Mole Crickets In Centipede

CaptLou – posted 17 May 2004 06:40

Just moved into a house with Centipede grass. Most of the front yard looks good. (Very green with little watering)

To Date:-fertilized with low nitrogen fertilizer (15)-sprayed broadleaf weed killer (worked great)

I have some dead spots in the lawn in the front yard as well as a spongy feel on the side. Also, I have noticed very narrow “trails” (not mole) that snake in the lawn; along with small exit holes. I have a sneaky suspicion that mole crickets are to blame.

Which brings me to three questions:

1. How much iron can I put down without hurting my lawn…one application?2. What is the best way to get rid of mole crickets?3. Is thatching dead spots and putting down centipede plugs worth the trouble? Meaning, what is the success rate of putting sod/plugs in dead spots?

Thanks in advance!

G – Wilmington, NC

jacek – posted 17 May 2004 07:35

Fix the problem first before putting sod.I sodded and resodded dead spots for couple of years only to discover now that I have ground pearls in my centipede!

bamagirl – posted 18 May 2004 11:42

What are ground pearls? I have a one acre lot of sodded centepede that I killed this past fall with fertilizer. Re-sodded in late March (2004) and it looks super! I do worry about all the things cetepede doesn’t tolerate well. Now…ground pearls? Please explain!!

jacek – posted 18 May 2004 15:50

do google search for details.this document has nice pictures:http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/ent/notes/O&T/lawn/note64/note64.html