Do you have any idea about it?? Well let’s know about it aren’t you interested so what is the wait for let’s get started. Jerusalem crickets also known as potato bugs native of Mexico belonging from animalia kingdom and family of stenopelmatoidea. These potato bugs are not noxious but emit a very disgusting smell and their bite is very painful.
But there is also a fact it bites only when tormented and most of the time it is underneath. It feeds on small insects. After mating the female eats the male potato bug. They have been named as potato farmer because they are fond in digging beneath the dirty potato plants. Coming to the overall look of potato bug it is a stripped insect with orange and black strips.
You may be thinking why potato bug??so let me clear it these insects do not eat potato and do not get confused with their names. They have an ant like appearance with long antennas looking somewhat like combination of an ant and a wasp. The potato bug is a wingless insect which means they do not have the ability to fly.
The potato bug can grow up to 6 cm. The potato bug is also known as monster because if their dangerous appearance. Other than potato bug, Jerusalem cricket they are called stone cricket because they are also found underneath the stones They are also known as shiny bug, earth insect, shunk bugs etc. Let us now come to the detailed knowledge of the potato bug.
These bugs too communicate in their own way and the most coming method of their communication is the hissing sound which they produce, or they also rub their wings. The most part of the communication occurs when the male and the female mate and they produce vibrations.
Potato Bug Bite
As earlier mentioned, potato bug is not lethal insect but the structure of their body which consist of hard jaw causes immense pain when they bite someone. As suggested by the name potato does not mean they eat potato but yes here comes a reference with digging into the earth so it has been clear that their bite will surely cause pain as their jaws are so strong which make them easy to dig beneath the surface.
The potato bug is most found under the flower beds of the houses then they are also found in plant leaves and where the plants leaves are decaying are fallen. So, when do they bite the most??here comes the answer to this question they bite you when you least expecting such a situation the most probable time when they bite is during gardening or we can also say during farming.
These are insects which are too timid from human creature and here also comes a fact that the frightening outlook of such creature puts human being in such a situation that they want to get rid of them they most suitable way to stay protected from these potato bugs are following safety measure during gardening. There are various ways by which you can protect yourself it can be wearing of boots, wearing of hand gloves, wearing shield over face and many more.
The most possible harm potato bug will do to you is the pain after it bites, and this pain is not for a long period of time. The only way which can be suggested in this situation is pay attention while you are working and if you are attentive enough you will be able to hear a hissing sort of noise before they are getting prepared to bite and moreover lift their back legs. Even if after all this the insect bites you do not panic and stay cam things will get sorted in some time.
As we all it is the case with every insect if you do not disturb them or come in their way, they will never harm you same the case with potato bug if you leave them alone, they will not bite you or harm you in any way. There are even some of the situations when you are not able to identify if you are bitten by a potato bug in such a situation you can see symptoms within yourself by which you can clearly identify the fact that you have been bitten by the potato bug.
Some of those symptoms are sores on your skin, there may be rashes on your skin, you will feel a lot of irritation on the part of the body where you have been bitten and finally in some of the cases there are also chances of having flu like symptoms.
Next Comes What After Getting Bitten from Potato Bug
So, as I have earlier mentioned do not panic after bitten from a potato bug because it is not fatal to health. You just must clean the area with fresh water to clean all the blood and dirt coming out.
You can also use soap with water to clean the area. After this you can use an antiseptic cream to prevent yourself from the pain, irritation and inching from the bite.
Even after this you are not able to over the pain and irritation from the bite then you can simply contact your family doctor or your nearby hospital for further medical treatment. With proper medication all your problems will be solved, and you will also be stress free.
What the Potato Bugs Eat to Survive
The potato bug mainly relies on the decade leaves, roots of the plants and all other kind if organic material. It is very important to keep these potato bugs out of your grader because their presence is enough to destroy the entire beauty of the garden as they love to suck juice from the leaves of the plants and this hamper overall growth of the plant.
Other than the negative side of potato bug being in the garden there are some of the positive aspects too on of these are they dig the soil which makes the soil fertile, and they are also good for the masticate of the dead roots and decade plants.
Origin of Potato Bug
As I have mentioned in the very beginning, they are found in Mexico but let us get into the detailed study of their origin. They are inhabitants of n=Mexico and west united states and are not seen during the entire day but found roaming in the garden at nights because during the day they stay underneath.
They basically hide during the daytime under leaves, decay of roots, stones. They can be mainly seen when beds of the garden are getting ready for the new plants. They are very harmful for the garden as they can eat the plants gardeners try to get rid if these potato bugs to the most possible extent.
Next Comes the Method or Processes in Which We Can Get Rid of The Potato Bugs
The first method that you can use is the food grade known as diatomaceous earth which can be sprinkled all around the garden to get rid of the potato bugs. By using this method, we can dry them, and they finally die.
It is the most convenient, safest, and easiest method because its budget friendly and moreover it does not harm you un any way nor your plants. If the potato bug is not removed in first instance do not hurry repeat thus process for a few days in every week until is totally eradicated from your garden.
The other natural ingredient or way you can use to remove these potato bugs are neem oil …yes you have heard it correct!!wondering how? coming to this point because of least amount of toxicity it is a kind of pest control. Neem stops to some extent the fertility of female potato bug to reproduce and ultimate we can eradicate all the potato bug by just sprinkling diatomaceous earth.
The other process can be trapping the potato bug you can keep small nets in your garden which will have leaves inside it just like a trap. The potato bug will get attracted towards it and as soon as they will get inside the net it will close and this way you can made your won trap and get rid of these.
And one of the last ways I can suggest is to keep your garden free from any kind of waste or we can say detritus. Keep your garden clean make it a habit to clean your garden daily if not in a daily basis at least twice a week. Remove all kinds of decay leaves, dirt, grasses from your garden so that you don not let the potato bug house in your garden.
Concluding
Most of the people consider potato bug to be fatal to health but it is not true. The most possible harm they cause is to our plants and pain to us when they bite.
So, it is better to keep these potato bugs away from our gardens and the best possible way is to clean the garden. Cleanliness is the best medicine for this potato bugs.