The primeval looking mole cricket is a rare guest in the garden. Usually it doesn't do any damage. Only when the population grows too large does it literally dig up the garden, destroying seeds and young plants. You can do that against the animals.

Mole crickets are actually beneficial because they eat pests like grubs

Table of Contents

Show all
  1. the essentials in brief
  2. Mole cricket wanted poster
  3. damage picture
  4. Fight mole crickets
  5. Home remedies for mole crickets
  6. frequently asked Questions

    7. the essentials in brief

    • The mole cricket belongs to the grasshopper family, but lives mostly underground and creates tunnel systems that are meters long and up to four meters deep.
    • The insect feeds almost exclusively on maggots, worms, eggs and other animal food, which is why it is actually classified as a beneficial insect. The assertion that mole crickets also eat roots and tubers is simply wrong.
    • However, if the population in the garden is too large, the animals can still cause considerable damage through their heavy digging activity.
    • The best way to fight them is with nematodes, especially since the classic home remedies are not very suitable and there are no effective chemical pesticides for the home garden.

    Appearance and habits of the mole cricket

    The mole cricket bears its name for good reason: its large digging shovel and its underground lifestyle are strongly reminiscent of the mole, and the insect also belongs to the grasshopper family (lat. Orthoptera), resembles a large cricket and also produces very similar sounds. There are different types of mole crickets, but only the European mole cricket (lat. Gryllotalpa gryllotalpa) is at home in this country.

    PROFILE - An overview of the mole cricket

    The mole cricket with its large shovels lives up to its name

    • Species: European or common mole cricket
    • Latin name: Gryllotalpa gryllotalpa
    • Popular names: Werre, G'schwer (Austria), dwarf, half-devil (Switzerland)
    • Class: Insects (lat. Insecta)
    • Subclass: flying insects
    • Order: Locusts (lat. Orthoptera)
    • Suborder: Long-horned crickets (lat. Ensifera)
    • Habitat: in loose, preferably sandy to loamy soil, often near water and on meadows, lawns or in gardens
    • Occurrence: Europe, North Africa, West Asia
    • Special features: digs tunnels several meters long and up to four meters deep

    This is what the mole cricket looks like

    Anyone who sees a mole cricket for the first time is sometimes startled: the up to ten centimeters long, primal crab-like animals appear clumsy and massive. Especially when such an insect buzzes through the garden in flight during the mating season, many a garden owner becomes dizzy.

    But mole crickets are completely harmless. In addition, they spend most of their lives underground in the ground, which is why they are perfectly adapted physically to this life. Its body is protected by a thick chitinous shell, and the insect digs its tunnels many meters long with its characteristic large digging shovels.

    • size: usually between four and six centimetres, in exceptional cases larger
    • coloring: light to dark brown, matt gloss, underside often lighter than upper side
    • anatomy: strong, primitive, body is covered with fine hairs
    • head: large, well protected with chitinous armor
    • legs: four-jointed forelegs shaped into digging shovels, inconspicuous - - - - - hind legs: (no jumping legs like other grasshopper species)
    • wing: short forewings, longer hindwings extending beyond the abdomen
    • particularities: makes a loud humming noise with the wings during the summer months

    You can hear what the chirping of mole crickets sounds like in this post:

    youtube

    Although mole crickets belong to the grasshopper family, they cannot jump, unlike their relatives. Although the animals are very loud and can hear very well themselves, they primarily hear the sounds of their own species. The compound eyes otherwise typical of the species are also absent.

    occurrence and spread

    The European variant of the mole cricket has become rare, even if some plagued gardeners find it hard to believe. Incidentally, the main reason for this is the strict control of animals in the garden and in agriculture, since the insects often settle in compost heaps and dung heaps as well as in vegetable gardens and find ideal living conditions there. Mole crickets prefer loose, cultivated sandy and clay soils that should also be moist. For this reason, the animals are more likely to be found near bodies of water.

    The different species of the genus are found almost everywhere on earth, with most populations being found in the Mediterranean region. In Germany, mole crickets are mainly found in south-west Germany, in the north they are almost unknown.

    lifestyle and reproduction

    Mole crickets spend two years in the larval stage

    Mole crickets create meter-long tunnel systems in the garden, which mainly consist of channels running just below the surface of the earth. From these horizontally running tunnels, there are other tunnels that are up to four meters deep. These serve as access to the lower storage and feeding chambers as well as to the brood chambers. While the individual corridors are often no wider than about six centimeters, the chambers can reach the size of a tennis ball or even a football. They are reinforced and secured with plant parts, which the animals press into the earth walls with their solid shells. Mole crickets are very busy and dig up to 40 meters a day.

