Crickets

Common field and house crickets are nerve-wracking when they find their way into your home. These pests are most active during nighttime hours, when males use their wings to create loud, chirping noises and attract females. In addition to these sleep-disrupting sounds, crickets also cause damage. Outdoors, they feed on plants and insects, live and dead. Indoors, they target fabric, clothing, paper products and other items, including pet food. Some types will nest and reproduce indoors. Protecting your home's perimeter is key to stopping crickets and sleeping well.

Identification: Crickets are often mistaken for grasshoppers. Both pests have large, strong, hind legs for jumping, but crickets are smaller and darker in color. Common house crickets are usually yellowish brown, while field crickets are shiny and black. They typically grow 3/4 to 1 inch long, with rigid, protective forewings and two hind wings for flying. Crickets also have long antennae sometimes longer than their bodies while grasshopper antennae are short.

Signs/Damage: Because crickets are active during nighttime hours, it's difficult to catch them in the act. The damage they cause is hard to distinguish from that of other nuisance pests. However, cricket problems are easily diagnosed by their loud, nightly chirping.

Control: Crickets gather around foundations and enter homes through cracks, crevices and openings around wiring or pipes. Effective control involves sealing entry points and creating a perimeter of protection. GardenTech^® brand offers several highly effective products that kill crickets by contact and keep protecting for up to three months*:

• Sevin^® Insect Killer Granules, applied with a regular lawn spreader, creates a barrier around your foundation. Apply the ready-to-use granules in a 5 to 10 foot band around your home's perimeter. Then, water the area well to release the active ingredients into the grass and kill crickets by contact.
• Sevin^® Insect Killer Ready to Spray attaches to a common garden hose to measure and mix as you spray. This non-staining formula treats lawn and garden areas and your home's foundation up to a maximum height of 3 feet.
• Sevin^® Insect Killer Concentrate, used with a pump-style sprayer, provides an easy, economical way to treat lawns, gardens and foundations up to a 3-foot height. Use the easy-to-use measuring cap, add water to your sprayer, and mix well. Cover all surfaces thoroughly to kill existing crickets and protect against newcomers.

Tip: Crickets are very attracted to light at night. Limit outdoor lighting near your home, or treat well-lit areas thoroughly to kill and control crickets drawn to the light source. Keep your foundation free of weeds and long grass where crickets may hide or nest.

Always read product labels and follow the instructions carefully.

*These products provide up to 3 month control on all listed insects except ticks.

GardenTech is a registered trademark of Gulfstream Home and Garden, Inc.

Sevin is a registered trademark of Tessenderlo Kerley, Inc.