17 replies to this topic

[waxy]

Is there anyone on here that can help me rid my place of these things?

They sound like frogs and come out in the hot weather at night. They decimate the lawn and garden especially the vege patch to the point where its hardly worth growing your own.

There is a bit of info on the net but most is in the U.S where they have been forever. They are only a fairly new species in Aus as far as I've read.

Most people in my area think that the noise they make is frogs as it sounds so similar. 

If its nasty chemicals I need to use then that's what I'll do.

 

Any advice greatly appreciated.

[BIG-PETE]

don't know if you can still get it but coopex used to get rid of all bugs and critters

[Furnix]

get a cat. mine love hunting the things down

[waxy]

Thanks Pete I'll check the stuff out.
Na no cats. It would kill all the wildlife I want to hang around too.
I know how to kill them one at a time that's easy. The problem is they live underground and I'd like to be able to treat my whole yard if possible without killing frogs, worms, bees etc

[bigjohnnofish]

any natural predators ???

[waxy]

If there is Johnno I'd have to introduce some to my place. These things run rampant. They seem to meet there match when they drop into the pool at night  when they are out and about. We usually scoop a few out each day, most of the time still fully alive but they can't get out.

[shayne]

shoot the cat and get a bandicoot [not practical i know ] around my place a bandicoot will dig a hole you can break an ankle in to get those critters.on a serious note i will ask some organic garden nuts i know and see if they have any eco friendly ideas

[ice]

There's a few around my joint that id love to get rid of so id be interested also. Surely a big healthy motorbike frog would take on a mole cricket?

[shayne]

gday waxy, sorry mate not much to add. friends suggested you email sabrina hahn. a local garden guru but a little less commercial than most. im not computer literate enough to find links and stuff [1 finger pecker, last centuries man ]  she has a column in saturdays west but they suggest you find the address for her radio slot, twice weekly on 720 abc they think that has a quicker turnaround on queries. frogs alone  wont do the job i have huge numbers of them and i realy dont think they help much. but dont step between a bandicoot ,a mole cricket ,cochroach or a chicken bone

[scarab]

just moved into a new place 1 month ago, have seen two mole crickets so far. The quails love it!!

[shayne]

any sort of poultry will love them but gee there tough on a garden when their free range

[waxy]

Yeah thanks guys. Cheers Shane I will look into that. I have done a bit more research on them and have a list of a few chemicals to try if i want to go down that path. Another way is apparently by flushing them out by saturating the grass/soil with detergent and water. I'll probably try that first as it will help with soil drainage at the same time. 

[shayne]

have been told about flooding/saturation but didnt think it was practiable here in drought ridden wa.maybe a massive water change? tanks pool any ponds?? and some frog friendly wetting agent the garden will love it no matter the outcome with the mole crickets.

[bigjohnnofish]

get yourself a heavy duty bug zapper... mole crickets are attracted to fluroscent light at night..... 

 

heres a pic 

 

 

 

The 2 best products to kill molecrickets are Talstar and Acephate (see below)

 

The two most popular products used for killing molecrickets in lawns are Talstar and Acephate.  Talstar is available in liquid concentrate and granules.  Acephate is a soluble powder that is applied through your hose end sprayer, in the same manner as Talstar Concentrate is applied.

Most people attempt to kill molecrickets when they first appear.  These first sightings are in late winter or early spring (depending on your location) and all insects seen are in their adult stage.  An adult mole cricket is very difficult to kill and trying to do so is not only a waste of your time and money but is also ignoring the most destructive stage of the pest: the nymphal stage.  The adult molecrickets seen first in the season will tunnel through the surface of soil (leaving their distinctive narrow tunnels) and show themselves by landing on sidewalks, porches, driveways and swimming pools.  These adults are attracted at first by light (from street lamps, porch lights, sports fields, etc.) where they fly in to infest manicured turf grasses and lawns.   They then lay their eggs in pockets beneath the soil.
Forget trying to kill these adult molecrickets!  You must time your pesticide application to kill the young or molecricket nymphs.  The nymphal stage is the one that devours your lawn - and they are the easiest to kill if treated properly.

Sources: http://www.molecrick...ettreatment.htm

[shayne]

gday waxy, how did you go with the mole crickets?? i still have a few but the resident bandicoot does its best possibly aided by the frogs and the bobtail who has wandered in. helped disassemble some avaries recently, pulled up a couple of birdbaths/ponds, couldnt believe they survived in there and the intracacy of their tunnel system.mini rabbit warren will be difficult to effectively spray or drench for the little buggers i reckon. cheers

[sandgroper]

I wouldn't worry about them the cane toads are coming to save us. Just give it a couple more years.

[waxy]

They are pretty much in plague proportions this time of year at my house. Poison does work but not all that effective due to the tunnelling and the fact that the soil they seem to congregate in doesnt have very good drainage either. Making it very hard to get the poison to them.

 

They will always be here I'll just have to learn to live with them (and maybe give the vege patch a miss)

[shayne]

I wouldn't worry about them the cane toads are coming to save us. Just give it a couple more years.

sad but all to true