Mole Crickets Guide

Recognizing Mole Cricket Signs

Adult mole crickets lay their eggs in the soil, where the young nymphs live and feed until maturity. Their feeding and tunneling can severely damage your lawn.

Mole cricket damage includes:

• Tunneling, which dries out grass
• Root feeding, which kills grass

Knowing the signs of mole cricket activity and when the damage becomes visible is essential for proper inspection.

Mole crickets cause significant turf damage by tunneling under the surface and feeding on grass roots and organic matter. Look for these signs:

• Small surface bulges in the turf and soil, caused by shallow tunneling
• A spongy lawn due to detachment from the roots
• Grass browning and dying in areas of tunneling activity
• Feeding activity directly leading to dead grass

Mole crickets lay their eggs in late spring or early summer, and their nymphs develop underground.

• Egg Laying and Mating: Adult mole crickets fly and mate during late spring and early summer.
• Visible Damage: Feeding nymphs will cause noticeable damage in the spring after overwintering, as they resume feeding when temperatures rise.

While spring damage is a clear sign of mole cricket presence, it is harder to treat them at this stage as the crickets will be larger and more resistant to control methods.

The best time to treat mole crickets is during the summer when nymphs are smaller. Inspect your lawn for nymphs using a simple soap flush test:

1. Mix a solution of 2 tablespoons of dish soap with 1 gallon of water.
2. Pour the solution onto a small, targeted area of your lawn that showed damage in the spring.
3. Observe the area for a few minutes. If mole crickets are present, they will surface.

This test is most effective in the early morning or evening when mole crickets are active.