Organic Insecticides | Organic Pesticides | EcoSMART Bug Spray

Best Home Pest Control for Getting Rid of Crickets

March 24th, 2010 Posted in Ornamental & Lawn Pests

Imagine climbing into bed after a day in the summer sun and being lulled to sleep by chirping crickets. Sounds nice, huh?

But what if those cricket noises got louder and louder until you realized they moved their symphony practice inside your home. Not so soothing anymore is it?

If crickets become a problem in your home, try some of the best home pest control methods for getting rid of them.

Read on to learn:

• Why Crickets Come Into Your Home
• Who Are Crickets’ Natural Predators
• How to Get Them Out

Why Crickets Come Into Your Home

Before you can determine the best home pest control to get the crickets out, figure out why they’re inside in the first place.

Crickets are most active in late summer to early fall when the population is most mature. You’ll begin to find them in your house as temperatures drop. Crickets prefer warmer climates, like your home, in the fall.

Once inside, crickets can usually find food to keep them full and living for at least a few days.

Crickets feed on:

• Dead and dying insects
• Seeds
• Fruit
• Outdoor debris
• Fabric
• Paper
• Wool
• Linen

Crickets will feed indoors and live for longer periods of time than other insects, like earwigs and boxelder bugs. Although they don’t live too long, crickets can easily cause damage before dying off in your home.

If you do spot a bug in your home, can you identify a cricket?

Crickets are easy to spot if you know their defining features.

• Brown or black in color
• Front wing that covers half to the cricket’s entire abdomen
• Wings that lay flat over the body
• Antennae that stretch from head to the end of the abdomen
• Hind wings folded and kept under front wings

When crickets do move indoors, they protect themselves from natural predators that could snatch them in your yard.

And there are plenty of predators looking to snack on crickets.

Who Are Crickets’ Natural Predators

When you spot crickets outside, the most natural and best home pest control method is to leave it to Mother Nature.

Crickets may feed on some small insects, but they are vegetarians compared to their predators.

Crickets’ predators include:

• Spiders
• Some wasps
• Ground beetles
• Small rodents
• Lizards

Some population control by these predators can actually benefit the environment. Crickets can damage plant seedlings and are destructive in large numbers.

However, crickets can be beneficial as well. Crickets breakdown plant material to renew soil minerals.

Even so, there is nothing beneficial about crickets in your kitchen and bedrooms. When they start to move indoors, time to invest in pest control in your home.

How to Get Them Out

Cricket chirping is one of the most classic sounds of summer time. But its only enjoyable as long as the chirps remain outside your bedroom window.

The first thing to do for the best home pest control is to check around the outside of your home and caulk or repair cracks that could let crickets inside. Pay special attention to the foundation, doors and first floor windows.

Basically, ensure your home’s completely sealed shut. You can then clean up outside to discourage crickets from coming too close to the structure..

Keep weeds and grass around your home cut short. Also, remove piles of wood, brush and bricks close to your home. Getting rid of these stacks creates less hiding places for crickets who can then jump inside an open door after you.

If crickets still manage to get inside, spray organic insecticides around your home. This way you can get rid of crickets but not harm your family and pets.

After you’ve done all this, sit back and enjoy the summer.

Relax at night while still enjoying the sound of chirping crickets….from your neighbor’s property.