Mormon Cricket - Control

Control

Mormon crickets are preyed upon by a wide variety of birds and mammals. These predators include California Gulls, crows, coyotes and various rodents. They were also eaten by Native Americans. There are no predators that specialize on Mormon crickets, which may be explained by the cricket's migratory habits and large population fluctuations.

The most common chemical control method used is carbaryl (typically sold as "Sevin") bait. This bait kills both the Mormon crickets that eat the bait, and the crickets that eat crickets that eat the bait. Insecticides applied directly to crops may kill the insects, but due to the large size of swarms this method usually does not save the crop from being destroyed.

As Mormon crickets are flightless, physical barriers may be effective. Barriers should be at least two feet high and made of a smooth material. Recently, residents of some small towns have been effectively using boom boxes and sound systems playing hard rock music to divert the moving swarms away from crops and houses. Music seems to deter the insects, although it is unknown if the result is due to the music or the heavy vibrations.

Read more about this topic:  Mormon Cricket

Famous quotes containing the word control:

    Above and beyond paying attention to feelings before and after a separation, never threaten your child with leaving or loss of love in an effort to control her behavior. Children believe their parents’ assertions that “I will send you away,” “I won’t love you any more,” “I’ll go away,” and are terrified with good reason. Fear is a very poor way of disciplining a child, and it can cause severe lifelong anxiety.
    Alicia F. Lieberman (20th century)

    We as a nation need to be reeducated about the necessary and sufficient conditions for making human beings human. We need to be reeducated not as parents—but as workers, neighbors, and friends; and as members of the organizations, committees, boards—and, especially, the informal networks that control our social institutions and thereby determine the conditions of life for our families and their children.
    Urie Bronfenbrenner (b. 1917)

    I am the center of the world, but the control panel seems to be somewhere else.
    Mason Cooley (b. 1927)