Sticky traps and simple water traps are the most effective ways to catch spider crickets (also called camel crickets or cave crickets) in your home. These nocturnal, moisture-loving insects congregate in basements, crawl spaces, and garages, making them easy to target once you know where and how to set traps.
Why Spider Crickets Show Up Indoors
Spider crickets are drawn to cool, humid spaces. Basements, crawl spaces, garages, bathrooms, laundry rooms, and storage buildings all fit the bill. Outdoors, they hide under stones, logs, firewood, and overgrown vegetation. When conditions outside get too hot, too cold, or too dry, they migrate indoors looking for moisture and shelter.
Once inside, they’re not just a nuisance. Spider crickets eat cardboard, carpet, houseplants, fabric, paper, and rugs. You may notice gnaw marks on stored garments or chewed-up boxes before you ever spot the crickets themselves. They don’t generally bite humans, though some sources suggest they can use their mouthparts to nip if one lands on you. The real concern is property damage, especially if a population establishes itself in a damp basement full of stored belongings.
Sticky Traps: The Simplest Option
Standard glue boards, the kind sold for mice, work perfectly well for spider crickets. Place them flat against walls and in corners where crickets travel. The insects tend to follow edges rather than cross open floor space, so positioning traps along baseboards and near foundation cracks will catch more than placing them in the middle of a room.
You can also make your own sticky traps from duct tape laid sticky-side up. The key to making any sticky trap more effective is bait. A piece of dry cat food placed in the center works well. Almost any food will attract them, but here’s what makes spider crickets particularly easy to trap: they’re cannibalistic. Once the first cricket gets stuck, others will crawl onto the trap trying to eat it, often before it’s even dead. A single baited trap can snowball into catching dozens.
If you want to experiment with bait, dry cereal, bread crumbs, and pet food kibble are all reasonable starting points. Spider crickets also seem strongly attracted to cat litter, which may work as an unconventional lure on or near traps.
Water Traps for Larger Catches
Spider crickets are so drawn to moisture that a simple container of soapy water can function as an effective trap. Fill a shallow bowl or jar with water and add a few drops of dish soap. The soap breaks down the waxy coating on their exoskeletons, which normally helps them float. Without that coating, they sink and drown.
Place water traps in the dampest areas of your basement or crawl space, especially near floor drains, sump pits, or water heaters. These are the spots where spider crickets congregate to drink. Unlike sticky traps, water traps don’t need bait, since the water itself is the attractant. They do need to be checked and refreshed every few days, as a bowl full of dead crickets stops working.
Where to Place Traps
Trap placement matters more than trap type. Focus on these locations:
- Along basement walls and corners. Spider crickets travel along edges and hide where walls meet the floor.
- Near foundation cracks and gaps. These are entry points, and crickets cluster around them.
- Around water sources. Sump pumps, water heaters, laundry areas, and floor drains all attract spider crickets.
- Behind stored boxes and clutter. Dark, undisturbed areas with cardboard are ideal habitat for these insects.
- In crawl spaces. If you can access your crawl space safely, placing traps there often catches crickets before they reach living areas.
Set out multiple traps rather than relying on one or two. Spreading five to ten traps across a basement gives you a much better picture of where the population is concentrated, and you can shift your effort toward the hot spots.
Making Your Home Less Inviting
Traps reduce the population you can see, but moisture control is what actually solves a spider cricket problem long term. These insects need humidity to survive. Running a dehumidifier and targeting relative humidity below roughly 50% makes your basement far less hospitable. A simple hygrometer (available for a few dollars at any hardware store) lets you confirm you’ve hit that target.
Improving ventilation in persistently damp areas helps too. Open vents in crawl spaces, run exhaust fans in bathrooms, and fix any plumbing leaks that keep surfaces wet. Even small, chronic moisture sources like a dripping pipe or condensation on a cold water line can sustain a cricket population.
Seal the gaps they use to get inside. Foundation cracks, gaps around pipes and wires, unscreened vents, and missing door sweeps are common entry points. Caulk smaller cracks and use expanding foam for larger gaps. Outside, keep mulch, firewood, and dense vegetation away from the foundation. These serve as outdoor staging areas where spider crickets gather before finding their way in.
Combining Traps With Prevention
The most effective approach uses traps and environmental changes together. Set sticky traps and water traps to knock down the existing population while simultaneously reducing moisture and sealing entry points. You’ll typically see trap catches drop sharply within a few weeks once humidity levels fall and access points are closed off.
Check traps every three to five days. Replace sticky traps when they’re full or dusty, and refresh water traps before they evaporate or get too dirty. If you’re still catching large numbers after several weeks of trapping and moisture control, the crickets may be breeding in a crawl space or wall void you haven’t addressed. In that case, focusing your efforts on accessing and treating those hidden spaces will make the biggest difference.