    The mole cricket spends almost its entire life underground, only leaving its native habitat during the mating season between early May and mid-June. The nocturnal animals can only be seen in the evening and night hours. Only the female animals can fly and in this way follow the mating calls of the male mole crickets. After mating, the female lays up to 1000 eggs (usually only between 100 and 300) in an underground brood chamber, which she sticks to the cave walls. The eggs are guarded and cared for by the female, the larvae hatch after about seven to twelve days.

    The development of the mole cricket at a glance:

    • Larvae go through a total of six to ten different stages.
    • This development takes place over a period of about two years.
    • The larvae spend the first four to six weeks in the burrow.
    • They are cared for by the female and feed on dead plant parts.
    • They only leave the nest after the first moult.
    • They molt a total of three times before autumn.
    • The larvae overwinter in the soil and moult a fourth time in spring.
    • At this point, they can move very quickly.
    • In contrast to the adult animals, these larvae can still jump.
    • At the end of July of the second year, the animals are already fully developed.
    • However, sexual maturity does not occur until the following year.

    Because of the long developmental period, a garden infested with mole crickets typically contains larvae and adults of all stages of development and ages.

    What does the mole cricket eat?

    "Mole crickets don't eat vegetables!"

    It used to be thought that mole crickets prefer to eat roots. Therefore, the animals were massively persecuted. However, it is now known that the animals feed almost exclusively on carnivores: their diet includes worms, maggots, larvae as well as insect and snail eggs. Only very rarely and when there is a pronounced food shortage do mole crickets also attack plant food in the form of roots and tubers. The damage that undoubtedly occurs in the garden is therefore due less to the animals eating and more to the large-scale digging activity of the animals.

    digression

    Pest or beneficial?

    Due to their pronounced preference for animal food, mole crickets cannot be clearly classified as garden pests. After all, the eager fellows devour numerous pests such as grubs, snail eggs (which results in fewer hungry slugs), vine weevils, etc. This means that the animals - as long as they do not occur in large numbers in one place - can even be valued as beneficial.

    This is how you recognize a mole cricket infestation

    As a rule, you do not even notice whether the mole cricket also feels at home in your garden. Usually there are only a few animals, whose population is also kept low by their natural enemies - above all the mole. If the food supply is also plentiful - i.e. the table is covered with plenty of maggots, larvae and eggs - mole crickets will not eat plants either. The typical damage can only be seen in the case of severe infestation and too few feed animals:

    • Feeding holes in radishes, potatoes and other tubers
    • mainly vegetable and ornamental plants that wilt in spring
    • churned vegetable and ornamental beds
    • Seedlings and young plants pushed out of the ground
    • Seeds suddenly sprout in inexplicable places
    • Lawns have brownish spots

    Some of these symptoms can also be caused by other garden pests, such as voles. Typically, older plants are quite well protected from the mole cricket, which is why, for example, in endangered regions you should only plant early and strong vegetable plants in the bed. Voles, on the other hand, also nibble on the roots of older and larger plants. Mole crickets also do not throw up mounds of earth, which in turn are typical of moles and voles.

    Successfully combat mole crickets

    As long as the mole cricket population does not get out of hand in the garden, the animals are even welcome as pest exterminators. In this case, however, make sure to keep the number of werrs as low as possible with the help of their predators. Catching and releasing live specimens is also a suitable way of limiting them. However, if the infestation becomes too severe (e.g. due to a lack of predators) and the damage increases significantly, you will have to resort to heavier artillery. Certain nematodes, for example, are very suitable for this.

    Attract predators to the garden

    Rarely does a mole cricket infestation explode because predators keep it low

    Basically, the mole cricket has only one enemy underground: the mole. The furry loner not only competes with the insect in its habitat, but also ensures that there is less food available - after all, the mole also lives on animal food and therefore has the same menu as the Werre. On top of that, this is a real delicacy for moles and is therefore eaten with preference. This is not the only reason why you should not hastily drive moles out of the garden, even if the heaps of earth are occasionally a nuisance. The little diggers are excellent at keeping garden pests in check.

