Crickets in the house!
#2
Member
Thread Starter
The text in my post somehow got deleted...
I am getting an infestation of house crickets in the kitchen despite not having any food out. I went outside and found them huddled around the perimeter of one corner of the house and also climbing the walls. I used ortho home defense which kills them (with a hefty dose) but they were back the next night (despite the 12-month protection promise on the bottle). I tried the same thing with EcoLogic Ant and Roach killer but they were also back the next night (despite the use of lemongrass oil in the formula which I read repels crickets). Last year I tried terro ant killer but also was not effective. All 3 products have crickets listed. Can anyone recommend a product I can use around the house's perimeter to repel crickets from coming here?
I am getting an infestation of house crickets in the kitchen despite not having any food out. I went outside and found them huddled around the perimeter of one corner of the house and also climbing the walls. I used ortho home defense which kills them (with a hefty dose) but they were back the next night (despite the 12-month protection promise on the bottle). I tried the same thing with EcoLogic Ant and Roach killer but they were also back the next night (despite the use of lemongrass oil in the formula which I read repels crickets). Last year I tried terro ant killer but also was not effective. All 3 products have crickets listed. Can anyone recommend a product I can use around the house's perimeter to repel crickets from coming here?
#3
Forum Topic Moderator
Yrs ago I had crickets getting in my house. I think it was Ortho I used. I bought the concentrated version and sprayed my crawlspace [might have done it twice] I don't remember the last time we had a cricket inside our house. I'd keep spraying until it's resolved. Our resident bug man should be along later with more/better advice.
#4
Forum Topic Moderator
For cave crickets, I've used Conquer. It's available from some online retailers and is shipped as a concentrate.
I've experienced significant cave cricket infestations, and a spray in the basement and the perimeter of the house once or twice a year keeps them away.
I've experienced significant cave cricket infestations, and a spray in the basement and the perimeter of the house once or twice a year keeps them away.
#5
Group Moderator
I had crickets when I moved into my house. I put out glue traps inside and granules in a five-foot wide lane around the house to try to create a barrier and then filled any spots I thought they might be getting in the house. Somewhere in there was the remedy; haven't had one in 20 years since.
#6
Forum Topic Moderator
Hey all: I just now saw this post as I was cruising through other topics out of curiosity. It was never moved to my sites, or at least it didn't show up, if it was moved. I just now searched and didn't find it anywhere except here.
Crickets aren't hard to treat and get good results. The first product, Home Defense, with bifenthrin as an active ingredient was a favorite of mine and would be my choice still. When an insect that is relatively easy to control would baffle me, I almost always found that they were in an unusual place that wasn't, or couldn't easily, get treated.
Like Marksr said earlier, I too would prefer buying a concentrate (Bifenthrin) and mix it with water myself in a compressed air sprayer. Much better application rate, especially for the exteriors. You need it to penetrate the soil, mulch, stones at least a little, and the extra volume will do that.
If you have vinyl/alum siding, spray up underneath as best you can, look for gaps, cracks, crevices and get the spray into them as best you can. If there is a basement and accessible unfinished foundation wall, spray the structural wood members that sit on top of the foundation wall. If the crickets are down there, then they are maybe 10" underneath the kitchen. They can be living in multiple places, not just where they are found. Hope this helps if you still need it. I'll be alerted to responses now.
Crickets aren't hard to treat and get good results. The first product, Home Defense, with bifenthrin as an active ingredient was a favorite of mine and would be my choice still. When an insect that is relatively easy to control would baffle me, I almost always found that they were in an unusual place that wasn't, or couldn't easily, get treated.
Like Marksr said earlier, I too would prefer buying a concentrate (Bifenthrin) and mix it with water myself in a compressed air sprayer. Much better application rate, especially for the exteriors. You need it to penetrate the soil, mulch, stones at least a little, and the extra volume will do that.
If you have vinyl/alum siding, spray up underneath as best you can, look for gaps, cracks, crevices and get the spray into them as best you can. If there is a basement and accessible unfinished foundation wall, spray the structural wood members that sit on top of the foundation wall. If the crickets are down there, then they are maybe 10" underneath the kitchen. They can be living in multiple places, not just where they are found. Hope this helps if you still need it. I'll be alerted to responses now.
#8
Member
Thread Starter
PAbugman It was the end of cricket season last year so I never responded, but now it's cricket season again and we're infested. I live in California so there's no basement but they live under the patio, which has been lifted up by tree roots and has plenty of cracks. There's also cracks between he house and patio. I've filled with paver sand but some areas don't seem to fill. Also, they might be living in our next door neighbor's vegetation. I'll try quikrete concrete sealant and I'll try the Ortho again. I did try using orange oil recently and that didn't work. It killed them but it doesn't keep them away. Is there anything that stays for even a few weeks that would deter them from coming here?
