House and field crickets have chewing mouthparts and can nip if handled, but they rarely break skin and carry no disease. Jerusalem crickets can give a painful pinch but are not venomous.

What do crickets eat?

Almost anything: plant material, seeds, fruit, dead insects, other crickets, and indoors, crumbs, pet food, paper, and fabric soiled with sweat or food, including wool, silk, cotton and linen.

Are crickets good luck?

In many cultures, including Chinese and Native American traditions, a cricket in the house is considered good luck, and killing one is bad luck. Biologically, a single cricket indoors simply wandered in from outside.

Crickets: Types, Chirping, Diet and Crickets in the House

Q: Why do crickets chirp at night?

Male crickets chirp to attract females and warn off rival males. They are nocturnal, so that is when they call; calling at night also helps them avoid birds and other daytime predators.

Q: How long do crickets live?

Adult house and field crickets live about 2 to 3 months. Including the egg and nymph stages, the full life is roughly 6 months to a year, depending on temperature.

Q: How do crickets make noise?

A male raises his front wings and rubs a scraper on one wing against a file of ridges on the other, like running a fingernail along a comb. Warmer temperatures make them chirp faster.

Crickets are jumping insects related to grasshoppers, with long antennae, big hind legs and, in most species, males that chirp at night. In the US the ones that end up indoors are house crickets, field crickets and camel crickets; they're harmless to people but can chew fabric and keep you awake.

How to recognize a cricket

Long, thin antennae, often longer than the body (grasshoppers have short ones).
Large jumping hind legs.
Two tail-like cerci at the end of the abdomen.
Females have a long, needle-like ovipositor between the cerci for laying eggs in soil; males don't.
Wings held flat over the back in house and field crickets; camel crickets are wingless.

Female cricket with a long needle-like ovipositor at the tip of the abdomen

Types of crickets in the US

Cricket	Look	Where	Comes indoors?
House cricket (Acheta domesticus)	Tan, 3/4 inch, three dark bands across head	Nationwide; also sold as pet food	Yes; can breed indoors in warm spots
Field crickets (Gryllus spp.)	Shiny black or dark brown, about 1 inch	Nationwide	Yes, in late summer and fall, often in huge numbers in Texas and the Southwest
Camel / cave / spider crickets (Ceuthophilus, Diestrammena)	Humpbacked, tan, mottled, very long legs, no wings	Basements, crawl spaces, garages	Yes; silent. See camel crickets
Jerusalem crickets (Stenopelmatus)	Large, amber body with banded abdomen, big bald head	West, especially California	Rarely; live in soil
Mole crickets (Neoscapteriscus, Gryllotalpa)	Brown, velvety, shovel-like front legs	Southeast, Gulf Coast turf	Rarely; major lawn pests
Tree crickets (Oecanthus)	Pale green, slender	Shrubs and trees	No; source of the soft, steady summer trill

Jerusalem crickets ("potato bugs", "niño de la tierra") aren't true crickets. They look alarming, can pinch hard and hiss, but are not venomous. Mole crickets tunnel under lawns and golf courses, uprooting grass; the invasive tawny and southern mole crickets are a serious turf pest in Florida and the Gulf states.

Why crickets chirp, and how

Only male crickets chirp. How do crickets make noise? By lifting the front wings and dragging a hard scraper on one wing over a toothed "file" vein on the other. The wing acts as a soundboard. Each species has its own song: a calling song to attract females, a softer courtship song, and an aggressive chirp toward rival males.

Why do crickets chirp at night? They're nocturnal, the night is quieter, and predators like birds are asleep. They chirp faster as it gets warmer: an old rule of thumb (Dolbear's law) is that the number of snowy tree cricket chirps in 14 seconds plus 40 roughly equals the temperature in °F.

A cricket stops chirping when it senses vibration or your approach, which is why one is so hard to find. Females find males by hearing; their ears are on their front legs.

What crickets eat

Crickets are omnivores. Outdoors they eat plants, seedlings, fruit, seeds, decaying plant matter, and dead or weak insects. Indoors they'll feed on crumbs, pet food, and starch or protein in fabrics, wallpaper paste and paper, especially clothing soiled with sweat or food. A large indoor population can leave ragged holes in wool, silk, cotton and linen.

How long do crickets live?

House and field crickets go through egg, about 8 to 10 nymph stages, then adult. Adults live roughly 2 to 3 months. In the North, field crickets have one generation a year: eggs in soil overwinter and hatch in spring, and adults appear late summer, which is when they invade houses. House crickets indoors can breed year-round in warm, damp places like furnace rooms and behind water heaters.

Do crickets bite?

Rarely, and not in any dangerous way. House and field crickets can nip with their chewing mouthparts if held, and Jerusalem crickets can pinch hard enough to hurt. None are venomous and none carry disease to people. The real costs are damage to fabrics and noise.

Crickets in the house: why they come in

Fall cooling: field crickets seek warmth and shelter as nights get cold.
Lights: crickets are strongly attracted to lights at night, then slip under doors.
Moisture: damp basements and crawl spaces draw camel crickets.
Gaps: doors without sweeps, foundation cracks, weep holes, garage doors.

A single chirping cricket indoors is normal. Dozens every morning mean you have a lighting, moisture or sealing problem.

How to get rid of crickets

Hand shining a flashlight behind a radiator to find a chirping cricket

Find the chirper. Turn off the TV and walk slowly toward the sound with a flashlight; it usually hides behind appliances, radiators, baseboard heaters or boxes. Catch it under a cup and put it outside, or vacuum it.
Set glue traps along walls in basements, garages and laundry rooms. A pinch of cornmeal on the trap helps.
Molasses or sugar-water trap: a shallow bowl of water with a spoon of molasses catches crickets that fall in.
Cut the lights. Switch exterior bulbs to yellow "bug lights" or LED, and use motion sensors. Close blinds at night.
Seal entry points: door sweeps, weatherstripping, caulk around pipes and foundation cracks, screens on vents.
Clean up the perimeter: keep a 1 to 2 foot vegetation-free strip near the foundation, move firewood and mulch piles away, mow tall grass.
Dry damp spaces with a dehumidifier (aim for under 50% humidity).

If large numbers keep coming in, a perimeter spray of a pyrethroid (bifenthrin, cypermethrin) around the foundation and door thresholds, or cricket baits outdoors, can help. Follow the label and keep it out of drains.

When to call a pro

Call a pest control company if field crickets invade by the hundreds every fall (common in Texas and the Southwest), if house crickets are breeding inside, or if mole crickets are damaging your lawn. A general pest service typically costs about $100 to $250 for an initial visit (approximate). For other options, see DIY pest control.

Crickets