Crickets Are Not Music To My EarsCrickets do not really “chirp” in the sense that birds chirp. The chirping noise they make comes from rubbing their legs together. If you have a whole yard-full of them, the chirping is not charming. Though it might be music to your ears — to a garden gnome’s sensitive ears it can be deafening. However, the chirping is not the worst part. They also like to chew, and therein lies the problem. Cricket Life CyclesThe key to successfully controlling insect populations lies in understanding their life cycles. They can produce up to three generations in warm climates in a single year. Their life cycle is termed “incomplete metamorphosis,” because, just as it sounds, they do not go through complete metamorphosis—all of stages of the life cycle. Adult females lay eggs, which hatch after 15-20 days into nymphs. The nymphs go through about 9-12 instars (stages where they grow larger) and then become adults. Many species over-winter as eggs, only to become a problem again in the next year.Garden DamageMost damage happens in houses, but they can also be quite destructive outside. They mainly like to chew young, tender plants. They also make gardening unpleasant in large numbers because they, well, just get in the way. Nobody likes to be weeding or planting and have dozens of these guys bounding around them. Years with drought generally result in larger populations and problems. The lack of moisture means fewer fungi to attach their eggs to. Additionally, in times of drought, they will eat more of your plants in order to get more water.Control MethodsThe best ways to control them in the garden are cultural methods. Cats like to eat crickets, as do lizards and birds. Maintaining a healthy population of these predators is the least expensive and easiest way to keep cricket population under control. You can also keep them away from your garden by turning off any outside lighting in the garden at night when you are not in the garden. Outside lights draw them to the garden or the home like moths to a flame.Another control method, if you have a large population, is to deploy cricket-eating nematodes. Plant eating nematodes are very detrimental to any garden. These are a different type of nematodes. You buy them in a powdery mix that you blend with water and spray on your soil. The two most commonly available genera of nematodes for insect control are Steinernema and Heterorhabditis. They will continue to live and reproduce in the soil, remaining an effective control for several years. In order for nematodes to be happy and keep working for you, they do need lots to eat, so it is best to use them only if you have a fairly large cricket population . If you aren’t certain if you have reached that threshold, ask your resident garden gnome. If he or she is not getting much sleep due to the noise, he or she will be grumpy and only too happy to alert you! Happy gardening, Geefrank
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