How to kill the onion scorpion or mole cricket

More and more people decide to put their own vegetable garden at home, either to save money, for hobby or to enjoy the magnificent taste of vegetables free of chemical fertilizers. But sometimes this doesn't turn out the way we wanted because of insects, rodents or birds that spoil our work. Today in Taxus Reels we are going to tell you how kill the onion scorpion, the worst enemy of your garden.

Characteristics of the onion scorpion

The onion scorpion, also known as cricket talpa, royal cricket, mole cricket or by its scientific name Gryllotalpa gryllotalpa, is an orthopteran insect, as is the case with other insects such as grasshoppers or locusts. Males measure around 5cm, while females can reach 7cm. They have some fairly large front legs compared to their size, which use to digsince they live underground.

habitat of the Gryllotalpa gryllotalpa

This insect, so harmful to our crops, is native to North Africa and Western Europe, including the entire Iberian Peninsula. Currently, it is also present in East Asia, South America and some parts of the United States.

The dangers of this insect for our orchard

Although their appearance may seem quite intimidating, these insects are completely harmless to humans. The same does not happen with our crops. And it is that the onion scorpion digs in the ground to lay its eggs, which is very harmful to our garden. In addition, they feed on earthworms, other insects, but also on roots, and it is for this reason that they cause so many problems in our crops.

How to fight the onion scorpion or mole cricket

Here are some tips to put an end to this type of pest in your crops, an annoying insect that can spoil all the time we have invested in our garden.

Natural control methods

One way to control this pest naturally is to use nematode parasites in the spring months. These parasites will prevent the development of the onion scorpion eggs, but they can also kill these insects in their adult stage. If these parasites infect the onion scorpion, these pests will disappear in a maximum of 10 days.

Another natural method to eliminate these pests is the use of crabronid wasps, which lay their eggs in the body of the mole cricket and their larvae feed on its blood. Also, when these wasps become adults they eat their host. To attract this type of wasps, which do not attack humans, we can plant plants such as diodia virginiana or Chamaecrista fasciculata.

Chemical control methods

There are many treatments capable of ending the onion scorpion. Most of these are bait treatments. These are generally based on active ingredients such as bifenthrin, carbaryl, imidacloprid, gamma-cyhalothrin, deltamethrin Y permethrin. Many of the insecticides used to kill these insects have been banned by the European Union. For this reason, we offer you a home chemical treatment that you can use to kill this orthoptera insect. This treatment consists of applying potassium soap mixed with water in the excavations made by this insect in your garden. The proportion of the mixture will be 30cc of soap for every 5 liters of water. In this way we will get the onion scorpion out of hiding and we can capture it.

If you want to put an end to a plague of onion scorpions that is present in your garden, Contact us and end this pest quickly by hand the best professionals in biosecurity and disinfection.