Most people know Field and House crickets. Field crickets are brown and in some cases, black in color. House crickets look the same but are much lighter. They are normally tan to light brown.
Both species will live in and around the home. Both develop the same way.
Related articles: CAMELBACK CRICKETS MOLE CRICKETS
FIELD CRICKET BIOLOGY
Adult cricket females can lay several hundred eggs. Once their eggs hatch, the young develop through a series of instars before fully maturing. However, young can do just about everything adults can. It takes a year for a generation to fully develop.
Since one female can lay hundreds of eggs, initial activity is usually not noticed. Once eggs hatch and migrate around a home, populations will quickly grow. In the spring, expect to see small field crickets. As the summer goes by, these will grow larger and larger. By fall, adults will be foraging into structures looking for a warm place to spend the winter months.
FIELD CRICKET NESTS
Field crickets feed on just about anything. This includes dead insects, live insects, silk, wool, man-made fabric, paper, wood, and just about anything we eat. Typically they’ll nest close to food so keep this in mind when trying to locate local nests.
Field crickets can make the most from a compost pile and will readily nest anywhere garbage accumulates. You can also expect to have them nesting around moist areas where water accumulates or where mold and algae may be growing.
FIELD CRICKET PROBLEMS
Field crickets are a pest for several reasons. First, they can destroy wallpaper. Field crickets love to eat the glue which holds wallpaper onto walls. If they have their way, they will continue to feed in this area eventually consuming the wallpaper itself. This usually allows access to furniture, drapes, rugs and clothing.
In fact, field crickets are just as likely to be a pest in closets alongside CLOSET MOTHS and CARPET BEETLES.
In addition to the damage field crickets do, they can also make a lot of noise. Field crickets living in areas behind the home or in the distance provide a natural sound of nature which people like. Once these same field crickets move into your home, this singing immediately becomes unbearable. Expect it to be loud, continuous and to occur at night. Field crickets are nocturnal and do their feeding and singing when it is dark outside. This makes treating for them a little more difficult but there are ways to keep them at bay.
FIELD CRICKET CONTROL OUTSIDE USING BAIT
There are two approaches to control these field crickets in and around the home. First, you must realize they originate from outside. This means you need to treat outside to keep their numbers in check. Once populations grow to excessive numbers outside, expect to have some migrating into your home.
The first type of cricket control program is somewhat passive and yet will work if the infestation has just begun. In recent years, several cricket baits have been introduced which work well on field crickets. There are two which will provide control for populations which are still small.
Use SCATTER BAIT outside around the home, in the turf and in flower beds. This granule works well for ants, but field crickets are on the label as well and crickets like cave, camel-back and field crickets will readily eat it. Try to sprinkle small amounts around the home creating a 5′-10′ wide band of treated area. The granules are small and only a little is applied with each sprinkle. The granules will pretty much disappear but rest assured the field crickets will find it.
A 1 pound bag can cover up to 500 sq/ft and will last 2-3 months even in harsh damp environments.
Karen says
I have 2 indoor/outdoor cats. Crickets (small ones light brown and adult ones dark brow) are coming in baseboards and are in the garage where our storage is located. I am concerned about which product(s) are NOT poisonous to humans and my cats.
Thank you.
Tech Support says
If you read our Safety FAQ’s, you’ll see that in fact all of the products we have listed will NOT pose a hazard to people or pets when used as we prescribe. This is mostly due to the fact that the products will be applied at such a diluted mix and dispersed over such a large area. And this definitely applies to the products listed above for field crickets. In other words, when applied properly, there is just no chance the material applied will hurt or be a danger to people or pets. Read more on this subject matter here:
Product Safety: https://bugspray.com/about-us/who_is_bugspray.html#safe_for_the_home
Now to take it one step further; if you read the article above you’ll learn that most of the material needed to control this pest should be applied to the outside of the structure and to wall voids. And since both these areas which usually don’t have much contact with people or pets, there is virtually no way they can even come in contact with treated areas. This means the chance of any kind of exposure will be close to zero which in turn means there is little to no hazard present to you or your pets.
Now as explained above, a good application of the Conquer to the siding around the home, focusing in on entry areas like windows, door ways, garage doors, etc., should really help. And then if you dust any points of entry like electric outlets, light switches, pipe and conduit holes, etc. with the Drione Dust, you should be able to pretty much solve the problem and both eliminate and keep field crickets out of the home for good.
Conquer: https://bugspray.com/catalog/insecticide/liquid/conquer-esfenvalerate
Drione: https://bugspray.com/catalog/insecticide/dust/drione-dust
Hand Duster: https://bugspray.com/equipment/dusters/crusader
As for the inside of your home; you could spray baseboards with Conquer. It’s labeled for use inside homes on baseboards and even for use on carpeting for fleas so it’s okay to be used where people will touch surfaces that have been treated. But if you rather not treat inside, that’s fine too. A good perimeter treatment and dusting of the wall voids will usually solve any cricket problem anyway. Still, we always recommend setting out some Cricket Traps as they can go a long way at identifying problem areas that need extra attention.
Cricket Traps: https://bugspray.com/traps/glue/mouse-glueboard-5-x-8