| Key takeaways |
|---|
| • Bifenthrin and fipronil work fastest; treat in June and July when nymphs are small. • Bermudagrass and bahiagrass are hit hardest. • Mole crickets don’t bite or sting, but they wreck lawns. |
How to get rid of mole crickets: apply bifenthrin or fipronil in June or July when nymphs are small. Prefer natural control? Beneficial nematodes work on moist soil in the evening, so time it right or you’ll be doing it twice.
Damage from heavy infestations doesn’t always bounce back on its own. Lawn Love can connect you with local lawn care professionals who can treat the problem and help your lawn recover.
How to get rid of mole crickets
The fastest way to get rid of mole crickets is a contact insecticide such as bifenthrin or fipronil, applied to moist soil in June or July when the nymphs are still small. Prefer a natural route? Beneficial nematodes and neem oil also work when the timing is right.
Don’t underestimate the damage they can cause.
“Mole crickets have become the most destructive insect pest on turf and lawns in Gulf Coast states,” according to Alabama Extension.
Damage and replacement costs run into the millions every year, shredding patches of Bermudagrass and bahiagrass in just a few weeks.
Timing is everything when treating mole crickets. Clemson University recommends treating in June and July, when the crickets are still small and turf damage is minor. Mole crickets mate and lay eggs in spring through early summer, and by late summer the nymphs are full-grown and much harder to kill.
Ben McGraw, professor and program coordinator of Turfgrass Science at Pennsylvania State University, agrees that treating them in the early stages is key.
“For most insect pests (mole crickets, sod webworms, and armyworms), targeted insecticide applications timed to young larval stages are most effective,” he says.
Chemical mole cricket killers (most effective)
Choose an insecticide product with one of these active ingredients:
| Active ingredient | How it works | Best for |
| Bifenthrin (e.g., Talstar) | Fast-acting contact killer; comes as a liquid or granules, watered in after application | Nymphs near the surface |
| Fipronil | Broad-spectrum contact insecticide; sold as granules | Both nymphs and adults |
| Imidacloprid | Systemic insecticide absorbed into the turf; slower than contact products | Young nymphs |
Apply granules or spray to moist soil in the evening, when mole crickets come up to feed.
Mole cricket bait is another chemical option. Bait granules are laced with insecticide that crickets eat while foraging at night. Scatter them at dusk and skip watering for a few days so the bait doesn’t wash away, then reapply after rain.
Organic mole cricket control
If you’d rather skip chemical insecticides, a few natural options are available:
Beneficial nematodes: These microscopic worms hunt down mole cricket nymphs in warm, moist soil. Apply right after rain or watering, in the morning or evening, since UV rays kill nematodes. They start killing crickets within 24 to 48 hours.
Neem oil: Mix neem oil with water and spray on areas with cricket activity. It interferes with feeding and reproduction and is safe for people, pets, and pollinators.
Soapy water flush: Mix 2 tablespoons of dish soap per gallon of water and pour onto active spots in the evening. Crickets will surface, and you can pick them off. This works best to confirm activity, not as a full treatment.
Pro tip: Neem oil works best as a backup to other treatments or for small infestations. It won’t wipe out a heavy mole cricket population on its own.
Read more: Best Organic Pest Control Options for Your Lawn
Professional pest control
For big infestations or repeat problems, call a licensed pro. Pest control companies know the right products, the right concentrations, and the right timing for your region. That regional know-how is often the difference between a clean kill and a wasted treatment season.
Read more: How to Use Beneficial Nematodes for Pest Control
What do mole crickets look like?
Knowing what you are dealing with saves you from treating the wrong pest. Mole crickets have a gray-brown, velvety body about an inch long, with wide, shovel-like front legs built for digging. Adults have wings and can fly, while younger nymphs look like smaller, wingless versions of the adults.
Tawny mole cricket: the most damaging species in the Southeast, feeding heavily on grass roots and shoots
Southern mole cricket: more of a predator that feeds on other insects, so it does less turf damage
Short-winged mole cricket: found mostly along the coast and unable to fly, which keeps it in one place
A native northern mole cricket also turns up in cooler areas, but it rarely causes the kind of lawn damage the southern species are known for.
Signs of mole crickets in your lawn
Before you treat, make sure it’s mole crickets and not moles. The damage looks similar, but the treatments are completely different.
“They misidentify and perform wrong treatments, causing a delay in solving the problem,” says Daniel Banting, technician at Native Pest Management in West Palm Beach, Florida.
Mole crickets are nocturnal and live underground, so damage often shows up before you ever see one. Watch for these signs:
Raised tunnels and mounds: spongy, raised ridges or small piles of loose soil pushed up as they burrow
Brown or dead patches: irregular dead spots that won’t recover with watering, because the roots underneath have been cut
Uprooted seedlings: especially in newly seeded areas
Low chirping at dusk: males chirp for about an hour after sunset during mating season
Try the soapy water test to confirm. Mix 2 tablespoons of dish soap per gallon of water and pour over a 1-square-foot area. If mole crickets surface within a few minutes, you have an active infestation.
Pro tip: Mole crickets love areas with heavy thatch and lawns near trees, decks, and patios. Thatch gives overwintering adults a warm place to hide.
Read more:
How to prevent mole crickets
Three things attract mole crickets: warm-season grasses, thick thatch, and moist soil. That covers most Southeast lawns.
Reduce thatch. Thick thatch shelters overwintering adults. Dethatching in the fall takes that shelter away and helps your turf.
Listen in late spring. Low chirping about an hour after sunset means males are calling. Catch them early, and you can treat during the effective June and July window.
Encourage natural predators. Birds, ground beetles, bats, and lizards all eat mole crickets. A bird-friendly yard has a built-in advantage.
Plant pentas around your lawn. White-flowered pentas attract Larra bicolor wasps, which the University of Florida (UF/IFAS) introduced to Florida to hunt mole crickets. The wasps don’t sting people and forage at least 200 yards from a nectar source.
Lawns that have had mole crickets once tend to get them again. The same conditions that drew them the first time will pull them right back. Prevention works far better than treatment, especially for lawns with a history.
Read more: Integrated Pest Management for the Lawn
FAQs
No, mole crickets are harmless to people and pets. They have no stinger and no venom, so they can’t sting or seriously hurt you. Your lawn is the only victim.
Yes. Adult mole crickets fly toward outdoor lights at night and burrow into the moist soil nearby to mate, so new infestations often start around porch lights, streetlights, or landscape lighting.
Yes. Adult mole crickets fly during mating season in spring and early summer, which is how they spread to new lawns that have never had a mole cricket problem before.
Usually not completely; the realistic goal is reducing the population, not eradication. Well-timed summer treatments plus prevention keep numbers low enough for your turf to recover and stay healthy.
Hire a local lawn care pro
Mole crickets leave damage behind: bare patches, weakened roots, thinning turf. Getting your lawn healthy again often takes aeration, overseeding, or reseeding. Lawn Love can connect you with local lawn care professionals who handle that kind of repair. Free instant quote, vetted local pro, done.
Main Image: A mole cricket (Gryllotalpa sp.) crawls across mossy soil. Photo Credit: antasfoto / Adobe Stock
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