How to identify them

Mole crickets are light brown, an inch or more long, with a velvety body and, most distinctively, broad shovel-like front legs built for digging — like a tiny mole. They spend most of their lives underground, so they are more often known by their damage than by sight, though adults fly to lights in large numbers during spring mating flights.

Behavior and biology in South Florida

Mole crickets tunnel through the top inch or two of soil, feeding on grass roots and, in some species, the blades. Their tunneling loosens and dries the soil, severing roots and creating raised, spongy trails you can feel underfoot. The result is irregular brown, thinning, and dying patches that spread as the population grows.

They are among the most damaging turf pests in Florida, hitting bahiagrass and bermudagrass especially hard but affecting other lawns too. Adults fly and mate in spring, females lay eggs in the soil, and the young nymphs feed and tunnel through the warm months, with damage often peaking in late summer.

Signs of an infestation

• Raised, spongy tunnels you can feel when walking the lawn
• Irregular brown, thinning, and dying patches of turf
• Soil that feels loose and dries out quickly in affected areas
• Large brown crickets flying to lights in spring

Why they are a problem

Mole crickets can devastate a lawn, and because the damage is done underground at the roots, turf can decline noticeably before the cause is identified. Left unchecked, tunneling and root feeding kill grass in expanding patches, and secondary damage comes from animals digging up the turf to eat the crickets.

How Bugsy’s treats mole crickets

Timing and targeting are everything with mole crickets. Our technicians assess the activity and damage, and treat when the crickets are most vulnerable — targeting the young nymphs and active tunneling zones — rather than reacting only to mature adults. We factor in the turf type and the seasonal life cycle so treatment lands when it will do the most good.

Preventing mole crickets

• Watch for spring flight activity as an early warning of egg-laying
• Keep turf healthy and well-rooted so it better tolerates feeding
• Monitor known trouble spots through the summer for early tunneling
• Address populations while nymphs are small rather than after major damage
• Coordinate treatment timing with the lawn’s grass type and the cricket life cycle

At a glance

Turf pestTunneling damageShovel forelegsFlies to lights