Getting rid of crickets comes down to three things: removing what attracts them, blocking how they get in, and killing or trapping the ones already inside. Most cricket problems start with excess moisture, outdoor lighting, or gaps in your home’s exterior. Address those and you can solve the problem without calling an exterminator.
Know Which Cricket You’re Dealing With
The two most common indoor invaders are house crickets (also called field crickets) and camel crickets. If you hear chirping, you have field or house crickets. Camel crickets don’t make noise at all. They’re the humpbacked, spider-like ones you find in basements and garages.
This distinction matters because camel crickets are almost entirely a moisture problem. They show up during weather extremes, either excessive rainfall or long dry spells, seeking cool, damp spaces like crawlspaces, basements, bathrooms, and laundry rooms. Field crickets, on the other hand, are drawn to light and warmth. They’ll congregate around porch lights and slip through any gap near a lit doorway. Knowing which type you have tells you where to focus your efforts.
Cut Off Moisture and Light
Crickets need humidity to survive. Camel crickets especially thrive in damp environments because high moisture levels prevent dehydration, and a humid basement mimics the shaded outdoor spaces they naturally prefer. Your target is to make indoor spaces as dry as possible.
Run a dehumidifier in your basement, crawlspace, or any room where you’ve seen crickets. Fix condensation on pipes by insulating them. Improve drainage around your foundation so water flows away from the house rather than pooling against it. Check that bathroom and dryer vents actually exhaust to the outside and aren’t dumping moist air into enclosed spaces.
For field crickets, swap white porch lights for yellow or amber bulbs, which are far less attractive to insects. If you can, move exterior lighting away from doors entirely, using fixtures that illuminate your entryway from a distance rather than right above the door frame.
Seal Every Entry Point
Crickets exploit surprisingly small gaps. Even a 1/16-inch opening under a door is enough for insects to squeeze through. A thorough sealing job is the single most effective long-term fix.
Start with doors. Lie on the floor and check for light filtering under each exterior door. Install door sweeps or thresholds, paying close attention to the bottom corners where insects most commonly enter. Apply caulk along the bottom outside edge and sides of door thresholds. For garage doors, use a rubber bottom seal (vinyl cracks in cold weather and stops sealing properly). Sliding glass doors can be sealed by lining the bottom track with half-inch to three-quarter-inch foam weatherstripping.
Next, seal utility openings where pipes and wires enter the foundation and siding: outdoor faucets, electrical receptacles, gas meters, dryer vents, and cable or phone lines. These are some of the most overlooked entry points. Plug them with silicone caulk, cement, expandable foam, steel wool, or copper mesh, depending on the size of the gap. Caulk cracks around windows, doors, and fascia boards with a quality silicone or acrylic latex product. Repair any torn window or door screens.
For crawlspace and attic vents, install quarter-inch wire mesh (hardware cloth) to block entry while maintaining airflow.
Clean Up the Yard
Crickets stage near your home before moving inside. Reducing their outdoor habitat makes a noticeable difference.
Trim shrubs and vegetation away from the foundation. Reduce excess mulch near the house, since thick mulch holds moisture and gives crickets a perfect hiding spot. Store firewood well away from exterior walls. Clear leaf litter, ground cover, and any debris stacked against the foundation. Keep storage in garages and basements organized and off the floor so crickets lose the sheltered spaces they depend on once they get inside.
If you suspect mole crickets are damaging your lawn (you’ll notice spongy, dying turf with visible tunneling), there’s a simple test: mix about 1.5 fluid ounces of liquid dish soap into 2 gallons of water and pour it over a 4-square-foot section of turf. If two to four mole crickets surface within three minutes, treatment is warranted. Granular insecticides applied to the lawn can help, though biological controls like parasitic nematodes (microscopic worms that target mole crickets in the soil) have proven more effective than conventional pesticides for long-term lawn protection.
Trap the Ones Already Inside
For crickets that have already made it indoors, sticky glue boards are the most practical solution. Commercial insect glue traps don’t need bait, molasses, or any homemade additions to work. Place them flat against walls, baseboards, cabinets, and appliances, since crickets travel along edges rather than across open floor space.
Use enough traps to cover likely travel routes. For a single cricket in one room, three to six traps along different walls and near hiding spots work better than moving one trap around. Focus placement near exterior doors (just inside the doorway, along the wall), around utility penetrations where pipes and wires enter, and behind stored items in garages and basements. Covered glue traps are available if you’d rather not see what you’ve caught or if you’re placing them in dusty areas where an exposed trap would lose its stickiness.
Checking your traps also tells you where crickets are entering. If one trap consistently catches more than others, there’s likely a gap or crack nearby that needs sealing.
Use Dust Treatments in Hidden Spaces
Boric acid and diatomaceous earth both work against crickets in areas you can’t easily reach. Of the two, boric acid tends to be more effective against crawling insects. The fine powder sticks to the insect’s body, and when the insect grooms itself, it ingests the powder. Boric acid retains its potency almost indefinitely as long as it stays dry, so a single application in a protected spot can last for months or even years.
The key is applying it correctly. You want a deposit so thin it’s barely visible to the naked eye. Insects avoid heavy accumulations the way you’d avoid walking through a snowdrift. Use a bulb or bellows hand duster (available at hardware stores or online) to puff a fine layer into crevices along cabinet edges, the gap between walls and floors behind appliances, openings where plumbing enters walls, and the hollow space under kitchen and bathroom cabinets. That void under the kick panel is a prime cricket hiding spot and can be treated by puffing powder through any existing crack at the top of the panel.
Perimeter Sprays for Heavy Infestations
If sealing and trapping aren’t enough, an exterior barrier spray can intercept crickets before they get inside. Products containing synthetic pyrethroids (sold under brand names like Spectracide Triazicide, Ortho Home Defense, and Bayer Advanced Multi-Insect Killer) create a residual barrier that kills crawling insects on contact for weeks after application.
Spray at the base of all exterior doors, garage and crawlspace entrances, around foundation vents, and around utility openings. Treat up underneath siding where possible. For broader protection, apply a 2- to 6-foot-wide band along the ground around the outside perimeter of the foundation and 2 to 3 feet up the foundation wall. This creates a chemical moat that crickets have to cross to reach your home.
Granular insecticide formulations work well for lawns and soil around the foundation. Spread them with a broadcast spreader for even coverage. These are particularly useful if crickets are congregating in large numbers in your yard before migrating indoors.
How Long It Takes to Work
Crickets have a short lifecycle. Eggs hatch in 7 to 14 days, and a cricket reaches full adulthood at about 6 weeks. Females typically die after laying their eggs. This means that if you eliminate the current population and seal entry points, you won’t be dealing with a self-sustaining colony for long. Most indoor cricket problems resolve within a few weeks once you remove moisture, block access, and deploy traps or treatments.
If crickets keep reappearing after a month of consistent effort, you likely have an unsealed entry point or an ongoing moisture issue that’s recreating the habitat they need. Revisit your foundation, door seals, and utility penetrations with fresh eyes, ideally after dark with a flashlight, when crickets are most active and easiest to track back to their entry route.