appearance. The difference can only be noticed if you examine their chromosome set. There are about 110 species in total, among the known ones are the following: Common - one of the largest groups that is widespread in Europe.
Damages all types of grains and agricultural crops. African - grows up to 3.5 cm, body color is dark yellow, closer to brown. The abdomen is light yellow. It has small thread-like antennae. Ten-fingered - the species is widely represented in the USA and Canada. The size is from 2 to 3.5 cm. In its natural habitat it has an enemy - the ground wasp, it penetrates the mink and paralyzes with its sting.
The Far Eastern mole cricket is morphologically close to the common mole cricket and is distributed in China, Vietnam, Japan and the Sakhalin region. Single-spike - differs from other species in that the thickness of its body is narrower, and the front wings have not very pronounced transverse veins. The length of a mature individual reaches 4.5 cm. And the steppe mole cricket, which lives in the south of Russia, Ukraine and a number of other countries, is also quite famous.
Medvedka, who are you?
In Russia, Ukraine, Moldova and the Caucasus, there are 4 species of mole crickets. The European part of the world is inhabited by the common mole cricket (scientifically, Gryllotalpa gryllotalpa). Gryllotalpa translates to "mole cricket".
Simply put, mole crickets are grasshoppers who were offended by everyone and decided that living underground was calmer and safer. And they dug in. ) To put it more complexly, mole crickets are a separate family (more than 110 species) of large burrowing orthoptera. And Orthoptera is a group that, along with mole crickets, includes grasshoppers, pseudo-grasshoppers, locusts, crickets, jumpers, and other little animals, many of which don’t even have Russian names. The common mole cricket differs from related species in the structure of the tibia of the hind legs.
Bears are older than humans. Fossil remains of mole crickets have been known since the Cretaceous period (began 145.0 million years ago, ended 66.0 million years ago).
What sounds does a bear make?
The mole cricket, like the cricket, is a “musical” insect, capable of producing chirping trills that can sometimes be heard at a distance of up to half a kilometer. Sounds are produced by rubbing the hard front elytra against each other.
The trills of mole crickets serve communication between them, as well as a very important matter - sexual reproduction of insects, since through the performance of “love serenades” males attract females. Females, by the way, are also capable of chirping. The sound power of the mole cricket is 1.4 mW, while for the cricket this figure is only 0.06 mW.
Where and how does the mole cricket winter?
Mole cricket larvae of 2-6 instars (implying 2-6 molts) and adults overwinter in soil, humus or manure. They burrow much deeper into the ground than in summer. The larvae deepen by 25 cm, adults - by 60, and sometimes 100-120 cm. They make winter depressions at an angle of 45 to 60 degrees. After wintering, mole crickets come to the surface when the soil temperature reaches 12-15 degrees.
Nest
The insect's nest is truly unique! It is represented by a small underground space at a depth of 10-15 cm. There are passages dug around the “family hearth” and there are four exits to the surface along the edges.
In the nest, the female gnaws the roots of plants, thereby destroying all vegetation on the surface so that the sun warms this area of the ground as much as possible.
Social structure and reproduction
Photo: Medvedka in the garden
After wintering and emerging from their burrows to the surface, mole crickets begin the first stage of reproduction. In the spring, having chosen a mate, mole crickets return to their burrows to mate. The offspring appear in the summer. Preparing for future offspring takes a lot of time for male and female mole crickets, as they are extremely careful about this. The pair digs large ornate tunnels at a depth of about five centimeters underground, and creates spherical nests with a diameter of up to ten centimeters, in which the female subsequently lays eggs, from three hundred to six hundred pieces.
All the time during the process of maturation of the eggs, the female does not leave the nest, taking care of them. It restores collapsed passages, cleans them of roots, and also controls the temperature necessary for eggs. This whole process is extremely important for the future offspring of mole crickets. Mole cricket eggs look like millet grains; they are oblong, yellow with a gray tint and about two centimeters in size. After twenty days, the larvae hatch, which resemble small creatures with six gray legs. The larvae are small though.
