India 31 October 2016: Crickets are the small grasshopper like species which tend to be irritating and constant chirping. These insects are mainly classified under four categories:
1.House crickets
2.Camel crickets
3.Field crickets
4.Mole crickets
crickets enjoy thriving in cool and dark places. Crickets can eat almost anything, from fabrics, woolens, papers, home decors, and even the walls. These are one of the biggest nuisances. Today we have put together a list of natural home remedies to get rid of crickets and keep them away from you and your house. Read on to know some of the simplest and easiest way to kill crickets and get rid of them completely.
Causes
Let’s look at some of the main reasons why crickets infest your house:
•You have very bright lights in your house and garden
•There are many cold and dark areas in your house
•Your house is Damp
•You are leaving near a garbage dumping ground
•There are many wild bushes in your garden
•You have kept your house Unclean and dirty
Super Easy Home Remedies for Getting Rid of Crickets
1. Pets can save you from crickets
Pets are a great help in getting rid of these pesky crickets. If you have a pet cat or dog they do an amazing job of killing crickets. This is one of the most natural and fun way to get rid of these pesky crickets from your house.
2. Create traps in corners and along walls
If your house in infested by the crickets then you can set some traps in places such as the corners, below furniture and along the walls. Glue boards which are used to catch mice also come handy to catch some annoying crickets in house. You can use cornmeal to act as bait and once the crickets come to feed on them they will get trapped on it and die.This is home remedy can surely help you get rid of the cricket infestation.
3. A ‘sweet’ mollases trap
To make this amazing homemade sweet trap to kill crickets all you need to do is, Take a shallow bowl to which you add a few spoons of molasses mixed with water. Now place a few of these sweet traps in the cricket infested areas of your home. This sweet trap is sure to attract the crickets and soon you will find them dead in the bowl.
4. Plant some trees to your benefit
Cricket hate nitrogen fixing plants like cloves, sweet peas etc also planting garlic and cilantro does the trick. This is naturally beautiful way of keeping crickets at bay. These plants will act as barriers between your home and the crickets.
5. Confiscate the eggs with vacuum cleaners
If crickets have laid eggs in your house then you are in big danger. You need to take quick action before the eggs hatch into more crickets. To get rid of the cricket eggs use a vacuum cleaner and clean the corners, walls and dark areas of your house where they have laid the eggs. Make sure to dispose the vacuumed contents in a sealed plastic bag to completely get rid of them.
6. Soap
We have always used soaps for cleaning and washing, but did you know soaps work amazing as a bug spray as well. To make this amazing bug spray to get rid of crickets all you need to do is to mix a handful of soap with water and put it in a spray bottle. Spray this homemade bug spray on the crickets to kill them. The soap goes deep inside the cricket’s shells and causes cell damage which kills them.
7. Pepper
Pepper sprays work amazing to kill crickets. Pepper is said to be like poison for crickets, so even spraying a little should work well to kill them.
8. Bug sprays
There are many Bug sprays easily available in the market which can do the trick to kill crickets. Spray these bug sprays in areas that are infested by the cricket and they will never come back. Be very careful while using these bug sprays and make sure you dont come in contact with it as it is loaded with chemicals which are toxic.
9. ‘Hot and Spicy’ spray
If you do not want to go for those chemical based bug sprays you can create your own natural bug spray right at home with some daily use ingredients. To make this amazing natural homemade bug spray all you need to do is take all the hot chilli items from your kitchen, like red chilli powder, red chilli sauce and red chilli. Now Mix them all in a liter water. Let all the ingredients mixed with water sit aside for a night. Now using a wired mesh just filter this water in a spray bottle. To which you add a few drops of dishwashing liquid. Your homemade bug spray is ready. Spray this amazing spray on the plants in your garden to get rid of crickets.
10 Let the predators live
If you want to get rid of crickets without doing any hassle, then allow the natures cricket predators to work as exterminators to get this job done quickly. Predators like lizards, spiders etc do an amazing job to kill the crickets.
11. Diatomaceous Earth
Diatomaceous earth powder dehydrates the crickets and slowly kills them. To kill crickets, Sprinkle generous amounts of diatomaceous earth on the floor in areas affected by cricket infestation. Do not wet the areas where this powder is placed, as it may lower the power of this powder in killing crickets. This earth is safe if ingested by animals, so don’t worry about your pets ingesting it.
12. Void scintillating or bright lights
The bright lights are said to attract crickets. To avoid them you will need to replace these lights with sodium vapor lamps, LED lights etc which do not attract crickets.
13. Trim your garden
Crickets are known to build their nests and in the overgrown shrubs and grasses in your garden. To stop them from making their nests in your garden make sure you trim the shrubs and grasses from time to time, This will help in preventing growth of crickets.
14. Keep the garbage bin sealed
Crickets are lured by the smell of garbage. To avoid luring crickets by the smell of garbage, you should keep the dust bins covered.
15. Seal or Protect your home
The best home remedies for getting rid of crickets is to prevent them from entering your homes. Crickets mostly enter your homes through doors and windows. The best way to prevent these pesky insects from entering the home by sealing the windows and doors using mesh. Make sure you get rid of all the cracks present through which these pests can enter.
16. Vapor barrier
One of the reasons cricket are attracted to house can be that there is too much moisture in there. To remove the moisture Install a vapor barrier to prevent un-wanted moisture. Reducing the moisture levels in dark areas of the house like basement, behind cupboards, furniture where crickets breed works to get rid of them.
17. Have clean environment
A dirty home is an invite to the crickets to come infest the house. Always make sure there is no leaf litters, garbage dumps, woods, construction items pile up in and around your house. Keep your home and surroundings clean and free from objects that invite crickets.
18. Use Biocontrol Method
Using the help of beneficial insects to fight crickets, is a biocontrol method to get rid of crickets. To invite these beneficial insects to your house, just plant trees like Larra Wasp
Prevention is better than cure:
•Prevent crickets by keeping your house clean and tidy
•Prevent dampness to not attract crickets
•Have pet animals at home to kill the crickets
•Mow your garden to prevent cricket infestation
•Have Good plumbing to prevent Crickets
•Clean your drains on a regular basis to avoid the stinge from inviting the crickets
•Use Good condition screens to prevent crickets from entering your home
Do’s and Don’ts to Get Rid of Crickets
Do’s
•Do not let the grasses near your home grow long and should be trimmed from time to time, as these grasses are the main reason for inviting the cricket.
•Keep Wooden, mulch and compost tiles away from your home.
•Birds are amazing predators of crickets so to invite the birds Install a bird feeder
•If you have pets at home let them out to catch some crickets.
•Always Keep your house clean and tidy.
•Use sticky traps to catch crickets if you don’t like killing them.
Don’ts
•Debris being collected in drains or other areas like rooftops to keep crickets away.
The best ways to keep your household free from these pesky crickets are the natural home remedies. Using these home remedies to get rid of crickets easily and effectively without any chemicals. So go ahead and try these home remedies to get rid of crickets and let us know your experience in the comments..