Homeowners have likely begun to heard the consistent chirping in their neighborhood, which means crickets are starting to thrive in SaddleBrooke and throughout Arizona. Although there are no serious health concerns raised by a cricket infestation, crickets are capable of eating through everything from wool and silk to wallpaper glue. The other major issue is if you spot these pests inside your home, they may cause spiders and scorpions to come looking for them.
Commonly encountered in yards, basements and barns, crickets are jumping insects typically measuring from about 9/16 to just over an inch long. These insects vary in color from brown to shiny black, with leathery wings and long antennae. Eggs hatch in late spring or early summer—those nymphs grow into adults in about 45 days. T he males of these newly adult crickets will begin singing to attract females at this time and continue throughout the summer.
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Although they rarely cause problems when they wander indoors, crickets can be a problem if they have emerged in large quantities in your SaddleBrooke basement or garage. The racket these jumping insects create is enough to drive even the most grounded person out of their gourds.
Crickets feed on decaying plant material, fungi, and seedling plants. They benefit their surrounding environment by breaking down plant material and renewing soil minerals. They are also an important source of food for other animals like spiders, some wasps, ground beetles, birds, small rodents and lizards.
Placing sticky boards strategically behind refrigerators and near sources of water is one way homeowners can deal with crickets. These boards will trap crickets safely. An additional option for the homeowner not intimidated by a pest is to pick them up and throw them outdoors since there are no serious health concerns when it comes to a cricket infestation.
If crickets are a perennial problem for you, there are several things a homeowner can do:
Look around your home for cracks and crevices that they may be using for entry points.
Seal cracks, repair window screens and ensure that your crawlspace door fits tightly to keep crickets outdoors where they belong.
Keep lights off at night as much as possible can help because they are attracted to lights.
Keeping your kitchen clean and putting pet food away will help eliminate food and water sources.
Trimming up bushes near the house and moving trash cans, wood piles and other hiding spots away from doors can help eliminate the cricket menace.
In addition, a pest professional can implement an integrated pest management solution to make nesting sites inhospitable and significantly help reduce the number of crickets entering your home.
Self care is not about buying expensive items or going on vacation, it’s about doing things that nourish your mind and body.
Paul Opocensky is the Manager for Truly Nolen in SaddleBrooke. His service office can be reached at (520) 219-2494. Founded in 1938, Tucson-based Truly Nolen of America (trulynolen.com) is one of the largest family-owned pest control companies in the United States.
