We enjoy the benefit of some wonderful wildlife in the USA. However, some creatures are attracted to the warmth and comfort of our homes! Insects, in particular, like to set up home somewhere safe, warm, and comfortable. Crickets are among them, and while not specifically dangerous, we don’t want to share a home with them! The most annoying factor is the noise they make – and they make it at night!
If you can hear crickets in the home but can’t find them, you may want to call in experts such as Majestic Pest Control, who are highly skilled in pest control and will be able to remove them for you. They will also advise you on the best ways to prevent the likes of crickets from getting into your home. Let’s talk about crickets despite us not wanting them as housemates; they are fascinating insects.
Some Facts about Crickets
If you click on the link, you will learn all about crickets in more detail than we have room for, so let’s have a few interesting facts about these curious insects:
1. There are more than 900 species of cricket distributed across all continents except Antarctica.
2. Crickets can be found living in just about any environment.
3. Crickets are solitary creatures that pair with others only during the mating season.
4. The sound is made by rubbing their wings together and is a form of communication.
5. The House Cricket can measure as long as 22mm.
6. Despite having wings, most types of cricket cannot fly.
7. Crickets are sometimes kept as pets and are eaten as a delicacy in Eastern countries.
That’s a few fun facts about these fundamentally harmless creatures. First, the noise they make can be surprisingly loud, and second, a cricket or several will happily chew through your furnishings and leave a mess! So why don’t we leave them alone in the home? How do you know when you have crickets in the home, and what can you do about them?
How Do I Know There are Crickets in the Home?
There are tell-tale signs of chewed furnishings that may give away the fact you have crickets in your home. However, this can be caused by mice and other rodents. You may have seen a cricket scurrying across the floor, and while they are solitary, there are likely to be others. Most likely, you’ll be settling down to go to sleep, and the crickets will start their familiar chirping.
As they are nocturnal, they chirp only at night, and several crickets in ‘song’ can be quite a sound. So, let’s look at the best ways to get rid of your cricket lodgers and how to prevent them from coming into your house.
Getting Rid of Crickets
The first step towards getting rid of crickets is to discover where they are hiding. The best time to do this is at night when they begin their song. Follow the sound – but be sure to do so quietly and carefully as if they sense you approaching, they will stop – and you should find the cricket hiding place. Now you know where they are living, you can use one of the following methods to eliminate them:
1. Buy a bug spray from your local hardware store, as most of these will kill crickets easily. Be careful if using products such as this to keep pets away from the treated area.
2. Cats are a natural predator of crickets, so you might want to let your pet do some hunting for you!
3. Crickets love molasses. Put some in a bowl and leave it close to their nest. The crickets will emerge and get into the bowl and get stuck. Repeat this often until no more crickets emerge.
4. You can purchase special cricket traps from a hardware store, and these should be placed strategically for the best effect.
5. Vacuum the area where the crickets are and get rid of them this way, and this method will also rid your home of the eggs.
These are the best ways to get rid of crickets that you know are in the home. Now we need to look at what you can do to keep them from coming in again.
Preventing Crickets Entering the Home
Crickets are a nuisance rather than a danger, but they are attracted to the warm and moist areas of the home. The following are some tips you can try to keep out:
1. Always dispose of waste food properly. Make sure the lid is on the bin and that all pet food is cleared away. Crickets will eat whatever they can find, and waste food attracts them and other insects and rats.
2. Move any planters with plants away from the entrances to your house. Crickets nest in plants and long grass, so they will be in your planters.
3. Mow the grass regularly as another place crickets hide is in the grass.
4. Make sure that a compost or mulch heap is away from the house as these are further places where crickets feel at home.
5. Keep any outdoor and indoor drain pipes clear of debris and waste. These are ideal for cricket nests.
6. Lastly, seal any obvious gaps in walls and windows that are suitable for cricket entrances. If you have air bricks, you should cover them with fine mesh smaller than the size of a cricket.
That’s about it for now, so all that remains is for us to sum up.
Call the Professionals
The best advice for any insect infestations that seem to be defeating you is to call in the professionals. Local pest control experts will have the right tools and expertise to do the job properly. Meanwhile, try some of the tips above to see if you can get rid of crickets the DIY way, and soon you’ll have an insect-free home.
