By poppy johnson
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03 Jul, 2020
Some people hear crickets on a warm summer’s evening, and immediately think of grasshoppers. Others believe that they are basically the same bug. Well, nothing is further from the truth, as there are some major differences between crickets and grasshoppers, and here is the reason why. Crickets typically only come out at night , while grasshoppers are seen mostly during the daytime hours. Crickets are omnivores, while grasshoppers are strictly plant eaters. The antennae are different too, with crickets sporting a long antennae, while grasshoppers have short ones. And the most derivative difference of all – crickets rub their forewings together to make their telltale chirping noise, while grasshoppers rub their hind legs to their forewing to call their mates. There are over 900 different species of crickets (Gryllidae) that are found naturally to live quite comfortably on the North and South American continents. Historically, crickets were known as a sign of good luck, and in some cultures are even kept as pets in small handmade bamboo stick cages. Crickets are part of the general food chain, and are eaten by birds, bears, spiders and even are a delicacy in Southeastern culture as a favored deep-fried snack. The body of a cricket is round, with a round head, long antennae and super strong hind legs. They can be a range of colors from green, to olive or brown. Crickets come to residential properties in search of food, light or shelter from the elements. Crickets like to hide out in gardens or tall grassy areas around the home. At the end of the summer season, they can come indoors as the fall season days drop outdoor temperatures lower. They are happy to live in the home rent free by hiding out in dark corners or behind furniture if they can get away with it. In general, crickets don’t bite or sting humans, but they do have an irritating chirp that is rather annoying once they have found their way indoors and remain hidden from sight. They eat other small plants and insects (meat eaters), and have even been known to eat other crickets as well if need be (cannibals). Here’s a fun fact about crickets: The male crickets (never the females) really do chirp louder when it is warmer in temperature outside. A scientist invented a formula to determine the cricket chirps per minute on a chirp scale called Dolbear’s Law, that measures chirps at 50 degrees F (which is 40 chirps per minute/4) or at 40 degrees F (chirping measured over 15 seconds). This might be fun to measure when you are outside enjoying a cool summer’s evening stroll, it really works! But it is not so fun when you have a noticeable infestation of crickets in or around your home. If that is the case, it is time to call in the professionals to remediate this problem once and for all. Crickets will lay their eggs in the fall, winter over in a home or garden, and hatch their young ones in the springtime. Once hatched, the nymphs molt and grow quickly while shedding their bodies as they mature. Another fact that is not so fun, is that during one lifetime, one female cricket can lay up to 400 eggs. If you have a few crickets in a crawlspace, that will be a lot of eggs that can potentially hatch over time. If there were a dozen crickets, just imagine the number of eggs that could potentially hatch in an infestation. For this reason, it is critical that any time that you see large numbers of crickets in or around your home, you will need to call for pest control in Mesa, for getting ahead of this issue right away. There is not time to lose whenever you find an infestation of crickets, and we are here to help you get rid of them right away. Call us 24/7 whenever you need us to rid your property of a cricket infestation today.