But outwardly similar to adults. After birth, for twenty to thirty days, the female mole cricket, as befits a mother, takes care of the cubs and protects them. At the end of this period, the female dies, and the grown and mature mole crickets crawl into their burrows and begin an independent life. From hatchling to full adult, the maturation process takes from one to two and a half years.
Lifestyle
Mole crickets live in the soil and rarely come to the surface. Most often this happens at night in the summer, when insects need to find each other using the mating trill to mate. The “voice” of the mole cricket is a somewhat crackling and rather loud trill, which even the human ear can hear at a distance of more than half a kilometer. For comparison: if the sound power of an ordinary house cricket is only 0.6 mW, then the sound power produced by a mole cricket reaches 1.2 mW. By the way, they chirp not only during the mating season. Scientists distinguish hundreds of shades of sounds made by mole crickets, which carry very different meanings. Entomologists still cannot clearly explain why these insects needed such a complex language of sound communication. Sometimes the muted singing of a mole cricket can be heard even during the day, and not only males can chirp from underground.
After mating, the female breaks through a long network of tunnels (sometimes the male helps her in this), builds underground nests and lays eggs in them. These nests are located close to the surface of the earth and even slightly protrude as small tubercles. In our northern regions, the soil does not warm up enough, so mole crickets build them deeper, otherwise the embryos in the clutch will simply die. In total, the female lays up to 600 eggs, from which blind, not fully formed and completely defenseless larvae hatch, resembling adult insects. At first, they cannot even get food on their own and feed exclusively on the reserves of their “yolk sac.” During the process of “incomplete metamorphosis,” the larvae molt 8–9 times before reaching the mature stage of development (adult). In the southern regions this takes about a year, in our area - 2–2.5 years.
Question answer
Why is flower thrips dangerous and how to fight it?
Natural enemies of mole crickets
Photo: What a bear looks like
The insect's main enemies are birds, but not all of them can find a mole cricket underground. But rooks can do this. To do this, they have a powerful beak, with which they tear off mole crickets and their larvae. Starlings and hoopoes are also capable of searching for mole crickets. In swampy areas, the main enemy of the insect is the stork.
Mole crickets are also afraid of some animals:
- hedgehog;
- shrews;
- mole;
- lizards.
Some types of insects also do a good job of destroying the mole cricket population:
- ants that destroy mole cricket eggs;
- ground beetle that eats larvae.
The causative agent of fungal diseases poses a particular danger to the mole cricket population. One of these diseases is caused by Beauveria bassiana, an entomopathogenic fungus that grows in the body of the mole cricket and, releasing toxins, causes the death of the insect.
Interesting fact: The mole cricket becomes a carrier of Larra wasp eggs. To do this, the wasp drives the insect out of the hole, stings, paralyzing the mole cricket, and then lays an egg in its body. After a while, the mole cricket comes to its senses and returns to its hole. Gradually, the wasp larva devours the mole cricket from the inside.
Pets, in particular cats, also do not hesitate to eat mole crickets. They hunt insects like rodents. People not only exterminate mole crickets because they harm agricultural plants. Some gourmets eat insects. They are stewed, fried and even pickled. Medvedok is used in pharmaceuticals. Powdered mole crickets are added to the medicine for tuberculosis.
Mole cricket cultivation
If there is a benefit from a mole cricket, then it is worth breeding, which some people do with success. Adults are sold for medicine or to exotic restaurants. Some people simply like to watch their vital activity and keep them like aquarium fish; fishermen raise them as future bait.
So, when keeping it at home, the mole cricket is fed:
- worms;
- meat scraps;
- hamarus, food for aquarium fish;
- caught and crushed insects;
- small cereal porridges.
But, contrary to popular belief, the mole cricket practically does not eat potatoes, radishes, cucumbers and apples in captivity.
Interesting things are around us and below us. Video about the bear:
Damage caused by mole crickets
The problem is that the pest eats everything that grows in the garden. The underground parts of cultivated plants especially suffer from its activity.
The diet of earthen crayfish includes:
- Potato.
- Shrub roots.
