How to get rid of crickets in a house or apartment: effective methods
One or two crickets that appeared in the house are generally considered harmless. But if they decide to equip a nest in your home and begin to multiply actively, then such a scenario does not bode well. Your things will suffer from such a neighborhood: clothes, paper supplies, furniture, and sometimes even walls. But to prevent the invasion and save the property is quite possible. And then we will tell you how to get rid of the cricket in the house and prevent its reappearance.
Cricket in the house
Two types of crickets can start in the apartment: field or brownie. Representatives of the latter species got their name due to habitat zones - this is the territory in close proximity to residential buildings and inside them. If it is warm outside, insects live in the wild, and with the onset of cold weather, when finding and obtaining food becomes especially difficult, they move to cozy residential buildings. As for field crickets, they live mainly on the street, but sometimes they can also settle in an apartment.
On a note! From the invasion of crickets, the inhabitants of the first floors and the owners of small private houses are most affected!
Insects climb into homes through small gaps in walls and floors, or simply jump into open windows and windows. Since they prefer to lead a twilight and nightlife, it is almost impossible to meet uninvited guests during the day. From their shelters they are selected only after dark and immediately set off in search of food.
Where do crickets live in and what do they eat in residential buildings?
A humid environment is most favorable for crickets, therefore, once in an apartment, they will certainly try to find a similar place. As a result, their clusters are in most cases found in bathrooms, bathrooms, kitchens, closer to leaking pipes or to other areas where it is always damp.
On a note! In multi-storey buildings, these insects can settle in wet basements, and they will visit apartments only in search of food.
In houses and apartments, crickets feed on:
- food that you left on the table and leftovers on the dishes lying in the sink;
- products in the pantry or their scraps located in the bin;
- crickets, like moths, can spoil clothes and upholstery;
- sometimes they even chew on wallpaper and other paper products.
We use cricket traps
Crickets can be caught mechanically. You only have to do this at night, because in the daytime they always hide in secluded places. With the onset of darkness, insects can be detected by the sounds they usually make when they are awake. However, remember that their hearing is very sharp and in most cases the pests will be able to hide before you get close to them.
Crickets are much easier to catch using special tools. The first option is to use sticky traps. They need to be located in places where, as you believe, crickets live. When moving, insects will stick to the adhesive surface and will no longer be able to tear themselves away from it.
The second type of trap is liquid.For crickets, the aroma of molasses - molasses - is very attractive. This tool must be poured into deep plates, add water so that the total volume of liquid in each container is half its volume, and place them in the room where the crickets live. Insects, having a characteristic smell, will jump into the plates. You just have to change their contents every morning.
We create conditions unacceptable for insects
Since it is often difficult to get rid of crickets, it is necessary to create conditions unsuitable for its existence in the apartment in parallel with the use of traps.
First you need to get rid of dampness by lowering the humidity level in all rooms, paying special attention to the one where the crickets live - usually this is a bathroom. When conditions change, insects will immediately rush in search of more comfortable places. If they do not have the opportunity to leave the dry room, then after a while the pests will die.
On a note! With a small number of cricket colony, this simplest method almost always works flawlessly!
We use chemicals
If the methods described above did not give positive results, then in this case you will have to resort to the help of chemicals. However, remember that you need to work with them with extreme caution, since the substances that make up them can harm both your health and the health of your pets.
To destroy crickets, you can use any insecticides from domestic insects.
On a note! As practice shows, Dichlorvos copes best with the invasion of crickets!
Before using the drug, all households and pets should be taken out of the room, it is also advisable to rearrange the plants in another room or take them to the balcony. We close all windows and doors and spray the drug. It is especially necessary to carefully process secluded places: skirting boards, corners, crevices, etc. Then the processor should leave the room and wash his hands thoroughly. After the time specified in the instructions, the room is thoroughly ventilated and wet cleaned.
If crickets live with you for a long time, then, for sure, they managed to lay their eggs. And in order to destroy the new generation, the chemical treatment of the apartment will have to be repeated one or two more times with an interval of two weeks.
Prevention
In order for crickets to never return to your home, you must:
- thoroughly inspect all rooms and premises for cracks and other holes through which insects can get in and close them well;
- hang bird feeders on the porch and on the windows - they are natural enemies of crickets, and therefore the latter will bypass the birdhouses;
- a compost pit located near your home may be attractive to these insects - it must be moved away;
- bright bulbs illuminating the porch, it is advisable to change to less powerful - this will prevent the accumulation of crickets at your home at night;
- do not allow dampness in the premises and always try to monitor the level of humidity;
- crickets usually equip their nests in thickets of grass, for this reason all climbing and tall vegetation growing in close proximity to the house must be removed - make sure that the lawn is always trimmed;
- regularly clean drained drains and gutters from fallen leaves and other plant debris.
Thanks to these simple events, your house and the area near it will always be clean and well-groomed, and therefore unattractive for crickets.