Stick it to crickets in your home and garden

How to get rid of crickets around your home

Cricket may be one of our most loved sports, but crickets are also some of our most hated pests. The sworn enemy of both the keen gardener and the light sleeper, they’re as likely to chew through your plants as they are to eat into a night’s rest. And as if they weren’t enough of a nuisance outside, these little troublemakers can even squeeze their way indoors too.

At Mr Enthusiast, we’re not fans of them either, so here are some of our favourite ways to deter or remove them from your property.

1. Seal your home off from the outside

It sounds obvious, but if crickets can’t find a way into your home, well, they won’t get in. Ensure all your windows and doors fight tightly in their frames and seal any cracks. If you need a quick fix, try weather-stripping: applying adhesive foam to seal off cracks. Sealing off your home also has the welcome side effect of minimising temperature changes inside if it’s very hot or cold outside.

And when you do need to crack a door or window to let in that afternoon breeze in the summer, invest in insect screens so you don’t get any other unwelcome blow ins besides the breeze.

2. Switch off, or switch up, lighting

Crickets are attracted to lights, so switch them off when it’s time to sleep. Alternatively, replace white-hued lights with yellow-hued sodium vapour lights. When placed on poles, you can direct the light itself to the area that needs it, while the bugs are attracted to the lights themselves on the poles, away from where they’ll be a nuisance.

Crickets can also spot light through windows, so window coverings like blinds can help keep crickets away from your property.

3. Maintain your garden

Mow the lawn, whack the weeds and keep bushy or leafy plants trim. This deprives crickets of shelter and minimises their food sources, which prevents them getting comfortable.

And if you fancy growing some produce of your own, certain kinds of peas, beans and legumes draw nitrogen out of the air and into their roots, which irritates crickets and other insects.

4. DIY – deter it yourself

Store-bought products work great, but a simple DIY deterrent can do the job in a pinch with things you might have around the pantry or laundry anyway.

Try this one: sprinkle some minced garlic and chilli powder into a spray bottle, add dish soap and top it all off with water. Spray this on cricket-prone areas as a deterrent. However, make sure you test the solution on a few leaves first. If it burns the leaves, dilute the solution with more water.

5. Minimise moisture and mess

Crickets love hiding in piles of clutter and rubbish, so don’t give them a place to hide and nest.

Once you’ve de-cluttered, give the place a good vacuum to remove any eggs, paying special attention to rugs and carpets. Don’t forget your lower traffic areas too – crickets tend to prefer these.

Crickets also prefer moist areas, so if you have dark, damp areas in your house, use a dehumidifier or get rid of any moisture-causing items.

6. Gut your gutters

Dark, damp, deep, packed with decomposing organic material… an unclean gutter is a cricket’s dream which makes them your nightmare. So make sure you keep on top of your gutters to prevent crickets from nesting in them – and of course to protect your home during storm season.

7. Catch and release

The superstitious among you may believe that killing a cricket will bring bad luck. So give catching and releasing a go – you’ll keep them and your conscience intact while keeping them off your property.

Fill a container with lettuce and pop in a torch then leave it in your garden overnight. By the morning, you’ll have a container full of crickets. Pop the lid on and then take them far from your property – job done.