Adult crickets are typically black and range in length from 1/2 to 1 1/8” long. Nymphs are smaller and have no wings. They are usually found in mulched areas, around woodpiles, and in gardens that haven’t been weeded. They prefer moist areas and are attracted to electric lights. They have large back legs and are powerful jumpers. Adults’ wings lay flat against their back and are bent downward on their sides. Despite being winged, not all field crickets are capable of flight.
They are often mistaken for grasshoppers. The main difference between a grasshopper and a cricket is that crickets tend to have long antennae, grasshoppers have short antennae. Crickets stridulate (“sing”) by rubbing their wings together, while grasshoppers stridulate by rubbing their long hind legs against their wings. Not all cricket species sing, but boy when they do. It can be loud and annoying! These insects are mainly active at night, which doesn’t make for a good night’s sleep. They can also be identified by their large, powerful, back legs and long antennae.
Their singing is more than just annoying. Winged male crickets initiate the reproductive process by with the distinctive chirping noises that attract female crickets. Females use their ovipositor to lay eggs primarily during the autumn season. Cricket eggs mature during the winter and hatch in the spring. Baby crickets emerge from the eggs as nymphs with underdeveloped wings before gradually evolving into adults. Crickets produce just one generation of offspring each year. Crickets rarely breed indoors. A cricket exterminator may not be necessary unless you’re seeing a large infestation.Not the cricket you have?
Where Do Crickets Live
Crickets live in a variety of places. Outside, they hide out during the day underneath stones, woodpiles, landscaping ties, mulch, fallen trees, and rotting logs. Inside homes, crickets typically inhabit basement areas, bathrooms, crawlspaces, closets, storage rooms, storage boxes, and laundry rooms. Crickets usually behave nocturnally and are most active at night. During the day, crickets typically find a dark, moist place to rest and hide from predators.
The insects live in a variety of habitats, including fields, trees, burrows, caves and even garbage dumps. As the weather turns colder, crickets often take refuge in manmade structures like houses and sheds. Some common species of crickets demonstrate a strong attraction to light. Harmless to humans, crickets mainly feed on plants and plant debris. Most crickets are omnivorous and also eat smaller insects, including other crickets. When crickets manage to invade private residences, they will consume fabrics, houseplants, paper products, and remnants of human food.
How Did I Get Crickets
Crickets are omnivores and feed on a wide variety of food and non-food sources. Crickets are most commonly found living outdoors, but may accidentally find their way inside homes and other buildings. They look for moisture and of course food and shelter. So, if you have all three, they will be attracted. Crickets are small, so they can get in through tiny openings in your home. One reason why you have crickets trying to get in your home or business may be your outdoor lighting. Heavy outdoor lighting can attract crickets (and moths!). Consider using yellow outdoor lights to reduce your chances of attracting them to your home or business.
What Problems Do Crickets Cause
Besides their incessant chirping during both night and day, they can damage textiles like silk and wool. They love a good beer since they prefer fermented liquids and will come inside your home or business during the colder months to wait it out until the spring. A cricket infestation can cause damage to your home. Camel crickets will munch through paper, while field crickets and house crickets will ruin fabrics, including carpet, clothing, and upholstery. House crickets can breed indoors, so they can easily become a problem if not controlled quickly. Large numbers of crickets can easily destroy luxury materials like silk and wool. Outdoors, crickets often disrupt farms by eating the roots and shoots of newly planted crops. Plus, you don’t want to listen to their mating song all night long. We can help with proper cricket treatments for final cricket control.
How Can I Prevent Crickets
Professional exclusion work can help including sealing cracks and crevices in walls and foundations, sealing cracks and crevices around door and window frames, and ensuring door and window screens are in good condition and not torn. Placing weather stripping around windows and doors and putting door sweeps on all exterior doors are also two smart exclusion techniques that can be implemented to keep out not only crickets but many other pests. You should keep doors shut when not in use which will also keep out crickets, ants, flies, stinging pests, rodents, etc.!
Cleaning up clutter and debris, ventilating your crawl space, and reducing moisture sources around your home or facility can all help as well. You should also trim tall grasses and overgrown vegetation away from the foundation of your building and keep the landscaping clean and clear. Remove excess piles of debris like woodpiles, rock piles, leaf piles, and grass piles from your property. Keeping storage areas in your home or business neat and organized can also help.
We’re passionate about keeping crickets out of your home or business because we live and work here – it’s our neighborhood, too. With our 130 years of experience keeping homes and businesses in Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island safe from pests, Waltham has the experience you can trust.