Are Camel Crickets Dangerous?

Are Camel Crickets Dangerous?

Camel crickets get their common name from their appearance, as they are humpbacked like camels. They may also be known as cave crickets or spider crickets. They are often found in caves, and in damp, cool areas under leaves, stones, and logs that are rotting. Camel crickets exist in large numbers across the Tennessee and the rest of the United States. Their lifespan is between one and two years.

Identifying Camel Crickets

Camel crickets do not produce sound, as they don’t have any organs which allow them to do so. They do not have wings, instead, they use their large back legs and long antennae to help them get around in the dark spaces where they gather. When frightened, camel crickets tend to leap. This is their defense mechanism, and basically the only way they can scare off predators.

Camel crickets are light to dark brown in color, and may have spots with lighter or darker areas. Adult camel crickets can grow to between thirteen and thirty-three millimeters in length.

Problems Camel Crickets Cause

Camel crickets really do not pose any health threats to humans. They don’t have fangs and cannot bite, are not poisonous, and are not known to carry any diseases.

Camel crickets can become a nuisance, though, if they get into your home. Some species may damage clothing and other fabrics, like curtains. Their diet consists of wood, carpet, fungi, cardboard, other insects, and even other camel crickets at times. They can create a lot of damage as their numbers grow, and that is the last thing you want to happen in your home!

How to Prevent Camel Crickets

Preventing a camel cricket infestation takes work. Though these pests are not dangerous to your health and won’t hurt you, they can be a real nuisance.

Here are a few things you can do to help keep them out of your home and off your property:

  • Reduce areas of moisture in and around your home. You may choose to use a dehumidifier to prevent moisture build-up inside.
  • Seal points of entry around your home, such as gaps under and around doors and windows, cracks in your foundation, and tears or rips in window screens.
  • Ventilate crawl spaces, basements, and attics.
  • Firewood should be stored no less than twenty feet away from your house.
  • Remove debris from your yard.
  • Outdoor garbage cans should be moved away from the exterior walls of your home.
  • Tall grasses on your property should be mowed to a manageable length.

Getting Rid of Camel Crickets

If you believe you have a camel cricket infestation in your home, contact a licensed pest control professional right away. The professionals at Russell’s Pest Control will conduct an inspection of both the interior and exterior of your home. We will work with you to develop a treatment plan to rid your home of camel crickets. Give us a call to learn more. 

Camel Cricket Prevention Tips

Camel Cricket Prevention Tips

When it comes to camel crickets there is good news and bad news; let’s first start with the good news, these crickets aren’t particularly dangerous and they don’t make annoying chirping sounds like their relatives the house cricket. Now for the bad news, these crickets are very creepy looking, invade in clusters, and spiders love to eat them. If you have camel crickets in your home, it will not be long before spiders are trying to get in as well. 

Let’s first, begin with a description of what camel crickets look like so you can better understand why these pests creep so many people out. Camel crickets have a hunched body, 3 pairs of legs with their back legs being much larger in size, and very long antennae. Camel crickets are wingless; adults range in color from a very light tan to dark brown and they often have dark bands of color on various parts of their body. Camel cricket tend to scare people not only because of their unattractive looks but because when they are startled and jump away in defense they can look very spider-like!

Camel crickets are also commonly referred to as cave crickets because they like to live outside in cool, dark, damp places, including you guessed it, caves! While they usually like living outside in dark, damp, cool places like under landscaping ties, mulch, stones, and logs they will move inside when the weather no longer suites them. If the weather becomes too hot or dry, they look to move inside homes and other buildings, usually congregating in damp basements, crawl spaces or other areas that provide them with the cool, humid environment that they are seeking. Camel crickets despite having the ability to bite, are generally considered to be nuisance pests. To help prevent these pests from becoming an annoyance to you and your family we suggest reducing humidity levels in your home by installing dehumidifiers in basement areas and making sure that crawl spaces are properly ventilated. Additional prevention tips include:

  • Repairing cracks in the foundation, placing door sweeps underneath of basement doors, and caulking gaps found around basement doors and windows. Seal all possible entry points found on the exterior of your home.

  • Reducing areas of clutter and debris is basement areas. The less “things” they have to hide in, the easier it will be to find and eliminate them.

  • Storing fire woodpiles a distance away from the exterior of your home.

  • Removing piles of leaves, grass, and other debris that camel crickets can live and hide under from your property.

The best way to prevent camel crickets, the spiders that eat the crickets, and other household pests from invading your home and becoming a nuisance is to put into place a year-round pest control program from the pest professionals at Russell’s Pest Control. All of our highly effective Power programs control and prevent infestations from annoying and damaging pests and protect your home, family and pets against 30+ common household pests. Call us today to learn more about camel crickets and how we can work together to keep camel crickets and other pests out of your home all year long!

Is That A Cricket In My Basement?

Is That A Cricket In My Basement?

In the dark corners of a basement it is sometimes hard to figure out exactly what you’re looking at, and camel crickets don’t make it easy. Their long, thin legs make them look like a spider which is not all that big of a deal, until they come flying out of the darkness at you. If you’re wondering if you have camel crickets in your basement, and would rather not be scared half to death when they leap out at you from the darkness, we can help you with that. But before we tell you how to fix the problem, here are a few more ways those lovable little crickets can drive you crazy.

  • Camel crickets are sort of the “goat” of the insect kingdom. They will eat pretty much anything. They will leave holes in plants and curtains alike. If you have camel crickets in your home, you can be assured that, to them, nothing is sacred.

  • Camel crickets can damage stored items, like clothing, blankets, sheets, and other fabrics that are packed in the garage, attic spaces, or closets. Packed items are at most risk if they are in a place that is humid.

  • If you have a lot of camel crickets, you’re going to get the feces that come with any insect pest. These droppings will be left in hard-to-reach places inside wall voids and insulation.

  • Camel crickets chirp. This may sound nice, but it gets old fast at 3 a.m. when you have to get up for work in the morning.

  • Camel crickets are icky. There is really no other way to put it. If you are watching television and a camel cricket leaps into your hair or crawls up under your shirt, it is never pleasant. These creatures aren’t dangerous, but their alien appearance and hard exoskeleton can be really unsettling.

  • There is a side threat to having crickets in your home: Crickets are food for a lot of other creatures, especially rodents. If you have these tasty morsels crawling around in your wall voids, attic spaces, and basement areas mice and rats will love you for it.

At Russell’s Pest Control we protect homes from camel crickets, and a whole host of other invasive pests that like to get in through the cracks. Our power plans start at just $29 per month, and provide year-round protection from over 30 common household pests, including crickets. Camel crickets are a pest you can live without. Get your walls sealed and keep these and other pests out with professional, year-round pest control–and you may just keep pests that are even scarier out.