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Crickets May Be Good Luck….

By Carol Allen

In China, crickets are considered the harbingers of happiness and good fortune. Native American tribes thought them to be symbols of good luck and wisdom. But whether you embrace the folklore or not, crickets are a nuisance to many of us when they get into our homes. The Maryland Biodiversity Project lists 50 species found in Maryland, but there are only three species of crickets we typically encounter. The house cricket (Acheta domesticus) is about ¾–⅞" long and light yellowish-brown with three black bands across the top of the head. This insect is thought to have originated in southwestern Asia. There are naturalized populations all along the East Coast, from southern New England to northern Florida. This is the cricket usually bought for bait or to feed pet reptiles. They are comfortable in the warmth of our homes and feed on soft plant matter, other insects, and sometimes carrion. The life cycle takes two to three months under warm conditions. Eggs are laid in moist substrate such as sand or peat moss. They have an incomplete metamorphosis, with the juveniles resembling the adults except for being smaller and wingless. If unwanted, they can be controlled with insecticidal baits. Field crickets (Gryllus pennsylvanicus) are larger and the adults are black. Fall field and Pennsylvania field cricket are other common names. They can be from ½–1¼" long and, like the house cricket, the male insect uses the edges of its wings to create the classic chirping sound. This native cricket overwinters as an egg and grows through the spring and summer. The adult is common through the late summer and fall. They will find structures to their liking as the weather cools off. When it becomes warmer, they will renew their mating calls, for your pleasure or not! In general, these omnivores are not damaging to household items. Last on our list of common crickets is the camel cricket (Ceuthophilus sp.). Their humped bodies make them easy to distinguish from the others.

Camel cricket (Ceuthophilus sp.). Photo by Thegreenj, CC BY-SA 3.0 <http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/>, via Wikimedia Commons. House cricket (Acheta domesticus). Photo by Brian Gratwicke, CC BY 2.0 <https:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons.

With especially long antennae and rear legs, they can be found from ½–1¼" in length. Their life cycles are similar to their kin. Camel crickets especially like dark, moist places and in the fall may seek shelter in your basement, garage, or crawl space. They are also omnivores and may damage fabrics, although their preferred food is decaying organic matter such as leaves, roots, and fruits. If you find that all of this “good luck” is too much for you to handle, seal up the spaces where crickets can enter your home. Caulk cracks in the foundation and around basement windows, spaces beneath basement doors, and holes where utilities enter the home. Insecticidal baits can help control the invasion, but prevention is probably more effective. o

Carol Allen describes herself as a committable plant-a-holic. She has more than 25 years’ experience in the horticulture industry, with a special interest in plant pests and diseases; is a Licensed Pesticide Applicator in the state of Maryland; and is an ISACertified Arborist. She can be contacted at carolallen@erols.com.