House Crickets
Order:
Orthoptera
Family: Gryllidae
Species: Acheta domesticus
House crickets are commonly found indoors. They enter structures and easily establish populations within buildings without needing to return to the outdoors. This species of crickets was introduced to the United States from Europe. Although it is now distributed throughout the country, it is primarily a pest east of the Rocky Mountains.
Habits and Habitats
Female crickets are distinguishable by their long tubelike ovipositor (egg-laying structure) located at the tip of the abdomen and between the cerci (dorsal appendages at the abdomen's posterior end). They lay an average of 104 eggs indoors and 728 eggs outdoors per year. Indoors, eggs are deposited singly in crevices, such as behind baseboards and other dark places. The overwintering eggs hatch in the late spring. Because crickets undergo simple metamorphosis, the nymphs resemble the adults but lack wings, and female nymphs lack ovipositors. Generally, nymphs go through seven to eight instars and require an average of 55 days to mature.
Adults are about 3/4 to 7/8" (18 to 22 mm) long and are light yellowish brown in color. The head has three dark crossbands, and the antennae are thread-like. The wings lay flat on the back and the cerci are long. The tarsi (the fifth segment of the leg appendage) is subdivided into three segments.
These crickets are active at night and usually hide in dark, warm places during the day. During warm weather, house crickets typically live outdoors, and prefer garbage dumps. With the approach of cold weather, they seek sheltered places such as sheds, garages and houses.
Outdoors, house crickets can be found in large numbers near light fixtures, or resting on vertical surfaces such as utility poles or walls of buildings. Their diet consists of plants and live or dead insects, including other crickets.
Indoors, these crickets may eat large areas of fabrics including woolens, cottons, silks and synthetics. Clothes soiled with perspiration are especially attractive to crickets. Their feeding activities may also damage carpets as well. The male's chirping to attract females usually alerts homeowners to their presence.
Control
Signs of cricket activity include sightings, chirping, fecal pellets which are about 1/16 to 1/8" (2 to 2.5 mm) in length, and damaged fabrics with surfaces that appear rough from a cricket pulling the fibers as it feeds.
Cricket control starts outdoors. Reduce or eliminate moist harborages near the structure by mowing lawns, weeding plant beds and removing woodpiles. Because they are attracted to light, change outdoor lighting to yellow bulbs or sodium vapor lamps. Seal possible points of entry such as around windows and doors, and holes in masonry.
Baits are effective when applied indoors or as a band between the structure and peripheral harborages. Microencapsulated or wettable powder formulations are particularly effective in moist habitats that crickets prefer. Mechanical removal of crickets with a vacuum works well. Crack-and-crevice treatment of possible entry points may reduce invasion or may be needed indoors to control established infestations.
(Courtesy of the National Pest Control Association.)