Thursday, May. 14, 2009

Common garden pests and what to do about them

Moles, mole crickets and earthworms

As spring takes us back out into our yards, some of us have noticed mounds of dirt and tunnels disrupting our still not-so-pretty spring lawns. The heaps and swells of earth may be the work of moles, mole crickets or earthworms. The evidence they leave may appear similar, but they are entirely different critters.

When earthworms wiggle their way to the surface, they leave little piles of dirt that look like crumbs of soil. There is no evidence of a tunnel associated with their work, and the amount of soil they unearth is not significant. Earthworm activity is actually good for your yard because it aerates the soil.

Mole crickets are insects. Some species feed on grass roots, while other species damage turf as a result of their tunneling. Their tunnels loosen soil and expose roots to air which dries the roots and kills the grass. Small excavated clods (as opposed to crumbs) of soil and the swell of narrow (an inch or so) tunnels are evidence of mole cricket activity. Mole crickets damage turf and need to be treated with a pesticide.

The insects are most effectively treated late May and June, when they are in the nymph stage, after their eggs have hatched. Treatment this time of year kills the nymphs before they can develop into adults that will continue their egg-laying cycle. You may also treat your lawn for mole crickets in late August and September. Late summer/early fall mole cricket control is less effective. Read labels when choosing an insecticide and follow label directions.

For more detailed information on mole crickets, see http://entweb.clemson.edu.

Moles are small insect eating mammals that tunnel underground in search of grubs, beetles, beetle larvae, spiders and other insects. Surface evidence of moles takes the form of mounds of clodded soil and the visible path (6 inches wide) of their tunnels. The only way to effectively rid your yard of moles is to kill them, and that is easier said than done. Traps and baits require shrewdly placed installation which may be as often a miss as a hit.

Unhappily for the gardener, spring is about more than planting lovely flowers.