The sound of a cricket gently chirping is a sweet sound on a summer night, but only if it’s outside. A cricket in your house while you are trying to sleep is not nearly as quaint. A cricket can quickly become a pest control problem. The racket can cost you precious sleep and searching for the culprit is often a great deal of wasted effort.
While crickets don’t bite humans but that doesn’t mean they aren’t a pest. Crickets are closely related to cockroaches, which dulls some of their charm. They eat both organic and inorganic matter, which means just about anything is fair game. Even the most scrupulously clean house has plenty to offer a cricket. If there aren’t any crumbs around they will eat wool, vegetables, all types of paper, sawdust, garbage, fabric, fur and even rubber.
Since the cricket’s menu is so wide-ranging, pest control and management of this creature should be an ongoing process. If you eradicate them from your home, the chances are still good that more will sneak in from neighboring fields or yards. Continuing indoor and outdoor pest control practices will help keep you from losing any more sleep.
Green pest control methods like exclusion are often effective against crickets. A professional pest management agent can inspect your home and find out where the crickets are gaining access to your home. He can seal the cracks and crevices where they sneak in to prevent more from entering and advise you on screens and door seals.
Pay special attention to the lighted areas of your landscape. Crickets are very attracted to lights at night. Your porch light, landscaping lights or security lighting may inadvertently be drawing crickets to your home. Use special bulbs that will not attract insects or limit the number of lights you have on after dark.
Heat can help you seek out and destroy breeding grounds for all types of pest including crickets. Crickets particularly like dark, damp basements for breeding. They really prefer living day to day in the great outdoors but hot, dry conditions will send them inside.
You may need some outdoor pest control measures as well to make sure crickets don’t overpopulate your yard or property. Certain sprays and baits have been proven effective but these should be applied only be professionals to maintain the safety of your home and yard.
Don’t lose sleep over crickets. Call a Brevard County pest control service before crickets invade your home.