The sound of crickets chirping can be relaxing on a lazy summer night spent on your porch, but it can be quite the opposite when that same chirping comes from inside your home. Crickets will enter a building in order to survive the cold weather, and it is the males that make the chirping noise when trying to attract a mate.

In terms of appearance, house crickets are almost exactly identical to any other species of cricket. They are tan in coloration, with a ⅞ inch body, wings, six legs and very long antennae. They are mostly nocturnal insects, which makes the chirping noise inside the home that much worse to deal with. However, outside of being a giant nuisance, they do not pose any safety or health risks. With that being said, they may damage fabrics and stain furniture and clothing.

When they enter a home, they will look to nest inside humid, dark areas, so they will mostly choose basements and crawl spaces as their ideal locations. In fact, one of the ways to get rid of an infestation is to reduce the humidity in the home. This will drive the crickets out.

So the most obvious sign of an infestation is hearing the chirping at night. You may then also see the crickets themselves. In terms of control methods, a key way to prevent cricket and pest infestations in general is to make sure that there are no cracks and gaps in the walls through which they can enter. These entry points are particularly common near windows, doors, and pipes and wires that enter the home. If you use caulk and weatherstripping, you can remove a lot of the ways in which pests can gain entry.

You can then remove bright lights facing your yard. Crickets are drawn to these instantly, and it’s just a few steps from the yard into the home. Instead, you can use sodium vapour lighting. When dealing with the crickets that are already inside, you have two main weapons: the vacuum cleaner and boric acid. All you have to do is find the cricket nest, vacuum up the insects and the eggs, and then lay down boric acid in the area to prevent reinfestation. Sometimes however, the infestation will require the help of a pest control professional. Contact us today if you are having issues with house crickets.

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