Spring crickets are a common nuisance in Suffolk County & Nassau County during the spring and summer. They are famously known for their high-pitched chirping in the evenings. Even though crickets are fairly harmless, their loud chirping can be a nuance and keep many people up at night.
Identifying Spring Crickets
Spring crickets are aptly named for the time of the year when they start to become most active, not to be confused with the fall crickets that are most active during late summer to fall. The female cricket’s eggs hatch in late summer but they remain in the nymph stage during the winter. As the weather starts to slowly get warmer in the spring, the cricket nymphs will begin to mature into adults.
Once fully mature, male crickets will begin to chirp by rubbing their wings together as they look for their mates creating their melody that many people associate with spring and summer. Due to their nocturnal nature many people will hear crickets but rarely see them. If you do see one they can be easily identified by their black or dark brown bodies, measuring approximately 0.5 to 1 inch.
How to Keep Crickets Out of Your Yard
You may be unknowingly attracting crickets into your yard and possibly your home, therefore it is important to understand what attracts crickets and how to deter them from living in your yard.
- Remove Clutter: Clutter in your yard provides a perfect hiding space for crickets. By keeping your yard tidy it will make your yard less hospitable to these chirping insects.
- Keep Your Yard Tidy: Crickets like to hide in tall grasses, weeds and piles of dead vegetation. Keeping your yard trimmed, removing tall weeds and piles of leaves or grass clippings will help deter crickets from setting up residence in your yard.
- Eliminate Sources of Water: Crickets are attracted to moisture in your yard. Make sure to eliminate any sources of standing water as well as fixing any leaking faucets.
- Turn Off Unused Lights: Like many nocturnal pests, crickets are attracted to light sources. To keep crickets away from your yard and home, make sure to turn off your outdoor lights when you are not using them.
- Apply an Insecticide: Using an insecticide can be extremely effective to get rid of unwanted crickets, especially when other methods to keep them away have not worked. An insecticide will interrupt the cricket life cycle by eliminating eggs, stopping them from living and breeding in your yard.
Signs of Crickets in Your Home
Crickets are not only a nuisance in your yard, they can also invade your home, damaging your belongings and creating disarray. They often enter a home to find a warm place to shelter and lay their eggs. Besides finding live crickets in your home, some of the signs of a home cricket infestation include chirping noises within the home, seeing cricket droppings and finding their egg cases.
Having crickets inside your home can be frustrating. They may chew on and damage your belongings, pose a health risk to your family by bringing bacteria into your home and keep you awake chirping happily throughout the night. To keep crickets out of your home it is important to find and seal any holes or cracks in the exterior of your house. Inside your home you should keep the kitchen tidy and free of any crumbs and remove any clutter that may be attractive hiding places for crickets.
Calling a Professional Exterminator
Sometimes despite your best efforts, crickets will still decide to invade your yard, that is when it is time to enlist the help of a professional exterminator. If you have crickets or any unwanted pests in your home or yard, contact the experts at Suburban Exterminating. Contact us today for a free quote!
