Written and edited by Tammy 20th February 2023
Enjoying the peace and tranquillity of a warm bath last night, I listened to the crickets chirping outside, then smiled to myself thinking of the movie "The Castle" and that famous line...."How's the serenity".
I thought, they're having a wonderful old time out there, a thriving community of them, what do they eat and where do they hide when they're not entertaining me chirping their little hearts out.
Black Field Crickets (Teleogryllus commodus) are closely related to grasshoppers and locusts. With their shiny black armour and powerful front legs, they are burrowers, making their homes under ground and consequently their primary source of food is the roots of your lawn.
If yellow dead patches appear in your lawn, you could be suspicious of crickets.
Opportunistic scavengers, newly planted veggie seedlings aren't exempt from their diet either, they'll chomp them off at the stems.
Fortunately, they have a few natural predators that are probably there in your yard already too. Birds, lizards, possum's, mice and rats (not that you want mice and rats either) spiders and parasitic wasps all have crickets on their hit lists, so hopefully they'll be keeping on top of the numbers for you.
You might even find you pets will seek them out, catch them and kill them purely for the thrill of the chase and entertainment.
I'm always amused in the late afternoons taking the washing off the line, watching my little JR terrier hunt for them in the lawn, she loves it.
When you hear them active at night it's probably as good a time as any to go out with a torch, find them and squish them.
As a last resort if you are struggling with an infestation of them there are a couple of products you can try.
"Yates Baythroid Insects in Lawns" comes in a 200ml concentrate and is probably a good one as it controls more than just crickets. Another product to look for, a granular comes in a 1 kg box "David Grays Cricket and Grasshopper killer Bait".
Always make chemical intervention your last resort only after exhausting all other options and be sure to carefully use and apply the products as per the manufacturer's directions on the labels.
Vigilance is always a virtue, keep an ear and an eye out for them, particularly in a few more weeks' time when those new seasons little Brassica seedlings go in.
Have a wonderful Monday! 😘🌸🪴
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