If you're dealing with a cricket infestation, keep reading as we cover what you need to know, and how to put a stop to it.
What Kinds of Crickets are Infesting Your Home?
There are around 2,400 species of crickets around the world! They vary in size from just .12 inches to over 2 inches. All crickets have hind legs that allow them to jump.
Males of each species of cricket are responsible for creating the musical chirping noise. They do this by rubbing a scraper along one of their forewings.
While they do share many similar traits, grasshoppers and crickets are not the same types of insects. Grasshoppers are larger than crickets, and are active during the day, while crickets are active at night.
Some of the most common cricket species in the U.S. are field crickets, camel crickets, and house crickets. These are also the most common types of crickets to infest homes.
How Do Crickets Get Into Your Home?
In most cases, a cricket will get into your home in much the same way that other insects do. They usually come in through the edges of poorly fitted doors or in cracks around windows, doors, foundations, or your home's siding.
Many cricket species, including field crickets, are attracted to light. This will bring them closer to your home. Once there, they may seek shelter through cracks and openings in your home, especially when nighttime temperatures begin to cool.
Why is a Cricket Infestation Such a Problem?
The first thing that comes to mind when you think of a cricket infestation is the noise. However, the never-ending singing of crickets in your home is far from the only problem that you'll encounter if you become the victim of an infestation.
Many species of crickets, including field and house crickets, can cause damage to textiles in your home. This includes furniture, clothing, linens, and other household items that are made of materials such as cotton, wool, silk, fur, or linen.
A few species of crickets, like camel crickets or mole crickets, rarely do damage in the home. However, their presence is still a nuisance, and something that you'll definitely want to put a stop to.
Tips for Getting Rid of Crickets
If your home is suffering from an infestation, it's important to educate yourself on the best ways to get rid of crickets. Let's take a look at a few tips for treating and preventing cricket infestations.
1. Start By Sealing Your Home
The first thing that you should do to get rid of crickets in your home is to seal off any points of entry. It's important to do this before you begin implementing other strategies. That way, you can stop any additional crickets from entering before you start getting rid of the ones that are already there!
Use caulk to seal any gaps around your windows or door frames. If you have a large number of crickets or aren't sure where they are getting in, it's a good idea to go ahead and seal all windows and doors in your home.
Check to make sure that any vents leading outside of your home have a screen over them to keep insects out. Take some time to check the exterior of your home for any damaged siding, bricks, or other materials. These could be allowing easy access to the inside of your home for crickets as well as other pests.
If you frequently like to leave your windows open, make sure that your screens do not have any holes or damage around the edges. Avoiding leaving your doors propped open, unless you have a screen door or glass storm door that you can keep closed.
2. Find Your Crickets
The next step is to find the crickets that have already made their way into your home. While this might sound simple enough, many crickets species are well under an inch in length. You'll likely hear them in your home, especially at night, but may not necessarily see them.
Depending on what attracted them and how long you've been dealing with your infestation, they may be spread out throughout your home, or concentrated in one area. Look for cool, dark spaces in your home, and especially any with moisture. You might also be able to track the crickets down by damage you've noticed on linens or upholstery.
Closets or shelves that hold soft materials like blankets or pillows, and especially those in cool areas like a basement or that may be damp are popular places that crickets hide.
3. Vacuum Up Visible Pests
If you've found crickets in your home, you'll no doubt want to get rid of them quickly. One great tip is to grab your vacuum cleaner.
Vacuuming up crickets is a fast way to get rid of any that you see in your home. They move quickly, so you may want to use your vacuum's hose to grab them before they can jump away.
Sucking up the crickets won't kill them. It's important to dump your vacuum's contents in a sealed plastic bag. Otherwise, they may escape from your vacuum back into your home.
4. Set a Trap
The vacuum tip is great for getting rid of the crickets that you can see in your home. But for those you can't, you'll need a different method of capturing them.
Setting a sticky insect trap is one great option. Glue traps are a great non-toxic option for capturing insects like crickets in your home. They are safe for households that have pets or small children.
Place your sticky traps close to where crickets may be entering your home, such as your windows or doors, as well as in any places you've previously seen crickets, like closets or your basement.
5. Use a Cricket Bait
Sticky traps are great for capturing crickets as they pass by. However, they won't attract insects. This means that they aren't completely effective, and may take a long time to help get rid of your cricket infestation.
One great tip is to use cricket bait. You can purchase a chemical cricket bait from many home improvement or hardware stores. TheseĀ sometimesĀ come in a container that will trap the crickets after attracting them, but also come in "granule" that you sprinkle. This one is one that we've always liked for these issues.
However, these baits may be dangerous to children or pets. One great alternative that you can use is a few spoonfuls of molasses in a bowl. The sticky sweet liquid attracts crickets and traps them once in the bowl.
6. Treat the Exterior of Your Home
At the same time that you're treating the cricket infestation outside your home, you'll also want to start treating the exterior.
Even though you've sealed doors and windows, you'll still want to make sure to do everything you can to keep the crickets away.
Investing in a DIY pest treatment that you can apply to your home's exterior is a great choice. This is a quick and effective method for treating not just crickets, but ants, spiders, cockroaches, and other insects as well.
7. Stick to Your Treatment Plan
Many homeowners treat their homes just once and think that they are good to go. However, after some time, your treatment will wear off, and the insects will return.
Creating and sticking to a treatment plan can help. A DIY pest control subscription can help you remember to continue treating your home's exterior, as well as help you save some money on your pest control.
8. Repair Sources of Moisture
While it might not initially attract crickets, moisture in attics, basements, and crawl spaces can keep crickets around. Treat this moisture by making sure these spaces are well-ventilated. Humidifiers can also help remove moisture in these spaces.
9. Remove or Block Bright Lights
Bright lights outside your home or coming through your windows can attract all kinds of insects. Treating the outside of your home with a good pest control treatment can help. But reducing this light can also put a stop to insects congregating in your yard.
A modern LED light that has a gentle, warm tint is a great alternative to brighter bulbs. Yellow-tinted bulbs are also a good alternative to other outdoor lights.
Use curtains or blinds to reduce the bright light coming through your windows as well.
10. Cover Your Trash Cans
Outdoor trash cans also attract bugs to the exterior of your home. Make sure that your trash cans have well-fitting lids, and are closed at all times.
11. Keep Grass and Landscaping Trimmed
The final tip you can follow to get rid of crickets and keep them away is to keep your grass and landscaping trimmed. Crickets build nests in tall grass and other plants. Keeping these trimmed will reduce their nesting space, and can help reduce the total population in your yard.
Remove any ivy from your home, and make sure that wood, mulch, or compost piles are located as far from your house as possible as well.
Choosing the Best Cricket Solutions
If crickets have invaded your home or yard, these tips can help. Start by treating the crickets inside your home. Then, find the right pest control solution for you!
Remedy DIY Pest Control provides effective pest control solutions to treat a variety of types of insects. Pest control plans are customized based on your zip code, and available in convenient single or multi-month options to help you continue to treat pests and save money. Enter your zip code today to find the pest control solution for you.
Ā