Crickets & Mint Plants

What Are Mole Crickets

• Mole crickets are a variety of cricket not native to the US. These crickets were imported to the U.S. on trade ships and quickly adapted to and populated the environment. Since they are not a domestic cricket, these insects have no natural enemy in the U.S. and are free to reproduce and infest gardens at will. Mole crickets have brown bodies and, when examined up close, have an appearance similar to moles, hence their name. There are several varieties of the mole cricket, including short-winged mole cricket, the tawny mole cricket and the southern mole cricket.

Damage

• Mole crickets damage every part of a mint plant by feeding on the leaves and stems above ground and the roots below ground. Young mint plants and seedling mint plants stand little chance against a mole cricket infestation, as these pests quickly consume the plant, leaving little behind for regeneration. Furthermore, mole crickets tunnel beneath the surface of the soil, uprooting and dislodging nearby mint plants and causing those plants to dehydrate and die. Occasionally the crickets pull parts of a mint plant, or a whole mint plant if it is small, into a tunnel and feed upon it there.

Control

• Introduction of beneficial insects into your garden helps reduce mole cricket populations. The sphecid wasp, larra wasp and nematodes all help whittle down mole cricket numbers, though these beneficial insects do not eliminate crickets completely. Spraying mint plants with insecticides labeled specifically for crickets helps kill off mole crickets. Both liquid and granular insecticides are effective in controlling the crickets. Natural and chemical pesticides containing oil are effective as the oil sticks to a cricket's body and exposes it to the pesticide on a long-term basis. However oily pesticides may harm your mint if used improperly so always follow label instructions.

Prevention

• Killing mole crickets is not the only way to keep them out of your mint. Preventive measures go a long way toward banishing mole crickets for good. Mole crickets love moist environments similar to the environment mint prefers. Though this cannot be changed, you can eliminate weeds, unwanted plants and clumps of grass or debris near your mint where crickets may live. Treat the ground with pesticides and treat mulch with pesticides, as well. Cover the treated ground with treated mulch to drive crickets away. Mint grows all over the place once established, so keep your plant properly pruned and harvested so that you can easily see a mole cricket infestation when it begins, allowing for faster treatment.