CRICKETS
Crickets are insects related to grasshoppers and katydids (order Orthoptera). They have somewhat flattened bodies and long antennae. Known for the loud chirping noises they make by rubbing their corrugated wing casings against combs on their hind legs. Crickets get their name from the high-pitched sound or "chirp" produced when the male rubs his front wings together to attract a female. The females have a long needlelike egg-laying organ (ovipositor). There are about 900 species known in the world. Crickets are popular pets in Asia, especially China.
They may be invasive to the home and by that means are a pest. the chirping from many can be very annoying, especially in the evening and nighttime. Inside your home they will feed on varieties of fabrics, foods and paper products. Cotton, linen, wool, rayon, nylon, silk and furs are susceptible, along with soiled fabrics, sizing from wallpaper, glue from bookbindings, fruit, vegetables, meat and even other crickets.
The True Crickets resemble longhorned grasshoppers in having long tapering antennae, singing organs on the front wings of the male and hearing organs on the 4th leg segment.
The True Crickets are:
House Cricket - Adults are about 3/4 to 7/8 inch long, light yellowish-brown
Field Cricket - Adults range in size from 1/2 to 1-1/4 inches long depending on the species, are usually black-colored
Ground Cricket - Adults resemble house and field crickets but are much smaller, usually less than 1/2 inch long, and brownish.
Snowy Tree Cricket - Adults are about 5/6 to 7/8 inch long, pale yellowish - green or whitish shaded pale green
Camel Cricket - Adults, sometimes called cave or cellar crickets, are a little over 3/4 inch long, light tan to dark brown
Northern Mole Cricket - Adults are 1/2 to 1-1/4 inches long, brownish to blackish-brown. Their broad front legs are adapted for digging.
Control Measures
An occasional cricket or two in the home usually presents no serious problem.
Prevention--Sanitation is the most important means of eliminating nuisance crickets.
Make sure that all windows and doors are tight-fitting with proper screening in place.
Never store firewood next to the house foundation.
Raise garbage cans off the ground if practical.
Trash and dumpsters should be placed as far from the building as possible.
Crickets can be controlled with Nosema locustae. Spray with the citrus based sprays will also work. Spray with home brew by mixing equal parts of compost tea, molasses, and orange oil. Mix 2 oz./gallon of water if the spray will go on plants. Use 4 oz./gallon if the spray to only go on hard surfaces.
Here is a list of cricket subfamilies:
Gryllidae - True crickets
Eneopterinae - Bush crickets
Mogoplistinae - Scaly crickets
Myrmecophilinae - Ant crickets
Nemobiinae - Ground crickets
Oecanthinae - Tree crickets
Pentacentrinae - Anomalous crickets(deviating from the general or common order or type)
Trigonidiinae - Sword-tail crickets
Gryllotalpidae - Mole crickets
Here are several other orthopteran species are also called crickets, not strictly crickets:
Katydids
Cave or camel crickets
Sand crickets
Mormon crickets
Weta crickets
Jerusalem crickets
Parktown Prawns
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