Hello Jean,

You dumped them? Were they pretty much destroyed? Unless they get rot or the growing tip is eaten away, many can recover. Crickets do eat the rhizomes, but here katydids do the same and are much more thorough about eating the whole rhizome. Cyfluthrin in a strong solution will do a number on the katydids and crickets. It works on grasshoppers as well but the last are a lot more mobile and much harder to control. 'Hoppers pretty much confine their diet to the foliage, though, not the rhizomes like crickets and katydids. They are bad currently and the barb wire fence between the yard and the pasture is not a deterrant. I can only limit the damage, not eliminate it. But doing so has pretty much wiped out the katydids and many of the crickets.

I hate using it because it kills some things I'd prefer to keep. Praying Mantis e.g. On the other hand it seems to have no effect at all on spiders and a few other things of no consequence.

Donald Eaves
d*@eastland.net
Texas Zone 7b, USA

--- In i*@yahoogroups.com, "Jean Sturtevant" <jms1027@...> wrote:
>
> A while back someone mentioned that crickets were doing some damage to her
> irises. I think I might have had some trouble too.
> Does anyone have a photo of such damage? I've already dumped my damaged
> ones; that's why I'm asking.
> The damage seems to be like a bit of the fleshy part of the rhizome has been
> eaten away. Any does this damage the rhizome beyond repair?
> Thanks for any information in advance.
>
> Jean in KY
>