Kill it, Kill it with Fire!!!

So I am having all kinds of crazy around my home lately!  Last night I was outside with my dogs, it was just after the sun set.  And I heard a noise like a faint buzz saw or something of that nature.  It was a very odd noise but that's the only thing I could associate it with.  I was like what the heck is that?!  I figured a neighbor was doing some late night DIY project or something. 

Flash Forward to this morning...I was again outside with the dogs when I noticed a pile of dirt near one of my stepping stones.  I was still a bit bleary eyed so I was like "is that an ant pile? It doesn't look like an ant pile.  Is that a hole?!  Maybe I should get a closer look."  It looked something like the below.

This is not my picture but I couldn't find any info on the source, sorry.

So as I am bent over looking at this mound I see dirt start moving from the hole...WTH?!  Mind you my dog Convict came over to investigate as well.  As we stared, completely enthralled as to what this was (I was thinking small furry rodent), this is what emerged...

 

 

Photo: http://lepidopteradiary.blogspot.com/2010/04/more-on-mothing.html

 Imagine seeing THAT come out of the ground mere inches from me and my dog.  My thoughts "Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, kill it with fire!!!!!" Convicts response, a huff and a whine.  It looks like some cross between a cricket, some kind of burrowing creature and the bug who cannot be named (ya know the ones I am absolutely terrified of).  I swear it looked right at me.  I picture my reaction being something like....

Meanwhile convict ran off, sacrificing me to the weird insect that just came out of the ground.  Since I didn't have any "Fire" readily available I grabbed the next best thing...a can of wasp spray.  I had it out because we are ALWAYS having issues with wasps.  If it kills wasps surely it will kill this nightmarish thing.  So I sprayed into the burrow...

Feeling very proud of myself for killing the pet of Satan, I did a happy dance...until I looked back at the hole and realized the THING was still alive, bouncing from left to right and was looking at me....*crap crap crap* so I ran inside and admitted defeat. 

I Googled what kind of bug it might be and discovered....its called a Mole Cricket...they are VERY common in the South...and they can wreak havoc on your lawn.  *sobbing* 

http://alltheragefaces.com/face/sad-crying

I just got my lawn back to pre-flood prettiness.  Apparently it is best to catch them early (I am hoping this is the only one but I doubt it).  They are most active in the late evening and early morning so that is when you should treat for them because they are near the surface and easier to kill AND they tend to do their "chirping" in their burrow...OMG the "buzz saw"...the "buzz saw" sound last night was the effing cricket!!! Something in my brain was trying to alert me to this new found foe.

So then I looked up how to kill them since clearly wasp spray does not work.  I saw the usual granular lawn treatment that includes Mole Cricket prevention. Ok cool, guess what I am buying later.  Something caught my eye in one of the results.   They have a natural predator *sweet!*.  Its a black wasp with a red bum that apparently can only be seen during the brightest hours of the day and can kill the mole cricket by laying a parasitic larvae in it that will feed on the host, eventually killing it BUT it doesn't kill the Mole Cricket babies which are very destructive. 

http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/creatures/beneficial/larra_wasps.htm

Wait..that wasp looked familiar...why does that look...Uh no...that strange looking wasp I killed yesterday...the reason the wasp spray was out...it was black with a colored body....CRAP!!!  I hope there are more...

Sometimes I hate nature :P