Bulbs
Flower Basics
Flower Beds & Specialty Gardens
Flower Garden
Garden Furniture
Garden Gnomes
Garden Seeds
Garden Sheds
Garden Statues
Garden Tools & Supplies
Gardening Basics
Green & Organic
Groundcovers & Vines
Growing Annuals
Growing Basil
Growing Beans
Growing Berries
Growing Blueberries
Growing Cactus
Growing Corn
Growing Cotton
Growing Edibles
Growing Flowers
Growing Garlic
Growing Grapes
Growing Grass
Growing Herbs
Growing Jasmine
Growing Mint
Growing Mushrooms
Orchids
Growing Peanuts
Growing Perennials
Growing Plants
Growing Rosemary
Growing Roses
Growing Strawberries
Growing Sunflowers
Growing Thyme
Growing Tomatoes
Growing Tulips
Growing Vegetables
Herb Basics
Herb Garden
Indoor Growing
Landscaping Basics
Landscaping Patios
Landscaping Plants
Landscaping Shrubs
Landscaping Trees
Landscaping Walks & Pathways
Lawn Basics
Lawn Maintenance
Lawn Mowers
Lawn Ornaments
Lawn Planting
Lawn Tools
Outdoor Growing
Overall Landscape Planning
Pests, Weeds & Problems
Plant Basics
Rock Garden
Rose Garden
Shrubs
Soil
Specialty Gardens
Trees
Vegetable Garden
Yard Maintenance
How to Kill Moles & Crickets
How to Kill Moles & Crickets. Moles and crickets can both cause much trouble to your garden. Moles make an underground tunnel system and use it to colonize and multiply. From below, they eat and destroy roots and bulbs. Crickets can also run rampant because they lay their eggs and before you know it, you have hundreds of crickets invading the...
Moles and crickets can both cause much trouble to your garden. Moles make an underground tunnel system and use it to colonize and multiply. From below, they eat and destroy roots and bulbs. Crickets can also run rampant because they lay their eggs and before you know it, you have hundreds of crickets invading the garden. They are very difficult to manage and get rid of.
Things You'll Need
Mole traps
Long stick
Mole gas or poison
Garden hose
1 cup of Murphy's Oil Soap
1/4 cup of cayenne pepper
1 ounce of castor oil
Cones or screened boxes
Insecticide
Cricket bait
Moles
Identify mole tunnels by looking for piles of soil. Insert a long stick into the mounds to see if the ground has an open space below. This indicates that the moles dig in that location.
Lay a trap in the tunnel that impales or chokes the animal. Put it in the middle of the passageway so that the mole has to step into it.
Use poison to kill the moles if your state does not permit the use of traps. Get poisoned bait that contains bromethalin. The bait looks like earthworms, which is what moles typically eat. Put the bait in the tunnel so the moles eat it. It will kill them within 24 hours.
Mix 1 ounce of castor oil with 1 cup of Murphy's Oil Soap and 1/4 cup of cayenne pepper. Combine the three ingredients with water in a 2-to-1 mixture. Fill a spray bottle with the poisonous solution and spray it in the areas the moles go. You can also pour it right into the tunnel.
Crickets
Pick up crickets by hand and kill them if there are not too many. Simply squash them between your fingers.
Protect your gardens with a screened box or cones. Crickets will eat through plastic row covers or cloth, however, so make sure the material is one that they cannot consume.
Keep a border of tall grass or plants around your garden. This will trap the crickets and keep them from migrating to your plants. If you mow the grass or allow it to become dried out, however, the pests will descend onto the garden.
Treat the pests with an insecticide at the start of the season. It's easiest to kill them when they are young nymphs as opposed to waiting until they grow into adults. Follow the product instructions.
Apply a bait that contains carbaryl to the perimeter of your garden before crickets invade. These chemicals work for a few days and will become ineffective when it rains or you water the garden. Reapply, according to the label instructions, if the migrations continue to be an issue.
Tips & Warnings
Call in an exterminator if you have too many crickets or moles to handle on your own.
Buy traps at hardware stores.
Keep children and pets away from poisons.
Do not rely on insecticides once crickets invade your garden.
Be careful when handling traps.
