The devastating power of European mole cricket

Root vegetables are very healthy and many of us know that and love root vegetables. If you manage to grow celery for example, which is not the easiest thing to do, you want your celery to be healthy and strong of course. But sometimes, you pull it out of the ground and the only thing you find is a piece of the tuber. The rest is gone. Usually, this is the fault of the European mole cricket. This pest can definitely destroy your crops. Check the picture below. It is amazing. In any case, you should definitely learn as much as you can about this pest so you can fight it.

Almost an omnivore

The mole will eat almost anything that stands in its way and that includes above-ground and underground parts of plants and roots. The mole destroys anything in its path not because it wants to eat it, but simply because it gets in its nest building way. And when it does, your plants wither, fade away and become useless.

Photo: Radek Štěpán

Photo: Pixabay

Typical corridors

The mole is a great and caring mother who tries to dig out paths and nests. The nest is approximately 10 to 20 cm below the ground. The nest contains eggs laid by the female during May and June. But the European mole cricket can cause damages throughout the entire season because the nest may contain up to 300 eggs and the larvae hatch in about a month and leave the nest in the next month.

Photo: Pixabay

How can you get rid of the European mole cricket?

You can set up traps. Burry larger containers in the ground such as glasses or boxes. Place several bars at least 2 cm high next to the containers. The wooden bars must reach above the neck of the container. When moles leave their corridors at night they get caught in the containers. When that happens, you take the catch somewhere far into nature next to riverbanks or to the forest. In short, where it won’t cause any damage. You may also use dishwashing liquid when catching moles. Drop 1 to 2 drops of dishwashing liquid into the nest and then fill it with water. Wait until the dazed mole comes to the surface and catch it.You can recognize the little corridors easily by the cracked soil. Just for information, a hedgehog is a great enemy of the European mole cricket.

Preview photo: Pixabay