Crickets are common pests for Aubrey pest control, but you're far more likely to hear one than to come into contact with one, leaving many with questions about these insects. Here are the answers to the most common questions about crickets, including the all-important how can I get rid of crickets?
Do Crickets Fly?
While they are better known for their large hind legs and jumping ability, some different types of crickets have wings and can fly. These wings are also what allow crickets to make noise.
In Aubrey, the most common winged crickets are house crickets and field crickets, but there are also crickets like camel crickets that do not have wings and cannot fly.
Just because they have wings doesn't mean they use them for their intended purpose. Most crickets are more apt to use their large hind legs to jump from place to place than they are to fly.
Why Do Crickets Chirp?
Male crickets make the distinctive cricket noise known as chirping to attract female mates. Officially known as stridulation, crickets are able to make this sound because of a special structure on the top of their wings called a scraper. In order to chirp, crickets raise their wings and draw their scraper across the wrinkles on the underside of the other wing.
While we think of a cricket chirp as one type of sound there are actually many different species of cricket and they all have a different number of teeth on their scraper, a different speed of rubbing, and different frequency of chirping.
Why Are Crickets Making Noise At Night?
So why do crickets chirp at night? Crickets are nocturnal insects and are most active after dark. During the day, they find dark, warm places to rest and avoid predators.
The most common reason crickets chirp is to attract females, though they may also use this sound as an aggressive response to other males or in order to sound an alert to nearby danger.
Many people claim that you can determine the outside temperature by timing the space between cricket chirps, and there is some truth to this. Crickets are cold-blooded and will speed up and slow down certain processes based on the ambient temperature. This rate, however, is slightly different for different crickets, and of course, you would need to be timing the sounds of just one individual cricket for this method to work.
Professional Cricket Control Services In Aubrey
You may be wondering why anyone would be trying to get rid of crickets, but if you've ever had one of these pests in your home, you know that their pleasant chirp can quickly become an obnoxious screech. The best cricket control in Aubrey comes from the professionals at Adams Exterminating Company.
However, there are some things you can do on your own to keep crickets away, such as:
- Keep your lawn mowed.
- Weed plant beds near your home on a regular basis.
- Move wood piles away from your exterior walls.
- Make sure you have adequate ventilation in crawl spaces and basements, and use dehumidifiers where needed.
- Change outdoor lighting to yellow bulbs or sodium vapor lamps to avoid attracting crickets.
- Use a vacuum to remove any crickets or cricket eggs that have made it into your home.
Crickets aren't dangerous, but if you are tired of sharing your space with these bugs and the methods above have not been effective, call on the experts at Adams Exterminating Company. We can eliminate crickets in your home and help you prevent them from returning. Get a good night's sleep with the help of our pest control technicians.