    If the mole cricket comes to the surface, other garden dwellers will also hunt the insect. Especially for

    • Hedgehog
    • shrews
    • birds
    • ants

    as well as chickens and cats, the insects are a treat. It is not without reason that chicken farmers are advised to let the poultry run free - they like to scratch and peck at beetles, maggots, larvae and other insects from the loose soil and thus ensure that the garden remains as pest-free as possible. The disadvantage, however, is that chickens in the vegetable garden are actually not a good idea - they also like to pluck seeds, seedlings and young plants or eat their fill of lettuce instead of mole crickets. But to keep a lawn free from pests, for example, chickens are very good.

    Otherwise, it is important - not only to keep the garden free of mole crickets, but also free of other pests - to ensure that the garden is managed as naturally as possible. This includes measures such as these:

    • no toxins in the garden
    • i.e. H. no pesticides, herbicides, insecticides, fungicides etc.
    • These also poison useful garden dwellers.
    • Set up or hang up feeding stations and incubators for birds
    • Build insect hotels in strategically and climatically good places
    • Create hiding places for larger animals: piles of stones and wood in a corner of the garden, e.g. B.
    • favor native plants in the garden
    • above all, many umbellifers, which attract useful insects

    Plant protection measures are rarely necessary in such a garden, as the biological balance is created and maintained in a completely natural way. Mole crickets have no chance of multiplying too much.

    tips

    Digger wasps of the species Larra anathema also hunt mole crickets and were therefore brought in from their actual homeland, the Mediterranean region, specifically for pest control. Unfortunately, this digger wasp prefers dry, warm settlement areas and therefore does not feel particularly comfortable in Germany.

    set traps

    It is quite effective and animal-friendly, but also quite expensive to catch mole crickets. The best way to do this is as follows:

    1. Take several smooth-sided mason jars.
    2. Remove the lid, you don't need it.
    3. Look for mole cricket burrows.
    4. Release them carefully.
    5. Dig in the preserving jars here at ground level.
    6. The opening should be flush with the surface of the earth.
    7. Place a narrow board across the opening.
    8. Mole crickets use such obstacles for orientation when running.
    9. They run along the board and fall into the glass
    10. Empty the glasses early in the morning.

    You can release the caught animals in a suitable place - as far away as possible from your garden. Be sure to wear thick gardening gloves made of a solid material, as mole crickets can pinch painfully.

    tips

    This method is particularly successful during the mating season between April and June, when the animals are more often on the ground.

    digging up brood nests

    In the case of a heavy infestation, it can make sense to dig up and remove the brood nests of the mole cricket. This measure is particularly effective in June, when the animals have hatched eggs or the young larvae from them. And that's how it works:

    • Examine the burrows of the animals.
    • Dig up the underground burrow at a vertical junction.
    • There is probably a brood nest about 30 centimeters deep.
    • Dig them out with a spade.
    • Discard the adults inside, as well as the eggs and larvae.

    use of nematodes

    Nematodes kill mole crickets effectively but painfully

    Nematodes of the Steinernema Carpocapsae species are also a very effective method of combating mole crickets. These are tiny threadworms that infest the adult pests and introduce deadly bacteria into their bloodstream. With the help of these biological pest control agents, around 60 to 80 percent of the mole cricket population can be effectively eliminated. But be careful: the eggs and larvae are not infested, which is why other adult animals can develop from them. Therefore, an annual repetition of the application is appropriate.

    The best time to apply the nematodes is between April and the beginning of June at the latest. At this point, the mole crickets usually have not laid any eggs. In greenhouses or cold frames, you can also spread the nematodes about six weeks earlier, provided the soil temperature is at least twelve degrees Celsius. If it is too cold, the beneficial insects die off and can therefore not fulfill their task.

    Application of nematodes

    You can get nematodes in garden shops or on the Internet. Together with the animals you will receive detailed instructions on how to use them, which you should definitely follow. Mix the roundworms in a watering can with lukewarm water so that you can spread them over a large area over the affected area using a watering attachment. Since nematodes are very sensitive to UV light, it makes sense to apply when the sky is overcast or in the early evening hours.

    digression

    Mole crickets are among the endangered species

    Since mole crickets have been massively fought over centuries and also have an extremely long larvae period for the insect kingdom, the European species is now considered highly endangered and is therefore in Category 2 of the Red List. Other species of the genus are also considered endangered or even threatened with extinction. Despite this classification, mole crickets are not protected in Germany. They can be caught and killed with it.For reasons of species protection, however, it makes sense to catch the animals alive and release them again in a suitable place.

