Killer Crickets (was Mysterious Holes)
- To: Multiple recipients of list <i*@rt66.com>
- Subject: Killer Crickets (was Mysterious Holes)
- From: "* G* C* <j*@erols.com>
- Date: Fri, 7 Mar 1997 16:54:59 -0700 (MST)
Rick Tasco/Roger Duncan wrote:
>
> Crickets??
>
> Maybe the crickets here in California are different and we have them by
> the hordes, but we have never, ever, even once had cricket damage in our
> field of tens of thousands of rhizomes.
> . . .
> Can't understand unless crickets are much more damaging in other parts
> of the country. And others can't possibly have that many more crickets
> than we do! And I'm not counting the grasshopper swarms we have either,
> I'm talking about crickets.
>
> Hope you all solve the problems, we can't offer any advice because they
> do us NO harm at all--knock on wood!
>
Rick -- Count your blessings (obviously, your crickets are innumerable)!
We have several kinds of crickets, but the ones eating my irises are the
standard, big, black, shiny ones. I have raised irises for 23 years now,
and, as I mentioned, this problem only became apparent in my gardens
about 3 years ago. It's serious for me because a seedling's single
rhizome can be damaged more quickly and severely than an established
plant. I can't see evidence so far that they prefer younger plants to
older ones -- just that the younger ones are more vulnerable. So, enjoy
the chirping of your benign California crickets, and hopefully you will
never find one astride one of your rhizomes having a midnight snack.
Griff Crump, near Mount Vernon, VA jgcrump@erols.com
