Crickets ring in summertime with their characteristic singing, and in small numbers they are quite harmless. When they start reproducing inside the house, however, they can damage paper products, clothing, furniture and even walls. Learn how to take a few simple measures to control your property's cricket population and prevent them from overrunning your basement.
Steps
Removing Crickets from Your House
- Catch them with cricket bait. This easy method for luring crickets from corners and crevices is the most effective immediate solution.
- Place a few spoonfuls of molasses in a shallow bowl, and fill it halfway up with water. Set the bowl in the room where you have a cricket problem. Crickets love molasses, and they'll hop into the bowl when they smell it. Empty the bowl frequently.
- Chemical cricket bait is sold in hardware stores, and uses the same basic method to catch crickets. If you use this type of bait, make sure your family and pets don't go near it, since it is toxic.
- Set traps. Sticky glue traps are a great non-toxic way to catch crickets. This is especially wise if you have young children or pets that will be sensitive to often poisonous bug spray. Place the cricket traps along problem areas, like walls, windows or doorways. The closer to heat and moisture these insect passages are, the more likely they are to attract the trespassing crickets.
- Use bug spray. Most bug sprays effectively get rid of crickets. Choose an all-purpose spray or one made specifically for crickets, and spray in corners, along windowsills, and in other places where you've noticed an infestation. Be careful when you use these sprays, since they contain toxic chemicals.
- Remove the eggs. Crickets may lay eggs inside the home, which could cause the infestation to rapidly get out of control.
- Try vacuuming the area with a vacuum cleaner that has a High-Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) filter. These are high-powered machines that will pull the eggs from the carpet or wherever they may have been laid. Throw away the vacuumed contents in a sealed plastic bag.
- Most sprays used on live crickets will also kill the eggs. Spray along trim and baseboards, where crickets usually lay eggs.
Removing Cricket Nesting Areas
- Seal your home. The easiest method for avoiding cricket infestations within your home is to prevent them from ever entering your home by sealing your windows and doors. They're able to get through the smallest cracks, so make sure you check carefully for areas where they might be able to come in or build a nest.
- Eliminate tiny crevices by caulking windows and cracks in your walls.
- You can buy an attachment to affix to the bottom of your doors to create a seal that prevents crickets from squeezing under them.
- Make sure your vents have screens.
- Seal your trash. Trash smells attract crickets. Covering up trash outside in a sealed container will deter crickets from breeding on your property and entering your home.
- Cut back vegetation. Crickets build their nests in tall grasses and other vegetation. Keep your plants trimmed back and your lawn mowed so they won't have a place to nest.
- Make sure grass-like plants are several feet from your house, so crickets that might nest there don't have easy access to your home.
- Trim back ivy and other ground cover.
- Wood piles, mulch piles, and compost piles should be located well away from your house.
- Check your drains and roof gutters for leaves and other plant debris that might have piled up. Crickets often nest in these areas.
Making Your Property Inhospitable to Crickets
- Remove bright lights. Crickets are attracted to lights, and if you light your house at night with strong lamps, you might be luring them toward your house.
- Lower-light "bug lights" or amber LED lights can be purchased at hardware stores. These are designed not to attract crickets and other bugs.
- If you light your yard at night, place the lights well away from your house so that they aren't drawing crickets inside.
- Draw your blinds and shades at night so the bright glow from your house won't attract crickets.
- Allow natural predators to thrive. Lizards and spiders are natural cricket predators, so if you allow them to live on your property, they will naturally control your cricket population.
- Avoid spraying your property with insecticide, which is toxic to cricket predators.
- Cats and birds are also natural cricket predators. Let your cat outdoors, and consider installing a bird feeder.
Tips
- Keeping a tidy house is the best way to prevent insect infestation. If you have a cluttered basement, your junk may be housing cricket nests.
Warnings
- Be careful introducing strong insecticides to your household. Make sure children and pets stay away from sprayed areas.
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Sources and Citations
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