When you visit the countryside for a day or two, the chirping crickets can make you nostalgic for old times. But if these pests become regular in your homes, they can be a real nuisance to deal with. Crickets in the house are not the best housemates to have. They are dirty and destructive and you need to get rid of them as soon as you see them.
Vacuuming your house regularly and cleaning your yard from time to time can help avoid cricket infestation. You can also use sticky traps and boric acid.
Growing nitrogen-fixing plants in your home is another great and economical option. But if you have a huge cricket infestation, you need to call pest control, or you might be left with a recurring problem. Read on to learn how you can swiftly eliminate them and make your house cricket free.
Key takeaways
- House crickets can be dirty and destructive pests that can carry diseases and damage your home.
- Vacuuming regularly, cleaning your yard, and sealing cracks and entry points can help prevent cricket infestation.
- Diatomaceous earth and boric acid insect dust can be used to kill crickets.
- Insect sticky traps can be used to catch crickets.
- Growing nitrogen-fixing plants or using natural cricket repellents can also help control cricket infestation
What are house crickets?
House crickets are noisy creatures that have the possibility of carrying diseases with them. They can not be termed the most dangerous pests, but they can be quite harmful if found in large numbers. They can feed on your carpets and wooden furniture and ruin your whole house, slowly but steadily.
Research says that there are over 900 different types of crickets around the world; 100 among them are found in the USA. But luckily, the most likely ones you find in your house are the house crickets, also known as Acheta domesticus (Linnaeus).
What do house crickets look like?
House crickets are yellow to light brown. They are small in size but can create a lot of problems. They have six legs, long antennas, and an average size of 3/4 to 7/8 inches. They also have three dark crossbands on their head and wings that stay flat.
They have long legs, too, making it easy for them to fly and jump and run quite fast. Their capacity for both air and land travel makes it even harder to catch them. Their long antennas are sometimes much longer than their body which gives them a resemblance to cockroaches.
How to get rid of crickets in the house
House crickets can carry diseases causing bacteria on them like E.coli and salmonella. So you certainly can not have these dirty pests crawling or flying around your home or pantry.
When you see a cricket crawling around in the house or hear it chirping, you might wonder how to get rid of crickets in the house. We can tell you how.
Vacuum regularly
Ever wonder how to get rid of cricket you can’t find? Vacuums are your best bet in this situation. You can use your vacuum suctions to suck them out of cracks and pores around the house. Make it a regular practice to vacuum the whole house, especially under the carpet and behind furniture. Remember to clean all dark, warm, moist, and untouched places so crickets can not set homes.
Clean your yard
Your yard is one of the moistest and warm places for crickets to grow. Chelle Hartzer, a board-certified entomologist and technical services manager for Orkin, also said that trimming your plants and cleaning your garden can help you control the cricket infestation problem.
Seal cracks and other entry points
When you have small pores and cracks around the sides of your house, they are great entry points for crickets. Or if you have a window that does not shut properly or a wobbly door, all of them can easily welcome crickets. You need to use a permanent sealer to close these cracks or get the doors and windows fixed to stop their entry.
Reduce moisture
Crickets grow and thrive in warm and moist places; you should aim to reduce the overall moisture in your house. Ensure proper ventilation in your property for the best results. Install a heating system and see if your walls are getting damp from leaking pipes or damaged plumbing system.
Use diatomaceous earth
Diatomaceous earth is a powder made from the skeletons of algae. They are easily available in the market and can be sprinkled inside or outside the house. When pests come in contact with this powder, they suffocate and die.
Use boric acid insect dust
Boric is a frequently used pesticide found in powder, pellets, or tablets. When crickets come in contact with it, it becomes fatal for them, and they suffocate and die. The boric acid can be strategically placed in places where there is suspected cricket infestation.
Insect sticky traps
Many insect sticky traps and glue boards can help catch the crickets. Leave them out in the night and let the crickets fly around, and the sweet smell will attract them to the board/trap. They will sit on it and get trapped.
Grow nitrogen-fixing plants
Crickets tend to feed on flower-producing plants. To stop this, you can start planting nitrogen-fixing plants. These plants trap nitrogen from the air and store it in their roots. These include peas, clover, sweet potatoes, and more.
Cricket repellents
You can also try to make your natural cricket repellents at home. Here are a few ideas:
- Mix hot chili powder in water, add a few drops of dish soap, and mix them. You can spray this on your garden to repel crickets.
- Or you can mix one cup of water with 30 drops of cedar oil to form another spray. Spray this in cricket-infected areas. When pests come in contact with it, they suffocate and die.
Signs of infestation
How to find a cricket in your house? You need to look for the source of cricket infestation before getting rid of them. Here are a few signs:
- When you hear a chorus of crickets coming from your house every night
- Do you see many crickets flying around the house?
- Your clothes also might start having big holes in them, or carpets and sofas may look chewed on from the sides.
- Your rugs and carpets have loose fibers, and they start falling apart.
If you do come across these signs, there is a high chance that you have a cricket infestation. Call a trusted pest control partner at the soonest before this curveballs into a major pest control issue.
Get rid of crickets with pest control services
Are you irritated with all the crickets flying around your house? The constant humming at night is giving you sleepless nights? Wondering how to get rid of cricket noise at night? Request an appointment with us, and we will get our residential pest control team to inspect your home and start the pest management process.
