Crickets are the type of insect that is sort of just a natural part of life. In a way they’re kind of background noise; you hear them but often don’t see them, and even when you do see them are you really even seeing them? Ok, enough with the cricket existentialism; what we’re trying to get at is that crickets are actually pretty interesting! So we put together a few fast facts on things you should know about crickets that you might not have already known.
- Crickets will eat just about anything, including each other
Crickets are basically game to eat anything — and that includes other crickets. Usually, crickets will go after easier prey, like plant and animal matter that they find or some decaying animals and rotting vegetation, but if things get dire enough, crickets will target easy prey like another injured cricket and eat them. Nature can be pretty brutal sometimes.
- Crickets usually only live around 3 months
Crickets are typically not very long for this world. They aren’t able to survive cold weather, so those late spring and early summer months essentially their only time to shine. During this time crickets will spend much of their time trying to find a safe place to lay their eggs so that their offspring will be able to survive the winter and hatch when the weather warms up.
This isn’t true for every cricket though; there are over 900 species after all. Mole crickets spend winters (and most of their lives) deep down in soil, which means they can live as long as 2 years! - Crickets don’t just chirp for mating purposes
That distinct “chirping” song that you’ll hear on quaint summer nights is partially done by male crickets to try and attract female crickets, but it has other explanations too:- They are behaving aggressively during the encounter of two males
- They are sounding a danger alert when sensing trouble
- Crickets actually can bite…
But they usually don’t. It is incredibly rare that a cricket would decide that a human was a creature that they would want to bite, and even so, their bites aren’t powerful enough to break the skin.
- Crickets can actually become a pest
You might think that crickets are no big deal, and for the most part they really aren’t. They can however become what we call a nuisance pest, which is a type of pest that isn’t causing devastating damage or seriously spreading disease, but can cause smaller problems. Crickets will sometimes feed on fabrics like cotton, silk, wool, and linen (we told you they eat practically anything), and mole crickets can cause plant death with their tunneling which can mean trouble for your lawn.
While crickets are not our biggest focus at City Wide Exterminating, we do help keep them out of your home and off of your lawn with our Everyday Home Plan. With this residential pest plan, we’ll keep your home safe from 20+ pests for just a dollar and change a day. If you find yourself having pest troubles or concerns, just schedule an appointment and we’ll get in touch ASAP!