Mole crickets
Neoscapteriscus spp.
Burrowing crickets that tunnel through the root zone, uprooting turf and creating spongy soil.
Identification
Large (about 1 to 1.5 inch) brown, soil-dwelling crickets with shovel-like, spade-shaped front legs adapted for digging, found tunneling just below the surface of bermudagrass and bahiagrass. Presence is confirmed by raised soil tunnels, by hearing calling males at dusk, or by a soap flush (about 1.5 oz dish soap in 2 gallons of water per 4 sq ft) that drives crickets to the surface within minutes.
Symptoms & Damage
Spongy, raised soil tunnels and dislodged turf where crickets burrow, plus thinning and brown, dying patches as roots are severed and grass dries out; the loosened, honeycombed soil feels soft underfoot and disrupts root-to-soil contact, and secondary digging by birds and raccoons can worsen the surface damage.
Biology
Pest mole crickets (chiefly tawny and southern mole crickets) have one generation per year in most of the Southeast. Adults overwinter in the soil, become active and mate in spring, and lay eggs in underground chambers mainly in April through June. Eggs hatch in early summer and small nymphs grow through the season; development and activity track warm soil, with nymphs maturing into next year's adults.
Occurrence & Spread
Damage occurs in two windows: adults tunnel and feed in spring (roughly March through June), then the new generation of small nymphs causes the most damaging, hardest-to-detect feeding from summer into early fall. Sandy soils and warm, moist conditions favor tunneling, and damage concentrates in bermudagrass and bahiagrass on golf courses, sod, and lawns.
Favorable Conditions
Warm, moist sandy soils in the southern US; peak tunneling after rain.
Cultural Management
Maintain healthy, well-rooted turf and avoid excess irrigation that softens soil and invites tunneling; plant less-preferred or resistant grasses where feasible, and conserve the biological control agents (the parasitic wasp Larra bicolor, the nematode Steinernema scapterisci, and a parasitic fly) that established programs rely on for long-term suppression.
Further Reading
University extension resources — open in a new tab.
Related Reports
No published reports yet for this pest.
Reports will appear here as they are peer-reviewed and published.