ok, i've already had enough of bugs... (hotels, house)

[sdweisman]

so i meet the stink bug for the first time when i bought this house in august. also some funky looking bug that supposedly eat the ciccadas. now i seem to have an infestation of crickets. i found three in my livingroom and now just two in the basement. (directly under the livingroom). so what the heck do i do?????

i am so not into this bug stuff. i try and pretend i'm a grown up (nearly a 1/2 century) but i gotta admit, it gives me the willies when i have to dipose of any thing that crawls, crepes, hops or slithers, not to mention flies.

any suggestions or helpful hints will help. and i'm not adverse to calling an exterminator but be honest if you think i can take care of them myself. (ick)

[JG183]

I've heard that the sonic repellants work pretty good (no pun intended).

supposedly, stink bugs don't breed indoors -- so however many of them are inside, will die off eventually.

as for the crickets, they're getting in somehow... try to see if you've got any cracks or openings in your basement that they're using to get in

[jerseyj]

I have had crickets in my garage but had NO idea these little pests were so destructive.
Good news is, you can get rid of them yourself!

How to Get Rid of Crickets - How to Get Rid of Stuff

Good luck with this and thanks for posting.....might be using these methods myself this summer!

[BergenCountyJohnny]

Originally Posted by sdweisman

so i meet the stink bug for the first time when i bought this house in august. also some funky looking bug that supposedly eat the ciccadas. now i seem to have an infestation of crickets. i found three in my livingroom and now just two in the basement. (directly under the livingroom). so what the heck do i do?????

i am so not into this bug stuff. i try and pretend i'm a grown up (nearly a 1/2 century) but i gotta admit, it gives me the willies when i have to dipose of any thing that crawls, crepes, hops or slithers, not to mention flies.

any suggestions or helpful hints will help. and i'm not adverse to calling an exterminator but be honest if you think i can take care of them myself. (ick)

I'm with you - I loathe the bugs and creepy-crawlies. I only suffer spiders to live in my home because they stay out of sight and out of the way and eat the other things.

What bug is it that eats cicadas? Cicadas are my most hated bug of all.

In regards to the crickets, that isn't a jersey thing, I've never had such a problem. There have been a few instances where they were in the house but not even once every couple of years - it's been rare. And it's usually been field crickets.

Which brings me to that point - do you have field crickets or house crickets in your home? Field crickets are the ones that live outside and are dark black. They actually hate to come inside but every once in a while will hop into an open door or window by accident. They don't want to be in your house. They are more "chirpy" than house crickets, generally. (All of them stop chirping when you go near, though.)

They hop more quickly and further, also. House crickets are light beige-brown and have are narrower and longer than the stockier field crickets. THEY love to be in your house. They want to eat the fabrics in your home - clothes, carpets, curtains, etc. They try to get into your house.

Here is a link to help determine the difference.
[url]G7366 House-Invading Crickets, MU Extension

If you have field crickets, which I doubt since it's so many of them, be more careful when opening doors and windows.

If they're house crickets, then as someone else mentioned there must be a crack or vent they are coming into. My brother was getting some and it turned out to be through a vent, so they screened off the vent outside and no more crickets.

If it's a real problem, call an exterminator for professional help, you don't want them in your house!

By the way, NJ isn't bad for bugs compared to some places. Dallas, Texas was the worst I've seen. One time of year they get a grasshopper invasion, huge grasshoppers all over the place, disgusting! Another time each year they have Crickets all over the place, inside everywhere. When I would go there during the cricket season, they'd be inside my hotel room, no matter how often I switched hotels, and at work they were everywhere in a corporate building (AT&T), they just couldn't be eliminated completely, there were so many of them. My co-worker from Florida was giving a presentation and a cricket jumped from a recessed fluorescent light panel, which was a grid, down onto her hair, and she shrieked!!! lol!! I felt so bad for her, and the Texans all laughed and said "Oh, you get used to it, they don't bite," etc. I wouldn't be able to take it!

Good luck, I hope you get the problem resolved!

[hrjersey]

I'm with you 100% on this one. Crickets are disgusting. I buy this stuff at the home and garden center. It comes in a big bag and I sprinkle it around the entire perimeter of the house outside. Usually two to three times per year and I rarely hear or see them after that. Sorry I can't give the name because I don't have a bag in the house right now.

[MarPuc]

The bees are around early this year. Last year was a bad year for me with getting bites.

[Marc Paolella]

How about those huge centipedes! The ones that are lightning fast. Those creep me out. One dropped on me once from the ceiling while I was in bed. I almost went through the wall when I literally dove off the bed. You can't crush them either, as they are quite mushy...

-Marc

[AnthonyB]

Originally Posted by Marc Paolella

How about those huge centipedes! The ones that are lightning fast. Those creep me out. One dropped on me once from the ceiling while I was in bed. I almost went through the wall when I literally dove off the bed. You can't crush them either, as they are quite mushy...

-Marc

Those are the nastiest. Their legs keep twitching when they come off too.

[NewHomeHappy]

Originally Posted by Marc Paolella

How about those huge centipedes! The ones that are lightning fast. Those creep me out. One dropped on me once from the ceiling while I was in bed. I almost went through the wall when I literally dove off the bed. You can't crush them either, as they are quite mushy...

-Marc

wonderful story Marc. Thanks for sharing. Now for the next few weeks, while I lay awake with the bedroom lights ON, I'll be looking all over for that bug & thinking of this story !!! Arrrgghhhh!!! LOL

welcome to my nightmare !!!


TO the OP: My Grandma used a old pie tin filled with beer. The crickets liked the beer & drowned in it !!

[Jerseyt719]

I personally use a cat. Yes, a cat.

They attack, torture, and kill anything that crawls, jumps, flies, etc. So long at it's even slightly smaller than themselves. We had a few of the dark black crickets a couple of years ago. I didn't have to do anything to them. The cat took care of it.