How To Get Rid Of Crickets Inside House
Dealing with a cricket infestation can be a nuisance, especially when their chirping keeps you up at night and they start causing damage to your belongings. However, there are effective ways to handle a cricket infestation and prevent them from returning to your home. Here’s a comprehensive guide on how to get rid of crickets inside the house and keep them out for good.
Why Are There Crickets In My House?
Crickets are known to migrate indoors in search of a cozy spot to nest, especially when the weather starts to get cold outside. The most common type of cricket found in homes is the house cricket, which tends to hide in dark, damp places.
How To Tell If There Are Crickets In The House
Since crickets are nocturnal, their presence is usually noticed at night when they start chirping. They are likely to hide in cool, moist areas such as under furniture, appliances, or in dark corners of closets.
How To Get Rid Of Crickets In The House
While professional exterminators are the best solution for severe infestations, there are some at-home methods to get rid of crickets. You can use molasses traps, vacuum cleaners, and apply diametaceous earth or insecticide to eliminate them.
Molasses traps, made from a mixture of molasses and water, are highly effective at catching crickets. Simply mix 3 tablespoons of molasses with two cups of water and set the mixture out in a mason jar. The crickets will be lured in by the sweet smell and jump into the trap, drowning in the process.
Using a vacuum cleaner can help remove cricket eggs and prevent further infestation. Additionally, applying diametaceous earth around the baseboards and using insecticide along window sills and in the corners of rooms can help eliminate crickets. However, it’s important to keep in mind that insecticides are toxic, so precautions should be taken to keep children and pets away from the treated areas.
How To Keep Crickets Out Of The House
Preventing crickets from re-entering your home is crucial after dealing with an infestation. You can use yellow outdoor lights to reduce the chances of attracting crickets into your home. Trimming your yard and hedges, storing garbage and firewood away from the house, and sealing entry points such as cracks and gaps in window frames can help keep crickets at bay.
It’s also important to maintain a clean and uncluttered environment, as crickets tend to hide in piles of garbage or firewood. Additionally, reducing moisture in or around your home, spraying around windows and doors, and applying lawn insecticides can further prevent cricket infestations.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. What are Crickets?
Crickets are nocturnal insects distantly related to grasshoppers. They can be recognized by their round heads, long antennae, cylindrical bodies, and prominent hind legs. The average lifespan of a cricket is 90 days, and they are known to cause damage by chewing on fabric, paper, and vegetation in homes.
2. How to Apply Indoor Cricket Treatments?
Creating a natural cricket bait using molasses and water, applying diametaceous earth, using insecticide bug spray, and placing glue cricket traps are effective indoor cricket treatments. These methods can help eliminate crickets from your home.
3. How to Apply Lawn Treatments for Crickets?
For mole cricket infestations in lawns, using lawn insecticide granules, nematodes, and more intensive lawn treatment sprays can help control the cricket population. It’s important to follow the package directions and take necessary precautions when applying these treatments.
4. How to Apply Outdoor Cricket Treatments?
Outdoor treatments such as spraying pesticide, placing cricket traps and baits, and blocking entry points can prevent crickets from entering your home. These measures can help keep crickets away from your living spaces.
5. How to Prevent a Cricket Infestation?
To prevent cricket infestations, it’s essential to vacuum carpets and rugs, repair seals on windows and doors, keep trash cans clean, and eliminate standing water. Additionally, using amber bug lights, encouraging natural predators, and maintaining a well-kept environment can deter crickets from entering your home.
By following these effective methods and preventive measures, you can successfully get rid of crickets inside your house and create an environment that is unattractive to these pests.