Have you ever sat on the front porch of a cabin in the woods, or a townhome on the plains, after dark and just listened to the sounds of the night? It can be euphoric and peaceful hearing all the tiny crickets playing their individual love songs. It is enough to make even the most bug-hating person a slight fan of these violin-legged insects. What makes crickets annoying is when they leave their symphony and play a solo chorus inside a home--late at night--when people are trying to sleep. If you regularly have trouble with these pests inside your Massachusetts home and are wondering if they are dangerous, here are a few things to consider.
The Three Crickets In Our Area
Three species of crickets call Massachusetts their home, field crickets, camel crickets, and house crickets. Of these three pests, camel crickets are the largest, house crickets are the most common home invaders, and field crickets cause the most damage to agriculture. Something you should know is that not all crickets make noise. In our area, only male field and house crickets have the organs needed to produce the high-pitched strums you hear late at night. Camel crickets do not. They use other means to attract their mates.
How and Why Crickets Get Into Homes
Crickets are not the most common indoor pests. If you find one of these insects inside your home, they most likely wandered inside or invaded to find food or shelter. If you didn’t know, crickets live on a diet of plant matter and animal remains. Inside homes, these pests will consume decorative plants and hunt for other insects such as ants, flies, and cockroaches.
Crickets sneak their way inside through gaps, cracks, and other openings found around the exterior of a home. Some of the most common entry points these pests will use include spacing beneath doors, gaps around window/door frames, cracks in foundational concrete/stone, tears in window/door screens, or through open windows/doors.
Are Crickets Dangerous?
Most species of crickets are not considered to be dangerous and pose no serious risk to human health. In certain cases, however, they can spread diseases through their bites, physical contact, and with their fecal matter. Some diseases these pests transmit cause non-life-threatening painful sores that appear on the skin.
How To Prevent Crickets
In order to keep invasive crickets out of your home, seal off entry points they are using to get inside and limit their access to food and water. To do these things, follow these simple prevention tips.
- Eliminate sources of water build-up around your property.
- Repair leaky fixtures and piping around your home.
- Make sure your gutters are in good condition and functioning properly.
- Use a dehumidifier around humid areas inside your home.
- Seal holes, gaps, and cracks in your home’s exterior using a caulking gun.
- Install door sweeps beneath all doors that lead out of your home.
- Fix broken and/or improperly installed window/door screens.
Why Professional Pest Control Is The Best Options For Crickets
If you regularly have trouble with crickets inside your home and are at a loss for how to get and keep them out, consider the benefits of a year-round pest control plan. At American Pest Solutions, we offer comprehensive long-term solutions to keep invasive, annoying, and dangerous pests like crickets out of homes and businesses. Balancing the use of industrial-grade products and advanced pest control strategies, we provide our customers with the absolute best services possible.
Call our team today to get your Massachusetts home the protection it needs to fight back against area pests.