- Carrot.
- Eggplant.
- Radish.
- Beet.
- Cabbage.
- Radish.
- Hemp.
- Tomatoes.
- Pepper.
- Parsley roots.
- Various flowers.
Since the mole cricket spends most of its life in the ground, it breaks through multi-level passages in it. Here in the ground is her nest, where she lays eggs.
The pest has quite powerful jaws, which allows it to eat the roots of various shrubs. If several mole crickets have settled on the site and larvae have appeared, then this is a serious emergency. It is urgent to take measures to get rid of such a neighborhood in the garden.
The mole cricket reproduces quickly and en masse. Larvae, as well as adults, begin to destroy and spoil the underground parts of plants.
It is important to know! Cabbage winters in the ground, as close as possible to the roots of the plants. With the arrival of warmer weather, pests immediately begin to feed on the roots of these plants. It is better to destroy these pests in spring or autumn, when they have not yet begun to reproduce.
How does a mole cricket react to kerosene?
There is also such a method of dealing with cabbage grass as scaring it off with kerosene.
This simple method has been used by many generations of gardeners and has proven its effectiveness. It is based on the use of kerosene and sand.
The components are taken in the proportion of 1 kg of sand for each square meter of area and 50–70 ml of kerosene. If we are talking about a large garden, then this method is not very convenient. But it is very suitable for driving cabbage out of the greenhouse.
Pour kerosene over the sand and mix well. After which the sand is mixed with dry soil (several shovels of soil are taken). A mixture of sand, kerosene and soil is used when planting plants and seedlings:
it is scattered over the garden bed and mixed with the top layer of soil.
Kerosene and sand are also applied into the furrows along the perimeter of the greenhouses. Right there, around the perimeter, you can additionally stretch a rope dipped in kerosene, which is also effective in repelling the pest.
How to get rid of a mole cricket
Chemical and biological drugs
Modern chemical pest control agents can be divided into 2 groups: preparations based on imidacloprid and those based on diazinon .
Imidacloprid affects the nervous system of the pest, causing paralysis and convulsions. Diazinon blocks breathing and poisons the mole cricket. Insects die when they come to the surface of the earth.
Thunder
Bait preparation in the form of granules. The food additives included in its composition attract mole crickets more than plants. 2–3 g of the product are placed in the holes and passages of the pest to a depth of 3–5 cm with an interval between granules of 0.5–1 m. The depressions are covered with earth, compacted, and if the soil is dry, then moisten it. Use the drug 5–10 days before sowing seeds or planting seedlings. The protective effect lasts 2 weeks.
Medvetox
Available in the form of large red granules. Protects the root system of seedlings and adult plants. In the evening, the granules are laid out in holes and grooves to a depth of 3–5 cm, covered with earth and watered. To block the paths, it is recommended to distribute the drug along the perimeter of the beds. The consumption rate of the product is 30 g per 10 square meters. m.
1 granule kills 1 pest. The granules do not dissolve in the soil and protect for 3 weeks. The product is safe for earthworms. It is applied no later than 2 months before harvest.
Frontier
The drug protects for 2 weeks and does not cause addiction to the active substances. Causes the death of the pest within 3 hours after eating. The consumption rate of the product is 30 g per 10 square meters. m. Apply several days in advance or on the day of planting. Planting depth is 3–5 cm; if necessary, moisten the soil.
Phenaxin plus
Bait in the form of granules. It has a pleasant taste and smell for mole crickets. The granules are laid out both in the places where plants are placed (10 days before planting) and near manure and compost heaps.
Make furrows 2–3 cm deep in the soil, place 3–5 granules, sprinkle with earth and spill. An interval of 0.5–1 m is maintained between placement sites. The drug protects against pests for 14–20 days.
Grizzly
Destroys adults and larvae within 48 hours after treatment. The bait is introduced into the holes to a depth of 2–5 cm, 2 g per 1 square meter. m, departing from the plantings by 5–10 cm. Apply the drug in the morning or evening at an air temperature no higher than 25°C.
