Crickets | Des Moines, IA

What Do Crickets Look Like?

Crickets are a group of insects related to grasshoppers and katydids that are usually active at night. You can identify them from their long antennae, typically as long as their body or longer, and their large back legs, which they use for jumping or hopping. Adult females have a conspicuous sword-like ovipositor, or egg-laying device, extending backward from the tip of the abdomen. Crickets are famous songsters. Male crickets chirp by rubbing their wings together.

What Do Crickets Feed On?

There are approximately 900 different species of crickets around the world. The most common found in the United States are the field, camel and house crickets. Most crickets are scavengers. Therefore, they consume a wide variety of organic remains, such as seedlings and decaying plants. As for crickets in captivity, they prefer to eat dog food, lettuce, aphids, etc.

Do Crickets Lay Eggs?

Male crickets will establish their dominance over each other through aggression. Females are attracted to male crickets by the calls that they make. When a female and male cricket have made antennal contact, they establish a courtship period and will begin mating. Most female crickets will lay their eggs within soil or plant stems. Cricket lifecycles begin at an egg stage. The egg will hatch in a nymph and then pass through approximately ten different stages before becoming an adult.

How Do Crickets Get Into Homes And Buildings?

While crickets are common outdoors, they may accidentally enter homes. Crickets only have one generation per year and seldom reproduce indoors. They enter buildings through open doors and windows, cracks around poorly fitted windows, foundations, siding, and spaces under doors, so it may be difficult to find the exact point of entry. In Iowa, the most common crickets found in homes are the field cricket, the camel cricket, and the house cricket.

Des Moines Pest Control 

As the leading Des Moines pest control company, our technicians at Preferred Pest Control are committed to making your home or business safe and pest free. Schedule an appointment online today or for further inquiries call us at (515) 276-7277.