help! I have crickets! in the basement. They scare me! How do I get rid of them?

Question

I have crickets every year around this time in my basement. I have no idea how they come in? Can you wager a guess? How do I get rid of them besides actually running around trying to catch/crush them.How can I prevent them from coming into my basement in the first place.

Answer 1

Check for cracks in your foundation or spaces around your pipes going into the basement. Fill them with expanding foam or caulking.

An easy way to find all of your openings, is to do it at night, with the help of a friend or two.

Here's what you need; a torch (flashlight) and a couple pieces of chalk.

Have a person go outside of the house with the torch (night time of course) and shine the light on the foundation, pipe entries, etc.

You'll be inside the dark basement, looking for any light shining through. When you see light, yell out to the person shining the torch, they'll mark the spot on the house with chalk and you'll mark your spot inside the house. Continue doing this until you've done the entire foundation. You'll be surprised at what you'll find.

The following day look for the chalk marks and start filling in all cracks and holes you've found.

Next, is to catch the crickets already in the house and thats easy. The following trick is how my grandfather and I used to catch crickets for fishing.

Purchase a day old loaf of bread (whole loaf not sliced). Cut the loaf length wise and remove a good portion of the center. The bread should look like a couple of boats.

Put the two halves back together and secure them with rubber bands. You want just enough pressure to hold them together, but not crush them. On one end of the loaf remove enough bread to make a small 1 to 1 1/2 inch hole.

Place the bread on the ground, in an out of the way spot along a wall and leave it alone for a day or two.

When your ready to check your trap, get an empty coffee can and go get the bread trap. Set the can on the ground, pick up the loaf of bread and put the end with the hole just inside the can. Start tapping the bread and watch the crickets fall out.

Have fun.

Answer 2

Crickets In Basement

Answer 3

I once put an open bottle in my basement and I caught like 20 crickets. I guess they could get in but couldnt get out. I'm terrifed of crickets and I use to have a bedroom in my basement, it sucked. I dont know how oyu get rid of them, I tried for 7 years and nothing worked.

Answer 4

They must have an opening they're getting through. You need to check everywhere, especially around windows, pipes, any kind of opening. If you find an opening....like around pipes, you can use an expanding foam hole filler, that is available at most hardware stores.....for cracks, use a tube of silicone sealant. In the meantime, you could fog your basement with a fogger, for example a Raid fogger you can buy at Wal-Mart. That should kill the crickets and you'll be able to simply sweep them out once you've aired out your basement. Best of luck to you.

Answer 5

RE:
help! I have crickets! in the basement. They scare me! How do I get rid of them?
I have crickets every year around this time in my basement. I have no idea how they come in? Can you wager a guess? How do I get rid of them besides actually running around trying to catch/crush them.How can I prevent them from coming into my basement in the first place.

Answer 6

Safely & Permanently Remove Moles, Warts and Skin Blemishes

Answer 7

You could release a few hundred huge hairy spiders down there. They'd eat the crickets.

Answer 8

buys spray bug or call pest control to spray around the house...or if you have a hole somewhere you can put foam spray into the hole where bugs came from..