Boverin
A biological product based on a natural fungus isolated from soil. It is planted in the ground in wet weather, in spring or autumn. In order for the fungus to take root and begin to grow, it will need to be applied annually for 2–4 years.
The spores of the fungus, once on the pest, penetrate it and, growing inside, cause the death of the mole cricket. The dosage of the product is 400–500 ml per 10 liters of water.
Nemabact
A non-toxic biological product based on nematodes and bacteria that are dangerous to the pest. Use at air temperatures between 10–26°C and high humidity. To activate the nematodes, the drug must warm up naturally for 4–8 hours.
The product is diluted in water at a concentration of 1:100 and watered the soil. The solution should not get on the leaves; the nematode will die on them.
Traditional methods
Many summer residents “hunt” mole crickets by setting up non-chemical baits and traps .
- In autumn, the pest is caught in manure pits . They are dug to a depth of 0.5 m, filled with fresh manure and covered with earth. Pests will gather in these attractive wintering places. After the soil freezes, the manure is scattered and the mole crickets die from frost. Manure baits can be placed in May, when the pest lays eggs. After a month, the traps are checked and the adults and eggs are destroyed.
- The pest has a strong sense of smell and is caught by smell . In their habitats, mole crickets bury 0.5 liter glass jars or plastic bottles with the neck cut off, level with the soil. Porridge is made from corn, oats, peas, and wheat, aromatic vegetable oil is added and jars are filled. Additionally, karbofos and zinc phosphide are added to speed up the death of the mole cricket. Such traps should not be left unattended, as pets may be harmed.
- You can make safe baits. Insects love fermented beer and use it instead of porridge, pouring it into buried bottles and cans.
- to crushed eggshells from fresh eggs and placed in the pest’s burrows.
- The smell of kerosene repels mole crickets . Sand moistened with kerosene is scattered around the beds where the presence of mole crickets is noticed.
We use Metaphos to combat pests
In addition to folk remedies, there are other methods for dealing with mole crickets in the garden. For these purposes, poisoned baits are used.
They are easy to prepare in country conditions, which requires grain and insecticide.
The drug Metaphos, a contact insecticide, helps well in the fight against cabbage weed. Recipe for poisonous bait with Metaphos:
- boil grains of wheat, corn or barley;
- add Metaphos to the porridge in a proportion of 50 g per 1 kg of grain;
- add 30 g of sunflower oil per 1 kg of porridge.
The prepared porridge should be spread under small piles of manure. This bait is also placed between the rows when planting seedlings - to a depth of up to 3 cm. The toxic mixture is placed at 30-50 g per 1 square meter. m of land.
Preventive measures
An important rule for prevention is not to use fresh manure as fertilizer . This is the most common way for a pest to appear on a site. Rotted manure is inspected and, if possible, sifted before application in order to notice the mole cricket in time.
is dug up and loosened in spring and autumn to destroy mole cricket tunnels and eggs. Weeds are pulled out in and around the beds, as well as in tree trunk circles . This will deprive the pest of an additional source of food.
Garlic, mint, and cilantro are planted between the beds ; insects are repelled by the smell of these plants. The pest loves warm soil, and the use of light mulch - rotted straw, sawdust, pine needles - will help reduce the temperature on the soil surface.
The pest is destroyed by cats, hedgehogs, shrews, lizards, moles and birds (starlings, rooks, crows). Birdhouses for birds on the site, the creation of secluded places for lizards and hedgehogs will attract these helpers to the site. It should be taken into account that they will not completely destroy the pest and, moreover, the birds themselves can destroy the crop.
The fight against mole crickets should be systematic and constant, starting from early spring until the soil freezes. Then there is a chance to get rid of it for a long time.
Control measures
To begin with, it doesn’t hurt to clean up the area. Check manure and compost heaps - this is the mole cricket's favorite place. The next area to be examined is the banks of garden ponds (if there are any) and the dampest places. In the fall, it is useful to carry out deep plowing in the garden to destroy mole cricket tunnels, but active control should begin in the spring, before the females lay eggs.
