Crickets

Crickets are an interesting insect. When you’re outside on an otherwise quiet evening, their chirping sound can be quite soothing. But if you’ve ever had a cricket inside your home, especially while you’re trying to sleep, just a single cricket can keep you up all night. Crickets are nocturnal insects who seek food at night. They are not picky eaters. Their diet consists of almost any plant or insect. Don’t worry that crickets will sneak up on you. They make themselves known by the relentless chirping sound of the male cricket, attempting to attract female crickets by rubbing his front wings together. So much noise from such a small creature!

 

There are many types of crickets found in the New Jersey region. Generally, they fall into two main categories; field crickets and house crickets.

 

Field crickets are black, and about ½ inch to 1 ⅛ inch in length. You can usually find field crickets outdoors where moisture is present. They tend to reside in flower beds, mulched areas, and areas of debris. They are also attracted to electric lighting. Having rain after a long period of dry weather will almost always cause an outbreak of field crickets. 

 

House crickets have a slightly different appearance from that of field crickets. They are light yellow to brownish, and ¾ to 1 inch long. They are further identifiable by three darker brown crossbands on their heads. Unfortunately, like their field cricket cousins, they make the same annoying chirping sound. During warm weather, house crickets are content to live outdoors, in similar conditions as field crickets. Once the weather turns cold, house crickets begin to seek warmer places. As their name indicates, that place is usually inside your house. You might find crickets in your kitchen, your furnace, your fireplace, or your basement. 

 

Once inside your home, crickets can cause all kinds of damage. Aside from just being loud, crickets can also cause damage to many of your belongings such as fabric, clothing, paper products, and pet food. Though uncommon, crickets will, at times, bite humans. Since crickets have somewhat weak mouths, their bites usually can’t penetrate human skin. Crickets do come into contact with some nasty bacteria and diseases, and can be spread from their bite, physical contact or feces. 

 

Another essential thing to know about crickets is that, not only do they cause problems on their own, crickets are prey for other pests such as frogs, lizards, and large spiders. If you have live crickets around, there’s a likelihood that other animals figured it out before you did, and now you have a good supply of food near your home. If you rid your home of crickets, you stand a better chance of keeping away other unwanted pests at the same time. 

 

If you are finding crickets inside your home, it's best to take action quickly. You can be confident that if you hear just one cricket inside your home, there are plenty more close by. Even if you find dead crickets in your house, you’re not out of the woods. Contact us today to halt the cricket infestation inside your home.