    Are there any effective home remedies for mole crickets?

    Many an “old hand” when it comes to gardening advises simply getting rid of mole crickets with old cooking oil or butyric acid. To do this, pour about a tablespoon of oil into a vertical passage, followed by about 250 milliliters of water. In fact, this method is quite effective, because both the larvae and the eggs die. The adult animals come to the surface again and can be collected there without any problems.

    Home remedies have disadvantages

    The disadvantage of this method, however, is that edible oil and butyric acid remain in the soil, are not broken down there and therefore have negative effects on soil quality and groundwater. Experience has shown that such an admixture is not particularly good for the plants growing on such soil, which then simply take care of themselves or even die. The same applies to "home remedies" such as petroleum (or cloths soaked in petroleum), spirit, dishwashing liquid, etc.

    It is also sometimes advised to dig up the aisle area about 60 centimeters deep, fill in horse manure and fill the hole back in. However, this method shows absolutely no effect against mole crickets, as they then simply dig other, new tunnels. Thus, the horse manure is only suitable as organic fertilizer for the vegetable garden.

    Better not to use home remedies

    In summary, it can be said that you should better keep your hands off "proven" home remedies, as they either cause further damage unintentionally or are not effective at all. It is better to use really effective methods such as the nematodes presented.

    frequently asked Questions

    Can mole crickets fly?

    Mole crickets are true all-rounders

    The very busy mole cricket not only digs meter-long tunnels under the earth's surface at night, but is also very agile in other respects: the little animals can also swim very well, even dive, and also fly. However, flying mole crickets can only be observed during the mating season in May and June, when the females are looking for a male partner. Otherwise, the animals mostly live underground. Incidentally, only the females fly while the males remain in one place and emit a lure call. This noise sounds like a deep whirring and is also audible to humans.

    Are mole crickets poisonous?

    Many a gardener - and also anglers, because the little animals were and are often used as bait when catching catfish - have already had unpleasant experiences with the mole cricket: they can pinch strongly when threatened (e.g. because you hold them in your hand). But don't worry: Mole crickets are neither poisonous nor do they emit a toxin. Even if your dog should eat such an animal, you don't have to worry. However, you should not pick up the animals with your bare hands, but wear sturdy gardening gloves instead: This way you avoid painful pinching.

    Are Mole Crickets Dangerous?

    Male mole crickets in particular fight among themselves during the mating season, sometimes fiercely. For people and pets, however, the insects are absolutely harmless - and also rarely seen, because the slightest tremor pulls them back from the surface of the earth into the ground and flees.

    How old can a mole cricket get?

    Mole crickets get comparatively old: the animals go through various larval and moulting stages in the first year, but are only fully developed in late summer / autumn of the following year. At this point, they are still not sexually mature, but will regain the ability to reproduce the next year - a full two years after hatching from the egg. The animals then live for about another year, so that mole crickets have a total life expectancy of about three years - provided they do not fall victim to one of their numerous predators beforehand.

    Mole, vole or mole cricket - who's digging up my garden?

    When the garden plants seem to wilt for no reason, there can be various reasons behind it. The mole is quite easy to recognize by its characteristic mound of earth, whereby this furry fellow prefers to feed on grubs and beetles - and not on roots and tubers. They are on the menu of the vole, which is a vegetarian and only eats plants. The mole cricket, on the other hand, only occasionally nibbles on tubers and roots, as it prefers to eat insects and their larvae. Nevertheless, a severe infestation leaves carrots, potatoes, etc. - the sheer lack of food tempts the animals to look for vegetable food sources. However, the lively digging activity means that the plants also die without being nibbled on.

    My crossword puzzle asks for the southern German word for mole cricket (with five letters). What's the solution?

    Quite simply: In southern Germany, the animals that are far more common there than in northern Germany are often referred to as "Werre" (plural is "Werren"). This solution is the right one for the crossword puzzle. In addition, mole crickets are also called "dwarfs" in some places. In Switzerland they are known under the name "half devil", in Austria however as "G'schwer".

    tips

    The biennial cruciferous spurge (lat. Euphorbia lathyris) is said to have a deterrent effect on both mole crickets and voles, which is best planted/sown in a partially shaded location in the garden.

Category:

Animals in the garden