Short Answer
Crickets are omnivores — they eat almost anything. In the wild that means plants, decaying matter, seeds, fruit, fungi, and other insects. Indoors it means stored food, and more surprisingly, paper, cardboard, and natural fabrics like cotton, wool, and silk. They are scavengers more than hunters: they prefer food that doesn’t fight back, but will turn predator — or even cannibal — when hungry.
What Do Crickets Eat? Full Diet Breakdown
Because crickets are opportunistic feeders, their menu is wide. The table below summarizes the most common foods, whether crickets actually eat them, and whether that habit matters to you as a homeowner or gardener.
| Food | Do they eat it? | Garden or home risk |
|---|---|---|
| Leafy greens, carrots, potatoes, fruit | Yes — a favorite | Can cause real damage in vegetable gardens |
| Young shoots & flowers | Yes | Damages seedlings and ornamental beds |
| Grass & fresh grass seed | Yes — prefer the seed | Can thin newly seeded lawns |
| Corn (stem and cob) | Yes | In numbers, can destroy up to 40% of a crop field |
| Decaying plants & fungi | Yes | Harmless — part of natural cleanup |
| Other insects (mites, ladybugs, aphids) | Sometimes — esp. mole crickets | Minor benefit; eats some garden pests |
| Ants & worms | Yes — prey on the young | Neutral |
| Other crickets (cannibalism) | Yes, when starving | Neutral — can speed up a die-off indoors |
| Paper & cardboard | Yes — they chew it | Damages stored boxes & documents |
| Wood | Yes — camel crickets especially | Chews damp wood; also a hiding spot |
| Fabric (cotton, wool, silk, carpet) | Yes — a known habit | Stains and holes in clothing, curtains, carpet |
| Spiders | No — it’s the other way around | Crickets are prey for spiders |
Why Crickets Damage More Than Plants Indoors
Outdoors, crickets graze on plants, seeds, and decaying matter and rarely cause more than cosmetic garden damage. The problem changes once they move inside. Those same powerful jaws turn to whatever is available: cardboard storage boxes, stored paper and books, and natural fibers in carpet, curtains, and clothing. Camel crickets (also called cave crickets or “sprickets”) are the worst offenders — they congregate in damp basements, garages, and crawl spaces and will chew fabric and even other crickets when food runs short.
If you’re finding chew marks, small holes, or droppings on stored items, it’s worth catching the population before it grows.
Crickets Chewing Through Your Things?
If crickets have moved indoors and started on your boxes, fabric, or stored food, two products handle most home situations:
Catch them indoors
Cricket Traps Indoor (12-Pack)
Pre-baited glue traps placed along walls and baseboards near stored boxes and damp corners. The fruity scent draws crickets onto the trap, so you don’t have to find their exact hiding spot.
Keep more from getting in
Cricket Canceller Spray (70 oz)
A natural, indoor-and-outdoor formula for foundation edges, basement wall lines, and entry points where crickets get in.
Want the full comparison — including giant glue boards for large cave crickets and a multi-pest outdoor option — see our guide to the best cricket killers and traps for 2026.
Prices change — check Amazon for current pricing. PestsGuide.com earns from qualifying purchases (Amazon Associates).
What Do Crickets Eat in the Wild?
A cricket’s wild diet depends heavily on its species, but one thing is consistent: they are not picky. Organic material, plant decay, grass, fruit, fungi, seedlings, and even meat all feature on the menu. Crickets are scavengers rather than true predators — they prefer food that doesn’t put up a fight. When genuinely hungry, they’ll hunt, but mostly for insects that are slow, injured, or already dead.
Camel & Cave Cricket Diet
Camel crickets (the same insect as cave crickets) eat almost anything. They feed mainly on fungi growing in damp areas — often right on basement walls — but will also chew carpet, furniture fabric, curtains, clothing, and cardboard. Left without food, they turn cannibal. Unpleasant as that sounds, it can actually speed up a die-off indoors once the food supply is cut.
Mole Cricket Diet
Mole crickets feed differently from their above-ground relatives. Living underground, they chew through grass roots and tunnel through soil, and they’ll also eat other soil insects like mites and mealworms. Their damage shows up as thinning, loose, or browning turf rather than chewed fabric. Because they live below the surface, they need a completely different control approach — see our guide on how to get rid of mole crickets in your lawn.
What to Feed a Pet Cricket in Captivity
If you’re keeping crickets — as pets or as feeder insects for reptiles — they’re easy to feed because they eat almost everything. Set them up in a ventilated aquarium or plastic container with a few hiding spots, and provide:
| Need | What to provide |
|---|---|
| Shelter | Wire mesh, or sand, rocks, and leaves inside the enclosure |
| Light | About 16 hours of light and 8 hours of darkness per day |
| Water | A damp sponge or moist cotton wool — never an open dish (crickets drown easily) |
| Food | Raw fruit and veg (carrots, apples, overripe banana), oatmeal, plus protein (chicken, tofu, or dog/cat food) |
Change the food type every few days, remove uneaten pieces daily, and keep the enclosure clean — crickets need fresh food and a tidy space to stay healthy.
Frequently Asked Questions
What do crickets eat the most?
In the wild, they favor fresh plant material — leafy greens, fruit, seedlings — along with decaying matter and fungi. Indoors, they go after stored food, paper, and natural fabrics.
Do crickets eat wood and fabric?
Yes. Camel/cave crickets in particular chew damp wood, cardboard, carpet, curtains, and clothing made from natural fibers. This is why an indoor cricket problem can cause real material damage, not just noise.
Do crickets bite?
Most crickets don’t bite humans, and a bite is harmless and rare. For the full answer, see our guide on whether crickets bite humans.
What attracts crickets into a house?
Moisture, warmth, food crumbs, and outdoor lighting. Damp basements, crawl spaces, and bathrooms are prime spots. Reducing humidity and sealing entry points are the most effective long-term deterrents.
Are crickets good for anything?
Yes — they’re an important food source for birds, reptiles, and other wildlife, and they help break down decaying plant matter. They only become a problem when they move indoors or build up in a garden.
Final Thoughts
Crickets eat almost anything, which is exactly why they can be both a garden pest and an indoor nuisance. Outdoors they graze on plants, seeds, and crops; indoors they turn to stored food, paper, and fabric. If they’ve moved inside and started chewing your belongings, a few well-placed glue traps and a sealed entry point or two usually solve it. For a heavier problem — or large cave crickets in the basement — our cricket killer comparison walks through the right product for each situation.
The https://pestsguide.com website is one of the best we have found,
and the What Do Crickets Eat: The Complete Guide (Wild & Captivity Diets) article is very well written and useful!
Thanks and kisses! 🙂
What kind of crickets can I buy if I would like to let them loose in my backyard and surrounding area so I can hear their beautiful chirping? There is a nice forest several hundred yards from my backyard and I could let some loose there too. I would love to hear them at night as it would remind me of my younger days of camping with my family.
Please check with a local expert. Releasing non-native species into your environment may not turn out well!
I have a veiled chameleon’s and their main diet is crickets, the pet store told me to take a potato and soak it in water but do I put salt in it? And do I cut the potato in half before I put it in the water?