Crickets Control

The house cricket, Acheta domesticus, is the noisy one: pale brown, about an inch long, with males that chirp all night by rubbing their wings together to call mates. Around here they share the night shift with field crickets (Gryllus species) that wander in from lawns in late summer and native camel crickets (Ceuthophilus species), the humpbacked, long-legged jumpers that haunt damp basements and crawl spaces without ever chirping. Crickets do not bite people, but they chew: wool, silk, cotton, paper, houseplant leaves, and pet food are all on the menu, and a big indoor population stains fabrics with droppings. They are moisture seekers, so a cricket problem in the basement is usually a humidity problem wearing a disguise. Cold weather drives them toward foundation cracks and door gaps, and once inside they settle into wall voids and storage boxes for the winter.