contents
- Vegetable food
- Natural Pest Control
- Different types of crickets
- field cricket
- mole cricket
- house cricket
- wine chicken
- frequently asked Questions
Real crickets (Gryllidae) belong to the order of the long-fingered crickets (Ensifera) and are usually welcome in the garden. Because they can also become plant pests through their food, garden owners should find out more about what crickets eat.
In a nutshell
- most crickets prefer a vegetarian diet
- Mole cricket is considered a plant pest
- Aphids & Co. common food source for crickets
- Roots endangered only by certain plant species
- depending on the type of cricket also scavengers
Vegetable food
Among the preferred food sources of most species of crickets
- foliage as well
- root
of grasses and herbs. If the offer is extensive, most species mainly use it. If small insects cross their path, they eat them too and thus deviate from the preferred plant food.
Natural Pest Control
By eating leaves, the crickets are in an optimal position to also eat plant pests that have settled there. So they are considered natural predators for
- aphids
- maggots
- larvae
- caterpillars
A notice: Fighting crickets should therefore be well considered, because they do not only eat and dispose of smaller ones Plant pests, but are themselves also preferred food for numerous garden animals, such as Hedgehog and birds.
Different types of crickets
Although all species of crickets eat plant parts and are more or less omnivores count, so they can differ from each other in terms of their other preferred food sources differentiate.
field cricket
The field cricket (Gryllus campestris) is a typical example of a herbivore, im Especially of leaves and herb and grass roots, but occasionally eats smaller ones as well Insects. It stays mainly on sunny dry meadows, on slopes and pine trees. in the Lawn occasionally eats flea beetles and ants. Rarely she attacks cadavers.
mole cricket
In contrast to the field cricket, the mole cricket (Gryllotalpa gryllotalpa) is increasingly classified as a carnivore. Worms, snail eggs and almost all smaller soil creatures are among their victims in the garden. It is often claimed that plant roots are used for their extensive consumption, as is the case with moles. However, this does not correspond to the facts, because they only consume them in an "emergency" when they suffer from a lack of food.
Tip: On the compost heap While crickets, particularly the mole cricket, are more harmful than beneficial, they eat them important microorganisms such as compost worms and thus disrupt the decomposition process on the Compost. In this case, it is advisable to combat the crickets, for example by applying cayenne pepper or keeping the garden areas moist.
house cricket
The house cricket (Acheta domesticus) is not particularly choosy when it comes to choosing what it eats. Unlike most other species, she doesn't even stop at "like-minded people". Your meal plan includes:
- cannibalistic fellows
- Carrion/Carcass
- Plant leaves and roots of any variety
- smaller soil insects
- Kitchen waste and leftover food in the compost
- miscellaneous windfall like apples and pears
- Vegetables in the garden bed such as cucumbers and carrots
A notice: If crickets get into the house, they are regarded as storage and hygiene pests. One Fighting the crickets is advisable.
wine chicken
The grapevine (Oecanthus pellucens), also known as the "blossom cricket", is increasingly being drawn to populated areas. It is considered to be the specimen with the most beautiful and loudest singing, although the latter can become annoying over time. Unlike the other specimens, wine grouse do not stay on the ground all the time, but can be found on higher plants, such as perennials and shrubs.
They especially prefer flowering plants. There they feed mainly on petals and stamens. To cover their protein content, they also consume animal food in the form of aphids, spiders and insect larvae.
frequently asked Questions
Usually not, because they are considered loners. Only during the mating season can several be seen/heared in the garden. Immediately after mating, however, the paths separate again. But even when food is scarce, they are increasingly drawn to gardens rich in plants. A mass occurrence in the sense of a plague is not to be expected. On the contrary, because the field cricket in particular is becoming increasingly rare.
That depends on the type of cricket and the food supply. They can bare plants if there is nothing else in the area to escape to. Mole crickets are definitely plant pests because their feeding behavior has a negative impact on soil quality. If animal food sources are exhausted, it also starts to eat the roots, which leads to the death of affected plants if they are not combated in time.
The native species are usually present in gardens from the beginning/mid-July to around September. The field cricket is an exception. Depending on the weather and temperature, it can be active from mid-April, although the "regular date" is not until May. They fall silent in July. In addition, all of the species that live here are nocturnal and usually only start looking for food at dusk at the earliest. Then they can spend the whole night eating and chirping.