If crickets are chirping nonstop outside your window, hiding in your basement, or tunneling through your lawn — you’re not alone. Crickets are one of the most common nuisance insects in US homes, especially in late summer and early fall. The good news is that most cricket problems are easy to solve once you know what species you’re dealing with.
This guide covers the four main types of crickets US homeowners encounter, how to identify them, what damage they cause, and how to get rid of them — whether they’re indoors, outdoors, or living underground in your lawn.
Quick Answer
- Crickets in your house, garage, or basement? See our Best Cricket Killer Products guide.
- Brown patches, loose turf, or tunnels in your lawn? You may have mole crickets. See How to Get Rid of Mole Crickets.
- Not sure what’s chirping? Read on for identification of the four cricket types found in US homes and yards.
A Few Notes on Crickets
Also known as True crickets, these insects are small to medium in size and found in nearly every region of the world except the coldest (beyond 55° north and south). They are related to bush crickets and, more distantly, to grasshoppers — all part of the family Gryllidae. The family is characterized by round heads, cylindrical bodies, and long antennae.
There are over 900 cricket species worldwide. The United States is home to about 100 of them, but only a handful regularly enter homes or damage property.
The 4 Cricket Types US Homeowners Actually Encounter
Most cricket problems in the US come down to four main types. Knowing which one you have determines how to treat it.
| Type | Where you find them | Main problem |
|---|---|---|
| House crickets | Basements, garages, warm indoor areas | Chirping, fabric damage |
| Field crickets | Yards, patios, foundations, lawns | Outdoor nuisance, occasional indoor invasion |
| Camel crickets | Crawl spaces, damp basements, garages | Damp areas, jumping behavior |
| Mole crickets | Lawn soil, garden beds (rarely indoors) | Lawn and root damage, brown patches |
What Crickets Look Like
Most crickets you’ll encounter are nocturnal — active in the evening and at night. They are typically black or dark brown, which helps them blend in with soil, mulch, and dark indoor corners.
Like most insects, they have six legs: four walking legs and two powerful back legs built for jumping. Long antennae attached to the head are used for smelling and feeling their surroundings. People often confuse crickets with grasshoppers because the body shape is similar — the easiest way to tell them apart is color (grasshoppers are usually green, crickets dark) and antenna length.
The body is flattened vertically. Wings, when present, lie flat on the back. Some species are completely wingless, and a few — like mole crickets — have wings but rarely fly.
Facts About Cricket Diet & Lifespan
Crickets are scavengers and omnivores, which means they will eat almost anything they find. Common food sources include seeds, flowers, leaves, tree bark, and decaying plant matter. Some species are predatory and eat snails, other insects, and even small vertebrates like lizards.
Diet varies by type. Field crickets eat ornamental plants, vegetables, and fruits. Tree crickets feed on aphids. Bush crickets prefer flowers, leaves, and fruit. Camel crickets eat fungi, dead insects, and roots. Mole crickets feed on grass roots and shoots — which is why lawn damage is their primary impact.
The average cricket lives about three months. Eggs hatch in 7-8 days, and nymphs go through 4-5 molting stages (called instars) before becoming winged adults. The exception is the mole cricket, which spends winter deep underground and has a two-year life cycle.
Mole Crickets: A Different Kind of Problem
Most crickets in this guide are surface-dwelling — they chirp at night, hide in dark corners, and sometimes wander into basements or garages. Mole crickets are different. They live underground, tunnel through lawns, and damage grass roots from below the surface.
If your lawn has brown patches that look like drought damage, loose turf that pulls up easily, or small raised tunnels near the soil surface, mole crickets may be the cause. Unlike house or field crickets, sticky traps and indoor sprays will not solve a mole cricket problem — they require lawn-level treatment with granules, bifenthrin concentrate, or beneficial nematodes. They are most active in early to mid-summer, when young nymphs feed close to the soil surface.
Signs of Cricket Infestation
Regardless of how interesting crickets are, they become a nuisance when they invade your home or damage your lawn. Here’s how to recognize an infestation.
- Physical signs
Indoor crickets prefer warm, dark, slightly damp areas. Common hiding spots include behind appliances, inside closets, under sinks, in basements and garages, and around trash bins. Outdoors, they hide in tall grass, mulch beds, woodpiles, and under outdoor furniture. They can be hard to spot during the day because they go silent under threat.
- Noise
The chirping comes from males rubbing their forewings together — a mating call to attract females. Females are silent. One or two crickets outside is normal background noise, but persistent loud chirping inside the home almost always means a male has gotten indoors.
- Damages
Indoor crickets chew on silk, wool, cotton, and synthetic fabrics — especially items with sweat or body-oil stains. They leave small dark droppings on surfaces near their hiding spots. They are not dangerous to humans or pets, but persistent infestations can ruin clothes and linens.
- Lawn damage (mole crickets only)
If you have brown patches, raised tunnel ridges, loose turf, or soft spongy areas in your lawn, you may have mole crickets. Damage often expands after rain or irrigation and may attract birds, raccoons, or armadillos digging for the insects.
How to Get Rid of Crickets
The right approach depends on which cricket type you have and where they are.
For indoor crickets (house, camel): sticky traps, cricket bait (molasses + water or commercial products), and indoor sprays for active infestations.
For outdoor crickets (field): granular insecticides applied around the foundation create a barrier crickets won’t cross. Yard cleanup — remove woodpiles, debris, and tall grass.
For mole crickets (lawn): granules, bifenthrin concentrate, or beneficial nematodes applied to the soil. Surface sprays and traps will not work.
5 Prevention Tips: No More Crickets in Your Property
- Seal entry points where crickets can enter the home — caulk cracks around foundations, doors, windows, and utility penetrations
- Change outdoor lighting to sodium vapor or yellow “bug light” bulbs — crickets are far less attracted to these colors
- Reduce moisture in your home — fix leaks, run dehumidifiers in basements, ventilate damp areas
- Ventilate basements and crawl spaces properly to discourage camel crickets
- Maintain your lawn — mow frequently, remove woodpiles and debris, keep mulch beds thin
Interesting facts about crickets
- They’re not dangerous
Crickets don’t transmit diseases to humans or pets, and they don’t bite aggressively. Large house or field crickets may pinch if handled, but this is rare and harmless.
- Only males make the sound
Females are silent. Males have a specialized vein at the lower part of their forewings that acts like a scraper — the male pulls this wing against the upper surface of the opposite wing to produce sound, a process called stridulation.
- The chirp has a purpose
Males chirp to attract females from long distances. But the male must be careful — chirping also attracts predators that listen for the same sound.
- Some can fly
There are more than 100 species in the US, so it’s not surprising that some can fly and others can’t. Most species rely on their powerful hind legs to jump and run rather than flying.
- You can’t sneak up on them
Their legs contain sensitive vibration-detecting organs. When they sense footsteps or motion, they fall silent and freeze as a survival mechanism.
- Cricket chirps predict the temperature
Known as Dolbear’s Law. Count the number of chirps in 14 seconds and add 40 — the result is roughly the temperature in Fahrenheit.
If you have a persistent or recurring cricket problem — especially mole crickets in your lawn or large indoor populations — DIY methods may not be enough. A professional can identify the species and treat areas you can’t easily reach: get free pest control quotes via Angi → (free, no obligation, takes about 60 seconds).
