Mole Cricket Project — 2010

What is this project?

This is a demonstration project to show Florida ranchers how they may use non-chemical methods to control pest mole crickets in their pastures. It is funded for the calendar year 2010.

Pest mole crickets are large soil-dwelling insects that cause more than $100 million yearly in damage to pastures in Florida. The good news is that pest mole crickets have new natural enemies in Florida: beneficial wasps and beneficial nematodes. You can attract these beneficial wasps to your pastures by adding certain host plants. You can buy and apply the beneficial nematodes. Or, you can do both. But there is no real point in doing either unless your pasture is being badly damaged by mole crickets. So, first we deal with how to detect a mole cricket problem.

How do you detect a mole cricket problem?

Check your pasture to determine whether it is infested with mole crickets. Signs are patches of dead grass, and tunnels visible on the soil surface. After a hard rain when the soil is wet, in an area of 2 x 2 ft where you suspect mole crickets are present, pour a solution of one tablespoon of liquid dishwashing detergent in one gallon of water. If four or more mole crickets come to the surface within 3 minutes, and the same happens at other places in the pasture, you have justification for action. We recommend that you make a 2 x 2 ft square quadrat out of half-inch pvc pipe because that makes it much easier to define a 2 x 2 ft area.

Who are the participating county livestock extension agents?

COUNTY AGENT
COUNTY
E-MAIL
 OFFICE PHONE MOBILE PHONE
Cindy Sanders Alachua sanders1@ufl.edu 352-955-2402
Joe Walter Brevard jwalter@ufl.edu 321-633-1702 407-948-8810
Ed Jennings Citrus, Hernando, Pasco, Sumter edjennin@ufl.edu 352-521-4288 352-206-9195
David Nistler Clay dnistler@ufl.edu 904-284-6355 904-716-7266
Brad Burbaugh Duval brad784@ufl.edu 904-387-8850 904-400-5518
Mark Warren Flagler, Putnam, St. Johns mwwarren@ufl.edu 386-437-7464
Randy Gornto Highlands rgornto@ufl.edu 863-402-6540
Doug Mayo Jackson demayo@ufl.edu 850-482-9620
Christa Kirby Manatee ccarlson@ufl.edu 941-722-4524
Mark Shuffitt Marion jmsh@ufl.edu 352-671-8400
Steve Gaul Nassau sgaul@ufl.edu 904-879-1019
Pat Hogue Okeechobee beefman@ufl.edu 863-763-6469
Randy Bateman Osceola Rbat2@osceola.org 321-697-3000 321-624-3040
Bridget Carlisle Polk bccarlis@ufl.edu 863-519-8677 863-797-5108
Elena Toro Suwannee etoro@ufl.edu 386-362-2771 352-219-1191
Sharon Gamble Volusia sgamble@ufl.edu 386-822-5778

Others who have and are being very helpful to the project are: Scott Taylor (UF/IFAS Hastings Research and Demonstration Site), Reyna Speckmann and John Arthington (UF/IFAS Range Cattle Research Station, Ona), and Yoana Newman (UF/IFAS Agronomy Department, Gainesville) whose ambition is to extend the project to benefit dairy farmers.

Biological Controls

What is new about this project?

We are dedicated to putting down pest mole crickets everywhere in Florida — not just on your property — but everywhere and permanently.

Updated 07/14/10

Knowledgebase Menu

Main Menu