Getting Rid of Crickets

How do you get rid of noisy crickets in our backyard?

Hardiness Zone: 10a

By JayJayKay from Los Angeles, CA

Answers: Getting Rid of Crickets

Read answers for this question below.

By 10/30/2010

What? Who said anything about moving anywhere?

By 10/15/2010

The Chinese believe it is very very bad luck to kill a cricket. Why did you move there if you don't like the wildlife?

By 10/13/2010

We had the same problem this summer. They were all over the place this year. All over outside, so loud they would wake us up. Then they started getting in the house too! It was driving us crazy, it was like camping outside in a loud field!It was just getting worse & worse.

We had this problem a few years ago & got 'cricket bait' granules at Walmart, but I couldn't find anything anywhere. Finally, at Ace Hardware I found "Terro Multi-Purpose Insect Bait". It is long lasting, weather resistant & works on ants, cockroaches, crickets, earwigs, silverfish, slugs & snails. The stuff I found was in a 3lb shaker can with a handle so you could hold it at the top & shake the granules out of the bottom.

I went around the entire outside perimeter of the house shaking the stuff against the base of the house. I also took a plastic spoon & tossed a few granules near the doors & behind the bookcase in the room where we were getting them(our bedroom!) & kept the door shut so the cat wouldn't get in there. Literally within 24 hours the sound of singing crickets was nearly gone! We found only 1 dead cricket, but within the week, we achieved peace again & so far it's been about a month & it's stayed that way!

If you have pets that like to catch & eat crickets, be very careful as this is not supposed to be used indoors & they could catch a poisoned cricket.

By 10/11/2010

Short of poisoning the heck out of your back yard, (and what an ecological disaster, not to mention the potential harm to you, kids, pets, beneficial insects, birds, reptiles, amphibians....), I am not sure there is much you can do to discourage them outdoors. If you have any heavily mulched or untrimmed areas that might be harboring them, you could try to trim or use a stone mulch there. (Eliminate food sources and hiding places.) Good luck.

Previous: How Can I Get Rid of Roaches?

Next: Biting Insect Indoors

Getting Rid of Crickets

How can I get rid of annoying crickets? I have one somewhere in my home and cannot find it and it is extremely loud, or seems to be when I get up early in the morning and the place is quiet. Any and all advice and suggestions are greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance!

jmz2005 from Illinois (8/21/2006)

RE: Getting Rid of Crickets

When you find him, box him up and send him to me. We're out in the country and love to hear the crickets and toads. (08/22/2006)

By Maudie

RE: Getting Rid of Crickets

We always let the cats find them for us if they get in. My husband won't go to sleep if it is in the house he becomes a madman and hunts it down. I mean appliances are moved and everything. He hates them. Good luck on finding the little critter. Laura (08/23/2006)

By caraing

RE: Getting Rid of Crickets

I mixed mollasses with water and for some reason the crickets are attracted to it. I set it out one night and in the morning there must have been about 10 in that jar! Try it! (08/23/2006)

By Christina

RE: Getting Rid of Crickets

Get a little chameleon or other lizard, and let him loose in the house. He'll find and devour it in no time! (08/24/2006)

By nicole

Getting Rid of Crickets

Does anyone have suggestions on how to rid my backyard and garage of a cricket infestation that has invaded? I have pets, children and a swimming pool, so I would like to avoid any harsh chemicals or bug killers.

Hardiness Zone: 10a

Thank you!

Jennifer from California

RE: Getting Rid of Crickets

We have a big problem with crickets hopping in each time you open a door to the outside.

There is a bug spray that hubby buys at the hardware store. He sprays the perimeter around the house and it does cut down on them.

