El mole cricket or onion scorpion, is one of the insects capable of affecting plants and causing us some headaches. It is true that there are a wide variety of diseases and other insects that are much more serious, but you cannot be careless with the mole cricket. Let's find out why.
What is mole cricket?
This crickettalpid is known by the scientific name of Gryllotalpa grillotalpa and comes from Europe, Africa and Asia, although very few specimens have been found on the latter continent. They can also be found in South America and the United States.
These insects are brown in color, their physical form is armored and with a fairly robust body, which makes it even more striking. Male mole crickets can grow to between 35 and 41 centimeters in length, and females between 40 and 46 centimeters.
The females are always digging, they make underground galleries where they will later lay their eggs and they will be buried.
In the case of the males, they also carry out these excavations but the purpose of these changes, since they use it so that their songs are heard much more powerful, which, without a doubt, is a great attraction for the females, so, while the louder the song, the more likely they are to mate.
These vegetarian insects feed on the roots, stems, bulbs, collars and tubers, which will undoubtedly harm the plant they are feeding on. As they eat from them, these mole crickets form small mountains with food that remains next to the holes they make.
As the days go by, the deterioration of the plant will be noticed, since it will begin to turn yellowish and little by little it will deteriorate. That is why it is important to know how to remove moles from the garden quickly and effectively.
Mole Cricket Habitat
The perfect place for these insects to live is where there is a short lawn, where the ground is sandy or peat. They can be found in Norway and Finland, this on the European side, they can also be found naturally in Asia and Africa.
However, these animals were also taken to South America and the United States, which is why, at present, there are many countries where these animals live naturally and where the probability of them invading the gardens of the houses. Therefore, special care should be taken if you live in any of these places.
How can mole crickets be removed from gardens?
One of the first things we must take into account before knowing how to remove moles and if we have an invasion of crickets in our garden and we want to eradicate it, it is because these insects are a bit lethargic during the winter months, it can be said that it is one of the animals that hibernate, that is why, they can only be seen active from spring to autumn.
In the event that the invasion of these mole crickets is scarce, that is, there are only a few specimens, the damage that these will cause will be minimal, however, in the event that the quantity is much greater, then it will be necessary and essential. that an extermination of them be carried out and control be maintained.
To start fighting them, you can make use of a mixture considered as a homemade poison for mole crickets that consists of water and potassium soap, which you must place inside the hole through which they enter to take refuge.
Once the mixture is placed in the holes, these insects will begin to come out and that is when you should capture them and then take them to an insect shelter or let them go in an open and natural place that is located quite far from your garden or that of other people.
Another of the ways in which this type of insects can be combated is that you take care of digging some holes in the ground and placing 50% manure and 50% straw inside them during the autumn season, in this way, when they enter the holes, the cold temperatures will fulfill the extermination mission.
What are the damages that these insects cause?
If you have an invasion or plague of these crickets moles in the garden, these are capable of causing great damage to plants, however, as mentioned above, only a few of them will not be a problem.
These small animals will feed on the roots, tubers, stems, and bulbs of the plant. Flora or the plants, therefore, very few will be able to remain standing if there is a plague of these animals that are so annoying and dangerous for nature.
To be precise, in the event that we have cultivated an orchard in our garden, the ideal is to carry out preventive and extermination processes for these animals, since crops of onions, carrots, potatoes, radishes and others are excessively vulnerable to suffer attacks from these mole crickets, so you have to be vigilant.
Are there benefits to having mole crickets in the garden?
Just like any other animal on planet Earth, mole cricket insects also play an important role in our ecosystem, including gardens, orchards and nurseries.
In the case of these insects, they do not only feed on the parts of the plants, but they can also eat the larvae of the beetles that are in the place and which can represent a great threat to the plants.
This means that, in the event that we have some copies that are local to our home, these could bring us some benefits that we will surely appreciate.
mole cricket bite
There are many beliefs that say that the mole cricket is poisonous, it has even been said that its bite can kill an adult. However, this is false, these insects are actually harmless.
Mole crickets can be caught by hand to keep them away from plants that could be affecting them, even these animals only use their mouths to dig and feed, that is, they are not prone to biting or stinging people. they can try to hold them.
Taxonomy
- Kingdom: Animalia
- Edge: Arthropods
- Class: Insecta
- Order: Orthoptera
- Suborder: nurse
- Super family: Grylloidea
- Family: gryllotalpidae
- Gender: Grillotalpa
- Species: gryllotalpa gryllotalpa