Control of Mole Cricket Nymphs with Insecticide-Treated Baits, 1997

Abstract

Abstract The efficacy of several bait formulations was evaluated for the control of mole cricket nymphs in a field test on a bermudagrass fairway at the Fox Squirrel Country Club in Brunswick Co, NC. Plots 16 X 16 ft were established in an area heavily infested with mole crickets. Treatments with four replicates were randomly assigned to the plots in a CRBD. All insecticides were applied late in the day on 17 Sep under sunny skies. The 4-inch soil temperature was 83°F and all formulations tested were applied using a Republic EZ Handspreader®. The fairway irrigation system was used to moisten the soil in the test area prior to application. The Talstar 0.2 G was applied to the appropriate plots and then the entire test site received 0.25 inch of water as post-irrigation for this treatment. The turf surface was allowed to dry before appropriate amounts of each bait were applied to the plots. The fairway irrigation system was turned off to prevent irrigation of the area on the first night of the test. Soil at the test site is classified as Kureb fine sand with a pH of 5.8 and 0.56% humic matter. Soapy water flush sampling indicate that the fairway population was approximately 85% Southern and 15% Tawny mole crickets. Plots were evaluated for fresh damage on 23 Sep (6 DAT) and 1 Oct (14 DAT) using the damage grid evaluation method of Mack and Cobb (1989). A m2 grid divided into nine sections was randomly placed in each plot and a damage rating (0-9) given based on the occurrence of fresh damage in the nine subsections (with 0 = no damage and 9 = severe damage). Five damage ratings were made in each plot on each sampling date. The actual damage means are reported in the Table. All data were transformed x + 0.5 prior to ANOVA and Tukey’s Studentized Range Test.