A natural way to control mole crickets. The Partridge Pea is a favorite plant of the small larra wasp. This tiny wasp ( not agressive to humans ) will help control mole crickets in your yard, vegetable garden or anywhere they may be a problem.
The University of Florida has made a wonderful presentation on how this works, please visit their Larra Wasp, the mole cricket hunters web page for a great look at the wasps in action. Besides the benefit of killing mole crickets naturally, this is also a very attractive plant to grow for it's appearence, and as a pollinator plant. These sunny yellow blooms show off all summer long. This annual plant likes sandy soil, and the seeds are attractive to partridges, bobwhite, and quail.
This nitrogen-fixing legume often grows in recently burned prairie soil, helping to rebuild the nutrients of the soil until slower growing plants have become established; it has also been used to provide erosion control on riverbanks, sandy slopes, or bluffs. Its seed pods attract many wild birds including partridges, explaining its common name of Partridge Pea. In addition to being a good source of nectar for honeybees, this plant is a larval host for Sulphur, Gray Hairstreak, Ceraunus Blue, and Sleepy Orange species of butterfly. Its sensitive foliage wilts slightly when touched or brushed against.
Plants grow about 24-36 inches tall, hardy for zones 3-9.