Cricket Control: How To Get Rid of Crickets

This page is a general Cricket control guide. Using the products and methods suggested you will get control of the most commonly found Crickets inside and outside the house. Follow this guide and use the recommended products and we guarantee 100% removal of Crickets.

The chirping of Crickets may seem pleasant for some, but for most trying to get a decent sleep in, Crickets can be an annoying irritant to deal with on a nightly basis. Crickets thrive at night time and though they are often hard to spot, they can definitely be heard due to their incessant chirping.

When they have infiltrated a home, Crickets are notorious for eating into clothing and other fabrics throughout the house. They are also known to destroy wallpaper and eat on fabrics in furniture, drapes, rugs, and carpeting. In agriculture and home gardens, Crickets can be destructive by eating crops and seeds. 

If you are dealing with a Cricket infestation and want a solution, we have the guide for you. Read on below to learn more about this pest and how you can successfully get rid of crickets both inside and outside using our professional-grade products and expert advice.

Identification

Before you can treat you need to make absolutely sure you’re dealing with Crickets and not some other pest. Misidentification can lead to using the wrong treatment methods and products, which can end up being a large waste of time and money. Below are the defining characteristics of crickets so you know what they look like for proper identification.

• Crickets are small to medium-sized insects with mostly cylindrical, somewhat vertically flattened bodies. Cricket species can vary in color but could be yellowish-brown, to tan, to dark brown in color.
• Crickets usually have five eyes—two large eyes, and three small eyes on the forehead.
• There are over 900 different cricket species. Crickets often get mistaken for the grasshopper since they resemble each other in appearance. 
• The difference between Crickets and Grasshoppers can be distinguished by observing the wings. While crickets fold their wings against the sides of their bodies, grasshoppers fold theirs in a high tent-like fashion over their bodies.
• Crickets also make a distinctive chirping noise. This chirping is essentially a mating call conducted by male crickets to attract females. The male cricket noise produces the noise by rubbing his forewings together. The chirping noise differs depending on the species.
• While there is a wide variety of crickets that exist, the ones which most commonly are found in and around the home are field crickets and house crickets.

Use the image and description above to properly identify Crickets on your property. If you are not totally sure, contact us and one of our pros will assist you with identification.

Inspection

Once you have confirmed that you are dealing with Crickets, you will now need to locate where they are hiding in or around the home. Conducting an inspection will help you figure out where to focus applications of cricket killing insecticides.

Where To Inspect

Outside, start by looking for crickets at entry points around the outside perimeter of your home. Crickets are known to jump up to 3 feet high and this ability enables them to gain access into the home by jumping into vents weep holes, openings around utility pipes, cracks in door and window frames and other such areas.

Indoors, they can be found practically anywhere in the home but tend to stay closer to the perimeter walls, secluded areas and where there is clutter for cover (attics, basements, garages, etc.)

What To Look For

You should be looking for Crickets and any Cricket eggs. If you carry out your inspection at night, use a flashlight, you might be able to locate them by their chirping sounds. At night, they tend to flock around outdoor lights in the patio and yard. Inside your home look in cracks and crevices and baseboards.

Cricket eggs are harder to find because they are small (2 to 3 mm in length). You can check behind and under large appliances that generate heat. When you can't find Crickets, check for damage they may have left on fabrics or furniture. 

Treatment

Once you have confirmed where the crickets are active, you can carry on with applying insecticides. Remember to first read all product labels and follow the application instructions on these labels, and stay safe by wearing personal protective equipment.

To get rid of the Cricket infestation, we recommend applying Supreme IT Insecticide. Supreme IT is a liquid repellant insecticide concentrate labeled to control over 70 different pests. Indoors, we recommend Pyrid Aerosol to kill Crickets you find indoors on contact or to flush them out of areas where they may be hiding in clusters. We also recommend applying D-Fense Dust to round out your indoor treatment and kill Crickets hiding in hard to reach tight spaces.

Step 1 - Use Supreme IT Outdoors

To get rid of Crickets outside, we recommend using Supreme IT to create an insecticidal barrier around your property to repel and prevent Crickets from coming inside. The best thing about Supreme IT is that it will keep working for up to 3 months.

