CRICKETS
There are at least 70 different species of crickets in southern Africa, many of which have well developed sound producing organs on their fore wings. These organs enable the crickets to stridulate or ‘chirp’ to attract mates and maintain territories. The most common cricket pest in Zimbabwe is the Brown cricket. They are large (25mm), dark brown with tan areas. They are often heard in the evenings as the males ‘chirp’ by rubbing their two wings together. They typically destroy grass in a circular pattern around a two-holed burrow which they excavate in your lawn. This hole acts as a refuge during the day and a resonating chamber during the night. During the winter months, crickets appear to become more active as their burrow sites and surrounding dead grass patches become more noticeable. This is because the lawn is not growing as vigorously, with less water and lower ambient temperatures of the winter months. The young crickets are reaching their final instar stages of development going into spring which also makes cricket activity more apparent.
How serious is a cricket problem?
Cricket infestations left unchecked will destroy your lawn in time. Stressed lawn from cricket activity allows the encroachment of stubborn broad-leaved weeds that are very hard to control. Termites are also attracted to grass clippings from cricket feeding activity.
What are the signs of a cricket problem?
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Patchy lawn with circular patches of clipped grass, with a central hole or two holes.
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Lawn that gets abundant sunlight is typically the most favoured habitat for infestation.
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Lawn on raised slopes in sunny areas is prime real estate for brown crickets
What we will do
Cricket control can be tricky, especially because of the nature of their life cycle. Often people attempt to control them by pouring ‘surf’ into their burrows. This will kill some of the adults but it does not affect the instar larvae or the eggs and is essentially a waste of time. We have the solution for your cricket infestation; with the safest most advanced products available, our cricket treatments are highly effective. The treatment is also safe for birds and other beneficial, non-target organisms such as earthworms and black ants. You will not be disappointed with the results.