Cricket chirps might be soothing when they’re in the distance on a summer night or humorous when you hear them after a bad joke. But, they’re not so appreciated when you have unwanted crickets in your yard, or worse, in your home.
Crickets are unsightly when you spot them on your kitchen floor and will likely be a reason for you or your children to scream once they’re spotted. Don’t worry, though – getting rid of crickets is a simple process, and preventing them may be as simple as turning off your porch light. So, let’s hop right into how to get rid of them and send them back to the comedy club.
Stop Attracting Crickets
You probably said “duh” under your breath, but prevention is truly the best way to get rid of crickets and keep them out of your home. Depending on where you live, your backyard may be the prime place for crickets to nest, and they can easily find their way inside your home if the conditions are just right.
If crickets are a known problem in your area, try these prevention methods to make sure they stay outside.
Remove Standing Water
Crickets enjoy moisture and humidity, which is why tropical locations are more diverse than what you’d find in in most of the United States. Most crickets in the US are on the country’s eastern side, with very few species living in the Southwest.
If you frequently find crickets in your home or on your porch, inspect for areas that are prone to collect water or for leaks. These areas stay moist and are essentially invitations for crickets to stop by and stay awhile. If a pipe is leaking, that means there’s an entry point to your home. Many crickets live underground, so they’ll surely find the opening if they don’t already live by it.
Tidy the Yard
Crickets need shelter to hide from birds and cats. If they don’t dig their own nest, they’ll use piles of leaves and grass clippings. They also love long blades of grass to hide in. For homeowners, this means that you’ll need to keep your yard tidy as a prevention method.
Mow your yard frequently in the summer as it grows. If you want to dump the clippings into a compost pile, make sure the pile is as far away from your house as possible. In the fall, rake up all the leaves that collect around your house. Soggy leaf piles left behind after a thunderstorm is a recipe for crickets and roaches.
Turn off the Lights
Crickets are drawn to porch lights. If you’re enjoying a night on the patio, you’ll probably hear the chirps get louder and louder until you look down and see crickets by the door. They can easily make their way inside when you open the door to flee the crickets. Turn off the light when you’re not using it to decrease the number of chirping visitors at your door.
Seal up Your Home
You can’t have indoor crickets if there’s no way for them to get inside. Unfortunately, this isn’t as simple as keeping your doors closed because crickets can be intruders who will break in and enter at any opening.
When looking for openings, be sure to check the following:
- Cracks and holes around doors and windows
- Leaky pipes
- Torn screens
- Holes in siding
- Cracks and holes in basement walls
- Roof damage
Attics and basements typically have the ideal conditions for crickets, so be sure to check these areas a bit more thoroughly.
Use Natural Poison: Borax
Borax is a mineral that occurs naturally and has been used in pesticides, cosmetics, and cleaning supplies. It’s even been used in DIY slime recipes, but it turns out, ingesting as little as 5 grams can be lethal for children, and 10 grams can be lethal for adults, so it’s less popular now than it used to be.
If you can keep pets and children away from it, you can use borax to kill crickets. Wearing gloves, mix borax with something starchy or sugary – cornmeal, sugar, or bread crumbs will do – and place it on a plate or shallow dish where you usually see crickets. If you’re not sure where they hide, try placing it under the fridge, sink, or near the water heater.
As the crickets eat the food, they’ll eat the borax and die soon after. Keep in mind that it’s lethal for people and pets if ingested, so be very careful when using it.
Make an Offer They Can’t Refuse: DIY Trap
Entice crickets to their death with a DIY trap. Use a shallow container and fill it up with a few inches of water. Mix in something sweet, such as sugar, syrup, or molasses, and let it sit overnight. The crickets will hop in, excited to eat the sweet stuff, but won’t be able to get out because of the water.
If you don’t want to drown them with water, you can use the borax method mentioned above in a DIY trap made with a 2-liter bottle.
- Cut the top off of the bottle.
- Pour in borax and a sweet or starchy food of your choice.
- Place the top of the bottle into the body of the bottle so that it forms a funnel.
- Leave the bottle where crickets can get to it.
This funnel-style trap makes it difficult for them to escape, so they’ll likely die from borax before they can get out.
If you don’t like dealing with crickets, DIY traps may not be the method for you since you’ll have to empty out the container once it’s too full. Crickets may stop jumping in once they see that their relatives never made it out, so keeping it clean is crucial for it to work well. Using disposable containers will make this process much easier for those who are squeamish about insects.
Treat the Lawn
You can prevent crickets from making their way to your patio and house by treating the lawn pesticides. These products will kill crickets before they get close to you, so it’s a great prevention method that actively gets rid of them.
There are a few methods of lawn treatment you can use:
- Aerosol spray: These sprays come in a can and are meant to be sprayed directly on crickets to kill them instantly. They aren’t intended for long-term control, but they’re useful if you spot a cricket while you’re outside.
- Insecticide granules: Granules are a long-term form of cricket control that usually lasts at least three months, but this will depend on the product. Once the granules are poured onto the lawn, they take a long time to break down, and as crickets walk over them, the poison sticks on their feet and they eventually die after ingesting it.
- Lawn spray: Most lawn spray containers attach to water hoses so you can easily apply it to the yard. This treatment won’t last as long as granules, but it can usually kill crickets on contact and continue to kill them for a few weeks.
- Natural spray: If you’re not comfortable using pesticides outdoors because of the toxic chemicals they contain, try looking for a lawn or aerosol spray that’s made with natural ingredients. These sprays are environmentally-friendly because they’re only made with ingredients that came from the earth. They may still be dangerous for kids and pets, so be sure to read the labels.
- Exterminators: Hiring an exterminator can be a bit of an investment, but it can save you a lot of time trying various products. Exterminators will know exactly what to use and will even pinpoint the source of the problem.
All pesticides have different risks. Carefully read the product labels before using them and keep kids and pets out of the area until the product has dried completely.
Final Thoughts
Getting rid of crickets can be unpleasant for many, but dealing with crickets in the house is even worse. There are plenty of hands-off solutions to choose from, so you don’t have to come in contact with the jumping critters. Keep in mind that pest control may involve harmful chemicals, whether natural or synthetic, so be sure to choose a method that’s suitable for your household.