Mole Cricket

Mole crickets are the most destructive insect pests of lawn grasses in the Midlands and Coastal regions of South Carolina. Currently, there are two species of mole crickets, the tawny mole cricket and the southern mole cricket, that invade South Carolina lawns. Mole cricket damage occurs mainly at night. The tawny mole cricket is light brown in color and larger than the southern cricket, which is blacker in color. The tawny mole cricket is the most serious of the two, causing damage by tunneling and by feeding directly on the roots, stems and leaves. Southern mole crickets feed mainly on organic matter and cause damage mostly through their tunneling, which uproots seedlings and causes the soil to dry out quickly. Mole crickets overwinter in the soil and emerge in late winter and early spring to mate. Eggs are laid in the soil and hatch in about three to four weeks, around late May or early June. The immature mole crickets or nymphs feed and grow all summer and fall and overwinter in the soil as adults and large nymphs.

Control: Keep the lawn adequately watered to reduce drought stress. Parasitic nematodes are effective against adult mole crickets for early spring and mid-fall applications. Insecticides are available and are most effective against newly hatched nymphs.