#9
Member
Thread Starter
I sprayed Ortho and they are not coming out of the cracks in the patio anymore, since I sprayed there last time. Now, they're coming out from under the house. I sprayed another 3 gallons of orange oil and kept going until they stopped coming out. Then I walked around the patio and sprayed the yard and more were coming from the yard. We're surrounded. Isn't there something that I can spray as a perimeter that will deter them from getting near the house? Behind us is a canyon. I hope I don't have to spray the whole canyon.
#10
Forum Topic Moderator
I doubt that there is anything that will stop them from coming to the house perimeter, but a water based insecticide with the active ingredient: bifenthrin, should kill them off when in the perimeter for a period of time. Get the concentrate that you mix with water into a compressed air sprayer. The Ortho Home Defense has bifenthrin in it, and it is a very good insecticide. I suspect that you need more volume. It will be much cheaper and easier if you get the concentrate and mix it yourself in a compressed air sprayer.
Use the bait granules further outside of the insecticide perimeter. Don't spray over the bait; don't use bait inside the treated perimeter. Brand names of the bait granules or the bifenthrin aren't important as there are good generics out there, but read the active ingredient list on the label for them.
https://www.domyown.com/niban-granul...er-p-1487.html
Use the bait granules further outside of the insecticide perimeter. Don't spray over the bait; don't use bait inside the treated perimeter. Brand names of the bait granules or the bifenthrin aren't important as there are good generics out there, but read the active ingredient list on the label for them.
https://www.domyown.com/niban-granul...er-p-1487.html
Zorfdt
voted this post useful.
#11
Member
Thread Starter
PAbugman thanks for the feedback. I did many of those things (granules around the perimeter, not spraying on the granules) but not even the dead bodies of their comrades is deterring these guys. The volume of Orange oil pools up around where they are nesting, so when they jump out, they jump right into it. I do feel more comfortable using Orange oil since it seems to be just as effective and supposed to be organic, and I have two small kids in the house. When I sprayed today, only a few crickets came out so I am hoping we will not find any in the house tonight. If that is the case, then I need to spray during their mating season, before they lay eggs, whenever that is in San Diego.
I also considered closing up any gaps around the perimeter of the house with self-leveling sealant but there are a lot of gaps around the whole house, so I closed up where we've seen them come out inside the house. Hopefully one of these things work!
I also considered closing up any gaps around the perimeter of the house with self-leveling sealant but there are a lot of gaps around the whole house, so I closed up where we've seen them come out inside the house. Hopefully one of these things work!
#12
Member
Thread Starter
Can anyone tell me what this is? The crickets are coming through the kitchen sink drain, almost no crickets for the past 2 nights when closing up the drain. The object in the image must be connected to the kitchen sink drain because I saw water coming out when my wife was washing dishes. Is this for overflow?
#13
That is a cleanout. If you get a clog they can open it and snake the drain line from there. It should never just be left open.
#14
Member
Thread Starter
#15
It should not leak. Unscrew it and put some Rectorseal on the threads, then screw it back in tight.
#16
You may need to seal around the cleanout, as I did. I got ants in my kitchen until I sealed around it. Here's my old thread about this and what I was advised to use (which worked). As XSleeper said, you should never see water exiting that cleanout under normal conditions. You may have a clog which needs to be reamed out.
Need to patch gap around cleanout
Need to patch gap around cleanout
#17
Member
Thread Starter
RocketJSquirrel thank you! I do see a small opening at the bottom of the cleanout, although they are coming from through the drain. The night before we started closing it, I must have killed at least 20. The first night only 3. The second night, 0. Either way, I'll patch it up with some grout just in case!
#18
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Crickets in your basement
I had crickets in my basement.
I had some sticky traps, but they were not successful. I did some searching and people were talking about Molasses.
I didn't have any, but i had some maple syrup.
It worked like a charm.
I had some sticky traps, but they were not successful. I did some searching and people were talking about Molasses.
I didn't have any, but i had some maple syrup.
It worked like a charm.
#19
I use the Terro Spider & Household insect traps.... exclusively.
They can be used flat or folded into a box.
They crickets are attracted to the boxes more than the open trap.
I always have a few floaters but the boxes usually get filled.
I don't need to add anything to attract them but it couldn't hurt.
They can be used flat or folded into a box.
They crickets are attracted to the boxes more than the open trap.
I always have a few floaters but the boxes usually get filled.
I don't need to add anything to attract them but it couldn't hurt.
#20
Group Moderator
Put the sticky traps in the areas the crickets are migrating through and you won't have to use any bait. I was filling them up and throwing them out because there was no more room for any more crickets in the traps.