Crickets

Habits

When you think of crickets, you may think of small, annoying insects. Crickets do chirp a lot and make a significant amount of noise. But that’s not all. They can also infest your home and eat through carpets and fabrics. Even when they are outdoors, they can ruin your yard and damage crops. While crickets don’t normally bite people, their waste does carry diseases like salmonella and E. coli, so an indoor infestation can be harmful. Handling crickets or their waste can lead to skin issues. Ingesting food exposed to cricket feces can cause health issues such as infections and gastrointestinal distress.

Crickets are insects that are small to medium in size. Their bodies are mostly cylindrical, but are also vertically flattened to some degree. The head is spherical with long slender antennae. Crickets have two large compound eyes as well as three simple eyes on the forehead.

While one or two crickets may not be a huge issue, an infestation of crickets can cause a lot of problems. They can be loud and destructive. Get rid of your cricket problem quickly with help from the team at Stride Pest Control.

Habitat

Crickets are versatile creatures that can be found in most parts of the world. While you may not find them in very cold regions, they can be found in most other types of habitats. They can be found in upper tree canopies, bushes, grasses, and herbs. They can also be found on the ground and in caves. Some types of crickets make their homes in rotting wood. There are even certain species that live on beaches and can run and jump over the surface of water.

Crickets are usually nocturnal and are most active at night. During the day, they will typically find a dark place to hide from predators. They are not big fans of colder weather and will often take refuge in houses, sheds, and other manmade structures. Some species of crickets are attracted to light.

Diet

What a cricket eats depends on their species. Some are omnivorous and will eat a variety of food. Others are herbivorous, feeding on fruits, flowers, leaves, and the shoots of young plants. Others are more predatory and will eat eggs, larvae, pupae, and various insects, such as aphids. Many types of crickets are scavengers that consume various organic remains, such as decaying plants, fungi, and seedlings. When in captivity, many species of crickets have been known to eat dry dog food, along with lettuce and aphids.

Why Do Crickets Chirp?

The male crickets are typically the ones to chirp. They will do so to attract a female. They will also chirp a lot at night to help avoid predators. Most crickets make chirping sounds by rubbing their two front wings together. The wings are different from each other. One wing is jagged and has what looks like a little row of teeth. The other wing scrapes up against it, making a sound. The number of teeth on the scraper, the speed of the rubbing, and how frequently they make the chirps differ depending on the species. It’s possible to hear a variety of cricket songs based on these factors.

Keeping Crickets Out of Your Home

The best way to keep crickets out of your home is to prevent them from going in in the first place. Here are some ways to keep crickets out:

• Seal up your home. Crickets and other bugs tend to get into homes through small gaps and cracks. It’s a good idea to thoroughly inspect the outside of your home and look for places where bugs can get in. Look around the windows and doors. If you find any possible points of entry, use caulk to seal them up.
• Get a pet. Cats and dogs are great predators when it comes to getting rid of crickets and other bugs in the house. Birds also enjoy eating crickets, so you can get bird feeders and plants to attract birds.
• Maintain your yard. Maintaining a manicured lawn can keep crickets out of your house. When you regularly mow your lawn, you get rid of hiding places and food sources that may entice crickets to enter your yard or home. Sweeping away dead leaves and keeping firewood stored off of the ground can also be helpful.
• Change up your lighting. Many bugs are attracted to bright lights, and crickets are no exception. If you have a lot of outdoor lighting, you could end up with a cricket infestation. If you open a door at night, you could end up with crickets in your house. Your best bet is to swap out bright outdoor lighting for warm-toned LEDs or amber lights, which crickets don’t like as much.
• Keep your house clean. Crickets rarely enter homes, so if they are in your home, you likely have something they want, like food. Keep food covered up. If you hear chirping in your home, try to locate the crickets and vacuum them up. The less clutter you have in your home, the better.
• Use deterrents. Sticky traps with glue or molasses can catch crickets for you. Place them in areas where you have seen crickets or think they may be living. Also, crickets don’t like peppermint, so keeping the smell in your home or planting mint outside can be good deterrents.