If you decide to use branded chemicals, then keep in mind that none of them are absolutely harmless; they are all toxic to one degree or another. Either these are substances that repel insects with their smell, or solutions that penetrate plants and make them fatally poisonous to mole crickets (as well as all other arthropods that find themselves in the “affected zone”). It should be noted that mole crickets are resistant to insecticide poisons.
Today, ultrasonic repellers can be purchased in stores and gardening centers. As gardeners have seen, this product is ineffective, especially since the range of action of each such device is small.
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Interesting facts about mole cricket
- Gourmets in South-East Asia sometimes consume these insects as a delicacy. Moreover, they are prepared fried, stewed, pickled, with the addition of seasonings or even without them.
- Sometimes the mole cricket brings some benefit, as it destroys the larvae of cockchafers and some other insects that eat plants
- Surprisingly enough, there are benefits from Medvedka in the field of pharmaceuticals as well. So a powder is made from it, which is used as one of the components for a cure for tuberculosis.
Onion peel infusion - we do without drugs
Not everyone is ready to use chemicals to control pests. For many gardeners, the more natural the method, the better and simpler.
There are methods of combating mole crickets, the effectiveness of which has been proven over the years. One of them is the use of onion peel tincture.
The principle of its action is based on the fact that the cabbage plant cannot tolerate the smell of onions. Therefore, it is recommended to place onion peels in holes when planting vegetables.
To prepare an infusion of onion peels from the mole cricket, you will need:
- 900 g onion peel;
- 10 liters of water.
The husk is poured with warm water and the mixture is infused for four to five days. Before use, the infusion is diluted in a ratio of 1:5. After the rain, the beds are irrigated with a diluted infusion. This procedure is carried out two to three times a week.
Folk remedies
Experienced gardeners and gardeners know how to deal with mole crickets using improvised means. Therefore, they use the following traditional methods.
Beer traps
Bears are not able to resist this drink. Traps are made from glass jars or bottles: a jar is dug into the ground (at an angle), 50 g of beer is poured into it, and a gauze is tied on top. The insects gnaw through the gauze and fall into a trap from which they cannot escape. After some time, the jar will be tightly packed with mole crickets and they can be easily destroyed.
Traps with honey
Another option for getting rid of mole crickets using folk remedies is to use honey traps.
They are built on the principle of the previous method, but beer is replaced with honey, and instead of gauze, a piece of iron or cardboard is used, which only covers the jar halfway. When the trap is full, it must be replaced with a new one.
Eggshell
In winter, you can collect eggshells. It is mixed with vegetable oil and poured into the holes dug by the mole cricket. Such a treat can also bring the mole cricket out of the area. You can also grind the shells into powder and mix them with the soil on which you plan to plant the plant. If an insect tastes the shell, it will die.
Using odors that are unpleasant to mole crickets
Certain odors repel these pests. These include aromas:
- mint and garlic leaves, onion peels (spread directly on the beds);
- branches of pine needles, willow, alder, chrysanthemum (dig into the ground);
- marigolds, calendula, beans, flax (planted in different places in the garden);
- fish heads and tails (buried in beds between plants).
These odors can protect against mole crickets for 2 weeks (with the exception of growing sources of odors).
Loosening the soil
The soil is loosened at least 3 times a season. By digging the ground to a depth of 15 cm, you can find mole cricket burrows. This type of gardening work is carried out with a hoe, and after finding nests, they move the soil with insects, larvae and eggs into a bucket.
Dung piles as bait
You can remove the pest by arranging manure traps: piles of manure must be spread throughout the area. With the onset of warm days, mole crickets will certainly crawl into them and begin to create holes in them for laying eggs. After checking such a trap and finding insects in it, it must be burned. In this case, the adults will be destroyed along with the larvae.
This is a very effective way to control pests. You can prepare a “wintering place” for the pest in advance. To do this, in late autumn, they dig holes in different places in the summer cottage and fill them with compost or manure. With the onset of frost, the contents of the pits are scattered onto the surface with a shovel. The insects do not have time to penetrate deeper into the soil and freeze.
