Crickets are great for the ecosystem, but don’t make great houseguests. Once inside your home, it can take days to locate where the cricket is hiding or for it to leave on it’s own accord. But, if you are like most people, you want that annoying chirping to stop asap. Cricket chirps can keep you up at night and drive you crazy during the day. Household pets may be driven bonkers hunting for the source of the sound. But, what can you do to prevent crickets from breaking into your home? Take preventative measures!
Let’s find out from local pest control in Bartlesville, OK the best ways to keep crickets out of your house:
First things first
There are several possible solutions for managing crickets, but trying more than one strategy is your best bet. Begin by determining if cricket management is really needed. Vacuum up any cricket droppings and watch to see how much returns later. Are there many crickets in your house or a lot of visible damage done by crickets? Then again, one cricket may be enough to warrant seeking a solution!
What to do to keep crickets out of your house
Looking for a way to keep your home unappealing to crickets? Follow a few of these simple steps:
- Reduce food supply: Seal food in air tight containers and place in the fridge or in a closed pantry. Clean up food spills immediately, but also keep floors, floor corners, under shelving, under cabinets and countertops clean. Store pet food securely and put any uneaten away.
- Outside to-dos: Check there are no outdoor water sources to attract crickets—moist areas, leaky faucets, standing water. Also, porch lights attract crickets and other bugs. Consider limiting the use of outdoor lights at night or use dimmer yellow bulbs. Another thing to do is remove overgrown vegetation from around the outside of your house, because these are prime areas for cricket breeding grounds and hiding spots.
- Seal up openings: Crickets are little, and therefore able to squeeze in through the smallest of cracks and other openings. Check around door, window and screen frames; look for cracks, holes and gaps in the foundation and siding. Busted door and window screens are also entry points for crickets.
- Natural enemies of crickets: Creatures like birds, spiders, lizards and even cats, prey on crickets. On the outside of your house, encourage natural predators of crickets to come around. When these creatures are on the prowl, the chances crickets will make it inside your house may decrease. To attract natural predators, avoid using harmful chemical pesticides around your home or in the garden.
- Use cricket bait: If you decide to use a product to deter crickets, make sure to get cricket bait and not insecticide. Bait is more effective and less toxic, but triple check that bait is stored in its original container and far out of the reach of children, pets and wildlife.
If you’ve done everything to keep crickets out of your house, but you end up with an indoor cricket problem anyway, call the Excellence Pest Control team. Schedule pest control in Bartlesville, OK today!