Answer 9

snakes eat crickets

Answer 10

Kansas State University Agricultural Experiment Station and Cooperative Extension Service
Crickets normally live and breed outdoors. Out of
sight during the summer, they gather on sun-warmed
buildings and homes as cooler fall weather approaches.
With dropping temperatures, crickets seek heat where
it escapes through structural cracks, crevices, and gaps.
Eventually they enter buildings and homes through
these openings. The chirping mating calls of males
signals arrival.
True Crickets
Field Cricket Gryllus spp.
Several fi eld cricket species are found in Kansas.
In general, they are entirely black (Figure 1) or mostly
black with brownish coppery highlights (Figure 2).
Females are larger than males with three conspicuous
appendages at the tip of the abdomen: two lateral
styli and a distinctive ovipositor. Males possess only
two lateral styli. Field crickets are outdoor species that
overwinter as eggs in the soil. Nymphs emerge the following
spring and develop over the summer. By early
fall when they reach
maturity, they mate.
Females deposit eggs
in the soil and produce
a single generation
per year. Field
crickets consume a
wide range of food
sources. They might
be considered scavengers
because they
feed on plant debris
and other organic
refuse including dead
insects. Crickets are
also plant-eaters,
capable of destroying fi eld and vegetable crops when
populations reach outbreak proportions.
House Cricket
Acheta domesticus
House crickets’color varies from yellowish-brown
to straw-brown to light tan in color (Figure 3). When
outdoors, house and fi eld crickets have similar developmental
patterns and feeding habits. But unlike fi eld
crickets, which eventually die after moving indoors,
house crickets may adapt to their new surroundings to
live and breed indefi nitely — hence the name, house
cricket. Lacking soil, females seek darkened areas
where they deposit
eggs in cracks or crevices.
House crickets
subsist on a variety of
food sources including
houseplants; meat
and vegetable matter;
pet food in feeding
dishes, bags, or boxes;
dead insect carcasses;
and other organic materials. Because house crickets can
breed and live indoors, they are produced commercially
for specialty markets. Traditionally, they have been sold
through pet stores and bait shops. They are also sold for
human consumption.
Minute Ground Cricket
Nemobius fasciatus
This cricket looks typical, but at less than ½-inch
long it is actually quite small. (Figure 4). Color varies
from black to brownish to reddish-brown. Ground
crickets normally live in fi elds and wooded areas where
they feed much the same as fi eld crickets. Ground
crickets are attracted to light on warm summer nights.
Field crickets vary in color from
black Figure 1 (top) to brown
Figure 2 (bottom).
Figure 3. House cricket
Crickets
2
You may notice them
crawling on the sidewalk
or pavement under street
lights and in front of
lighted storefronts and
businesses. They seek
cover in dwellings as
daylight returns.
Non-Cricket “Crickets”
Camel Cricket Ceuthophilus spp
Camel crickets, also called cave crickets, are named
for their humped appearance (Figure 5). They are
wingless, possess long antennae, and have powerful
hind jumping legs. Camel crickets are not true crickets.
Rather, they are more closely related to long-horned
and meadow grasshoppers and katydids. Most people
probably do not encounter camel crickets because during
the day they remain hidden in underground burrows,
beneath soil litter, in wood piles, and near wells
or other sites that
protect them from
sunlight. Camel
crickets are active
at night. Some
are predators that
feed on what they
capture. Others
are herbivores that
consume plants.
Camel crickets occasionally enter homes. They may
be a nuisance but do not cause damage. In rare cases
when populations are high, burrowing can cause lumpy
lawns. The rough surface makes walking diffi cult and
may dull reel mower blades.
Northern Mole Cricket
Neocurtillia hexadactyla
Mole crickets (Figure 6) are not true crickets.
They belong to their own taxonomic group. Although
not rare, the northern mole cricket is seldom seen in
Kansas. As the name implies, mole crickets spend
most of their lives in
underground burrows.
Their mole-like front
legs enable them to dig
passageways. Northern
mole crickets forage
on underground plant
material such as grass
roots, plant roots, root
crops, and tubers. They are occasionally found on the
soil surface and have been reported feeding on strawberries.
In the home, the mole cricket’s size (up to 1½
inches long) and unusual appearance raises concerns.
Mole crickets do not cause damage indoors.
Damage in Homes
Indoors, crickets may cause other problems:
• Incessant chirping. This can be distracting and
interfere with rest or sleep.
• Fabric damage. While crickets do not consume
fabrics, they sample whatever they come in contact
with. Random chewing may damage articles made
of leather, wool, fur, cotton, silk, synthetic fabrics,
linen, paper, and even rubber. Chewing damage is
more likely on fabrics, materials or clothing soiled
with food or perspiration.
• Stains. Salivary secretions may damage light
fabrics.
• Food contamination. Cricket fecal pellets contaminate
food in meal preparation areas including food
left out on counters, especially overnight when it is
dark and quiet.
Cricket Control
Non-chemical
While crickets are hardy insects and don’t necessarily
require dark and damp shelter for survival, they do seek
hiding places. Habitat modifi cation around the perimeter
of buildings and homes helps reduce cricket numbers.
Removal of weeds and dense vegetation reduces protective
cover. Getting rid of loose bricks, boards, wood
piles, tarpaulins and other miscellaneous materials or
debris eliminates hiding places. Consider removing
crushed stone, wood chip mulch, and plastic weed control
barriers next to foundations.
Try to insect-proof buildings and houses by thoroughly
inspecting to identify entry points. Check for cracks
and gaps in structure foundations, ill-fi tting doorways
(between garage doors and the building structures,
for example), overhang louvers, chimney vents, roof
ductways, soffi ts, air conditioner connections, outdoor
faucets and siding. Use caulk to seal cracks and crevices,
weather stripping to make doorways and garage
doors tight-fi tting, and metal screening over or under
other entrances.
Figure 4. Ground cricket
Figure 5. Cave cricket
Figure 6. Mole cricket
3
Chemical
Outdoor insecticide barrier treatments can be
applied to a 6- to12-foot band around the perimeter of
buildings and homes. Spraying sides of structures is a
further deterrent. Used in combination with non-chemical
recommendations, insecticides can further reduce
cricket numbers before they enter.
Indoor insecticide applications can be proactive –
applied when cricket populations are large and there is
likelihood of home invasion – or reactive – to eliminate
crickets after they have entered. Indoor applications
may be general surface, spot, mist or crack and crevice
treatments. Because various insecticide active ingredients
registered for use against crickets are marketed
under numerous trade names, shop around to determine
what products are available through local retail outlets.
Read product labels to ensure safe and proper use.
Labels should tell whether or not a product is restricted
to outdoor or indoor use or if it can be used in
both situations. It should also describe areas suitable
for treatment, application methods, mixture rates for
products that are not premixed, safety precautions for
people and pets, and precautions to avoid staining or
damaging sprayed surfaces.
Active Ingredient
No. Products
registered in Kansas
Use Site
Lawn
Perimeter and other
surfaces Indoor
bifenthrin 118 X
carbaryl 82 X
cyfluthrin 98 X X X
cypermethrin 61 X X
deltamethrin 71 X X X
esfenvalerate 55 X X
lambda-cyhalothrin 43 X X X
permethrin 764 X X X
Product Ingredients and Uses
Kansas State University Agricultural Experiment Station and Cooperative Extension Service
MF - 749 June 2006
K-State Research and Extension is an equal opportunity provider and employer. Issued in furtherance of Cooperative Extension Work, Acts of May 8 and June
30, 1914, as amended. Kansas State University, County Extension Councils, Extension Districts, and United States Department of Agriculture Cooperating,
Fred A. Cholick, Director.
Brand names appearing in this publication are for product identifi cation purposes only. No endorsement is intended,
nor is criticism implied of similar products not mentioned.
Publications from Kansas State University are available on the World Wide Web at: www.oznet.ksu.edu
Contents of this publication may be freely reproduced for educational purposes. All other rights reserved. In each case, credit
Robert Bauernfeind. Crickets, MF-749 Kansas State University, June 2006.
Author
Robert Bauernfeind, Entomologist