Check, but I don't think it harms pets. (09/13/2006)

By Syd

Getting Rid of Crickets

My house is being overtaken by crickets! Can anyone give me any tips or advice on getting rid of these things? They are mostly on the outside but there are like millions of them. Now they are starting to come inside, they give me the willys! Any advice greatly appreciated! Thanks, Judy from Eakly, Ok

RE: Getting Rid of Crickets

I use a non toxic spray called Orange Guard. Works great for about 2 weeks, then you just spray again. Katrina (08/23/2007)

RE: Getting Rid of Crickets

I have tons of them in my house. Each day I kill 7 or more. I find them mostly by the front door that has a huge gap in the bottom and normally in the bathroom. I'm thinking they might be coming from the piping or a hole from the wall. They are nasty n gross because it's like they're after me :( I have to kill them. I feel terrible but they jump at me! I'm on a low budget so paying for pest control companies is out of the question, and the only thing out in stores are for ants and roaches, Is there any poison that I can place for them to stop coming in! A poison that won't harm the air for people! Anything! They have got to stop coming in! (09/02/2007)

By lizette

Getting Rid of Crickets

My son has crickets in the basement he would like to get rid off them. Please advise what to use, thanks.

Evelyne from Toronto, Canada

RE: Getting Rid of Crickets

When not in use always try to keep your drains plugged. If you don't have enough plugs a Pringles lid or powdered ice tea lid will work as well. I also use glue traps, so far I've caught 5 of them annoying things. (09/20/2007)

By Christine IN

RE: Getting Rid of Crickets

This summer, we began getting crickets in the basement. We think they entered through a crack in our new addition. One week, we'd hear what we thought was one or two, but as the weeks passed, just opening the door to the basement seemed as if we were going into the woods, because there were so many crickets!

We called an exterminator and while we waited for him to find a time to check out out situation, I ran to the local hardware superstore and got a gallon of bug spray.

I sprayed it into the cracks outside our home's foundation and into the walls and ceilings of our basement. Sounds like exhausting work but really, it wasn't.

And guess what: this week, we began to see little, dead crickets along our basement floor, and we no longer hear their "serenade!"

The stuff we bought is called "Bug Stop" and it is made by Spectracide. It cost about five bucks. Pretty efficient way to go, if you ask me :)! Hope this helps. (09/22/2007)

By Anne in Chicago

RE: Getting Rid of Crickets

Use Raid max, I use it in my basement and spray the crickets when i see them. They die in 10-15 seconds. Spray the sill plates of the house and any cracks you see where they can enter the house. They will crawl across the chemical and die real quick. Lasts about 2-3 months. then reapply. (11/10/2007)

By Jeff

RE: Getting Rid of Crickets

I have used roach motels successfully. They don't get every last one but the herd is thinned dramatically. There were very few left after I had the traps out for awhile. The traps do have somewhat of a strong odor but are tolerable. They're also non-toxic. (11/19/2007)

By Phil

Getting Rid of Crickets

I am lucky to have a source from the local race track for straw that has been in the stalls, and enriched by the horses for mulching my garden. I love not having to pull weeds, and then tilling it into the soil in the fall to enrich the soil. But it has caused one effect that I need some help with.

Last summer, I had a hard time growing pole beans because they were eaten off as soon as the poked up out of the soil. I blamed the rabbits at first, bun then discovered that my straw mulch was hiding lots of crickets, and they were observed chewing on my young bean plants. I would like to treat my garden with something to deter the crickets.

Would it help to put down something on the ground before I add the mulch, and what would work best? I use insecticides sparingly, but I do use them when nothing else works. I am thinking a little Sevin dust under the mulch might work. But I am definitely open to other suggestions.

Hardiness Zone: 7b

Harlean from Hot Springs, Arkansas

RE: Getting Rid of Crickets

To get rid of crickets take jars the size of a quart jar and drop in a couple pieces of torn white bread. Set around anywhere you think you might have crickets. They hop in for the bread and can't get out. Then take the kids fishing and let them get hooked on a good thing. Food, togetherness, fresh air, Mother Earth, etc. If you have kids some day you'll never regret it. I know. Happily loved mother of 3 beautiful sons. (03/28/2008)

By mbwright