Crickets in Your House? Easy Ways to Eliminate a Cricket Problem
January 12th, 2010 Posted in Pantry & Linen Pests
The sound of crickets chirping can be really pleasant for someone spending some time outdoors, but once that noise follows you in the house, it tends to become a bit more irritating. Although crickets do not bite pets or people (they actually feed on a variety of other smaller pest insects), they can become a nuisance if gathered in large numbers indoors.
The common house cricket (Acheta domesticus), ranging from .75-1 inch long and typically light brown in color, is the most encountered of the cricket varieties indoors. The camel and field cricket varieties can also be found indoors and share behavioral characteristics with the house variety, but for the most part the domesticus causes the most trouble. If a serious infestation occurs in the home, in addition to being annoying, the crickets can cause damage to textiles, furniture, and foodstuffs.
The easiest way to beat a cricket? Think like a cricket. A simple understanding of how crickets behave and respond to different fixtures in their environments can be far more effective in controlling an infestation than indiscriminately spraying potentially harmful pesticides all over your living area.
Rather than focusing on the extermination strategy utilized in so many household infestations, in this case, it is more effective to think of excluding the crickets from your home by removing environmental incentives for it to enter in the first place.
Seal points of entry.
A solid first step to control the influx of crickets into the home is to make sure there are no unwanted openings in the exterior of the house that would allow the crickets to sneak in.
Caulking is effective for small gaps or cracks in the foundation of the home or around doors and windows. For larger openings, a self-expanding foam product should do the trick (both can be found at the local hardware store). Conscious upkeep of window screens is also crucial.
Keep foundations weed-free and basements dry.
Similar to many household pests, crickets enjoy damp, removed areas like basements, gaps in baseboards and walls, or a quiet corner in the kitchen. This implies that homeowners should keep areas around the foundations of the house free of water-retaining weeds or grasses that will only cause the crickets to come closer to the home where they may stumble upon an incentive to make their way in.
Try to keep basements or other problem areas as dry as possible as another deterrent.
Hide evidence of food.
Trash attracts crickets, so keep the areas surrounding the house clear of refuse, and seal foodstuffs in a dry, cool place.
Install sodium lights.
An important deterrent would be the installation of sodium lights instead of the more commonly used white outdoor lighting, which attracts crickets as well as a wide array of other insect species.
When prevention fails…
If the problem persists, sticky bug traps and other standard bug trappings can be used to clear an area
Chemical insecticides can be used, however, these non-chemical methods can prove just as effective. In addition, there are organic pesticides that work on crickets, like EcoSMART Ant and Roach Killer, that are safe for use around children and pets and leave no toxic residue or runoff.
2 Comments | The First 1,000 to Comment (Starting 12/21/2009) Will Become EcoSMART Product Testers!
By Jeff (theCRICKETtoy) Anderson on Jan 13, 2010
Thanks for a great post. I’m torn. I have about 15,000 crickets in my garage, but they are all made of plastic.
I would like to get rid of them, but I would prefer people pay me for them.
Great post and great idea on promotion.
Very helpful blog post.
Jeff Anderson
theCRICKETtoy for those awkward pauses (crickets chirping)
By Diana Hughes on Aug 12, 2011
great article, we just moved to kentucky and have noticed crickets in our home for the first time. i hope these suggestions work.