The most effective way to control mole crickets on your property

Although the mole cricket improves soil aeration, it is a pest and a real scourge for gardeners. This large insect, digging tunnels underground, cuts off the shoots of cultivated plants along the way. While mole crickets do not settle in poor, hard soil, they will not leave fertile soil without assistance.

This insect can only be exterminated using effective chemicals or folk remedies.

Folk remedies for mole crickets

First of all, it is worth noting that these insects have natural enemies:

• starlings and rooks;
• storks and crows;
• moles and lizards;
• hedgehogs and shrews;
• ants and centipedes.

If they don't do their job of exterminating the mole cricket, then you need to resort to folk remedies.

Getting rid of harmful insects using pine needles

Chop up pine needles and scatter them throughout your garden. Mole crickets hate the smell of pine needles, so they'll soon leave your plot.

Catching insects for beer

A method no less effective than pesticides for getting rid of insects is the cheapest beer, or even kvass. Pour these drinks into jars and bury them in the ground at a slight angle. Mole crickets love the smell of kvass and beer, so the insects will definitely fall into the traps you set.

Onion peel

Mole crickets dislike many odors, and the unpleasant aroma of onions will permanently discourage them from breeding in your garden. The recipe involves soaking onion scraps in water and letting them steep. As soon as the solution begins to emit a foul odor, begin treating the soil.

Iodine and rotten fish

Dilute a bottle of iodine in a bucket of water and water your garden. Also, scatter some rotten fish scraps between the beds. Smelling the iodine and fish, the mole crickets will immediately disappear from your garden.

Dung traps

Dung traps are no less effective than other folk methods. Dig a hole 50 cm deep and fill the bottom with any manure. This should be done in the fall, when the insects are preparing for hibernation. They seek out warm places, and manure even in winter emits a certain amount of heat, which is enough to attract mole crickets. Even one such pit can gather all the insects, and the owner of the garden only needs to remove all the manure containing the mole crickets from the pit and destroy it.

Sweet Trap

You can make it with honey by coating the inside of a glass jar. Then bury the jar in the soil until only a small portion of the container is above the surface. Smelling the honey's aroma, pests will immediately rush to its source. Once an insect falls into the jar, it will never escape.

Poisoned baits

Prepare cereal seeds and treat them with aldrin. This is a toxic organochlorine compound, so handle it carefully. Scatter the poisoned grains in piles around the garden and check them periodically. Insects that have consumed a lethal dose of these seeds will not move far away.

You can also get rid of pests using a soap solution. To make it easier to prepare, buy liquid soap, mix it with water, and pour the solution into the pests' burrows.

Repelling with kerosene

The effectiveness of this method has been proven over time. Sprinkle sand along the edges of the plot and soak it in kerosene. Its smell also repels pests. You can also soak a rope in kerosene and stretch it around the perimeter of the garden. This will serve as a preventative measure.

Shadow Traps

So-called shadow traps are equally effective. Mole crickets prefer warm places but cannot tolerate direct sunlight. Place bait under a sheet of dark plastic and check the shadow trap periodically. You're sure to find pests underneath.

Prevention of mole crickets

If you take preventative measures in advance, you won't need to deal with pests. Plant plants around the perimeter of your garden whose scent repels harmful insects. Garlic and coriander are among the most common.

You can fence the area with a dense fence of alder or aspen. The mole cricket avoids these tree species. Alternatively, you can simply destroy habitats by digging up the soil annually.

It's not recommended to bring fresh manure to the site, as pests may overwinter in it. The best fertilizer option is compost, which doesn't provide a favorable habitat for insects.

The use of pesticides is the most effective method

If folk remedies and preventative measures don’t help, then the last option is pesticides:

• "Imidacloprid" or "Medvetox";
• "Regent" or "Rembek";
• "Boverin" or "Medvecid";
• "Talstar" or "Acephate Pro";
• "Diazinon" or "Aktara";
• "Thunderbolt" or "Bison";
• "Bankol" or "Thunder-2".

If harmful insects have taken up residence in your garden, there's a silver lining: mole crickets thrive in fertile soil. This can serve as a kind of indicator confirming the perfect condition of your garden. All that's left to do is get rid of these pests using any known method and continue growing excellent vegetable crops in your fertile soil.