Calculate the square footage of your yard by measuring and multiplying length x width to help you determine how much Supreme IT you will need. 1 ounce of Supreme IT with a gallon of water in a pump sprayer will treat 1,000 square feet.

Once the appropriate amount is mixed in your sprayer, create a perimeter barrier around your structure by spraying 3 feet up and 3 feet out from the foundation. Also spray window frames, door frames, eaves, air vents, and electrical/plumbing penetrations.

Step 2 - Apply Pyrid Aerosol Indoors

Pyrid is a great insecticide Aerosol for killing Crickets because it delivers a quick knockdown with no residual.

To apply Pyrid in broad areas such as around windows, make sure the white applicator is firmly attached. Shake the can well and spray in swift sweeping motions.  To apply in the cracks and crevices where you have noticed Crickets, replace the white applicator with the red crevice application tip.

Shake the can well and spray in a sweeping motion along the length of the crevice. Keep people and pets away from treated areas until dry and vapors have dispersed.

Step 3 - Apply D-Fense Dust

D-Fense Dust is a great insecticide product for Cricket control because it is moisture-resistant making it ideal for application in areas where Crickets are gathering. It will also leave a residual (or long-term effects) that will last for up to 8 months. 

To use D-Fense Dust you will need a handheld duster. Fill the duster halfway with D-Fense Dust, and leave plenty of space for the air to circulate. Apply in the cracks and crevices where you have noticed Crickets such as voids where plumbing penetrates walls, along baseboards, in weep holes, and other tight areas.

Alternative - Apply a Natural Pesticide

We understand that in some parts of the country such as California and New York for instance, most pesticides are not allowed to be sold and used to kill crickets. To get rid of crickets naturally, an organic pesticide remedy can be used to keep Crickets from damaging your garden and plants.

In a spray water bottle, make a spray using fresh hot chili peppers and/or hot chili powder mixed with 2 cups of water and a few drops of dish soap. Wearing the proper PPE in the form of gloves, a mask and protective eyewear, spray toward (but not directly on) plant leaves and soil. This will not only kill Crickets but will also serve as a repellent to keep crickets away.   

Prevention

After applying the insecticide treatments inside and outside your home, you will no longer have a Cricket infestation, but that doesn't mean they won't return and reinfest. This is why you will need to enact preventative measures to make sure crickets keep away. To keep Crickets away do the following:

• Start by closing up small entry points outside of your structure with Stuf-Fit Copper Mesh and caulk. Crickets can sneak in via the tiniest of openings so you will need to be thorough.
• Repair damaged screens and door seals.
• Outdoors, trim back vegetation including any overhanging branches on nearby trees.
• You can get rid of Crickets naturally by limiting light. You should turn off any outdoor light if possible around dusk if this is not possible switch to low-pressure sodium vapor lamps or yellow incandescent “bug lights,” which are less attractive to Crickets.
• Finally, preventative treatment of Supreme IT Insecticide in late summer and early fall will provide control in the season when Crickets are most active. Depending on your location their swarming dates could change so apply a month in advance when they are most active.

Key Takeaways

What Are Crickets?

• Crickets are a nuisance pest known for their loud chirping noises at night and infesting in large numbers when temperatures drop.
• Crickets can become a problem when they invade homes and feed on fabrics, which results in damage to clothing and other fabric items.

How To Get Rid of Crickets Outside and in your Home

• To kill invading Crickets, we recommend applying a combination of products: Supreme IT Insecticide, Pyrid Aerosol and D-Fense Dust.
• Apply Supreme IT as a barrier treatment around the home to treat Crickets active around your outside perimeter, spray Pyrid Aerosol directly to any Crickets found indoors and apply D-Fense Dust to cracks and crevices that Crickets use as a point of entry or to hide.
• As a natural alternative to treat Cricket infestations, you can make hot peppers and dish soap with water in a spray bottle and treat areas where they have been active to kill and repel them.

Preventing Cricket Reinfestation

• Keep Crickets away from infesting in the future with exclusion measures like sealing cracks and crevices and preventative applications of Supreme IT Insecticide.