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Cave Crickets


Summary: The Cave Cricket is not like most crickets. It's a non-chirping, people-intimidator. Cave crickets even consume their own body parts in order to survive. Kind of counterproductive, huh? 

Imagine this. You go to the basement to pick up a cold one. You flip on the lights and all of the sudden you are confronted with this disgusting, vile creature. What is it? It looks like a spider, and it's rather large. Your heart starts to pump harder. You muster up the fortitude to smite your foe. So, you approach the intruder with the simple strategy of stepping on it. When all the sudden, it jumps! It jumps at you, which catches you off guard and frightens you some more. Losing you composure, you run upstairs screaming like a little girl where you are confronted by your guests expecting cold beverages. You can't disappoint them, so you go back down, armed with shin guards, shoulder pads, a hockey mask and a baseball bat. You're ready. This time, to your surprise, the monster is gone. Whew! Lucky him. You proceed with the original mission thinking all the while, what was that and where did he go?

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My friend, you have just encountered the CAVE CRICKET, also known as the Camel cricket that sounds much less imposing. The Cave cricket looks creepy, jumps, and at times, will actually jump at you, throwing you way off guard. But, have no fear! Cave crickets are all bark and pose no real threat to humans. That is, unless you are weak of heart. Given that its natural habitat is a cave, these crickets have very poor eyesight. That is why, when approached, it will jump in your direction. It's an attempt to scare you off and many times this works.

So, here's some info you can use to identify these monsters and inform your friends when you come up from the basement empty handed. The Cave cricket is large, measuring in at two-inches on the body, and four inches for the legs! Question, why is it that long legs on anything not human scare the heck out of us? You know, spiders, cave crickets, Manute Bol. Puzzling!

Young Cave crickets are translucent, while the older ones sport a putrid brownish color. These are faces only a mother could love. They appear to be distant cousins of Quazi Motto, which would explain their humpbacked reference as Camel crickets. For the sake of horror, I shall stick to calling them the more terror-inspiring Cave crickets. They are wingless. That's a plus, but as said before, they can jump, and rather high.

The only good that the Cave cricket does, or more precisely doesn't do, is chirp. The only way you will know if you're housing them is if you see one. Sometimes, if infestations are bad enough, their smeared fecal matter will be present. Nice houseguests! Generally though, Cave crickets aren't found squatting in houses in mass numbers.

As their name implies, this cricket is usually found in caves, but really, anywhere that is dark and damp will do, including your basement. The best thing is you rarely find them anywhere else in your house. They do have poor eyesight due to their preferred environment, so their sense of touch is rather sensitive. Furthermore, caves generally are not the most nutritious

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environments, so the cave cricket often goes for long periods malnourished. During these periods, they have been known to feast on their own extremities in order to survive. A rather gruesome prospect, given the fact they cannot regenerate. They eat themselves alive!

Now that I have scared you, I will tell how to deal with these monstrosities. Nobody wants the cave cricket around, or any pest for that matter. That being said, the first way to mitigate any potential problem is to eliminate inviting habitats. Cave crickets prefer cave-like surroundings, so don't have a cave-like basement. Clean up clutter, seal cracks, and ventilate moist or damp areas to start. Limiting moist spaces is paramount in the prevention process.

If you have already had your terrifying first encounter you still need to do the cleanup-thing. It's unlikely that Cave crickets have set up shop in your house. That lone cricket may be the only one present. Squashing it like any other bug does work, though they are quick, and jump high. This may prove difficult. Vacuum cleaners are effective and do much to quell the fear factor.

You can also build a trap. A cool and simple trap to make is to cut a hole in the side of a shoebox and line the inside with sticky paper or wax. After a day or so, take the box outside, lift the lid and see if you have caught any crickets.

If you find it prudent, you can always go the chemical way to rid yourself of these critters. Ant and roach sprays can be used, but have limited effects. It is best to try to control cricket populations from the outside in order to stop their migration inside, and for this, I would advise using a good emulsifiable concentrate pesticide like Conquer EC. It is mixed with water, and simply sprayed around the exterior of the house at any entry points.

So there it is. Now you know, and knowing is half the battle!





Comments

Shaun
08 Jul 2009, 11:58
ok i need some help with this. i have tried the sticky paper to catch them, btw there are hundreds in my house. i have killed at least 15 this week. but i need something to attact them, to bait the trap with. these abomonations are disgusting. hell just this morning/last night, i woke up with one on my legl, being somewhat asleep i grabed it and threw it thinking it was crushed when i smaked it. an hour later it was back, this time on my face, i threw it again in shock, and then proceded to mercilesly hunt it down and kill it via toilet flush! this is not the first time. i had one jump on my back while in the shower! what do they like so i cant bait and destroy?!?
Ask the Exterminator
08 Jul 2009, 11:59
Whew! Sounds like you need to do some sealing of cracks and crevices to stop the flow of crickets. You may need some professional pest control help, too.

Remember, that these crickets are there because they have a food source. Mold and mildew. Better call in a roofer and plumber while you're at it.
Doug Dwyer
13 Jul 2009, 14:58
We don't have a lot, but something different here,, These crickets are stinging or biteing.. any idea whats going on here ?
Ask the Exterminator
13 Jul 2009, 15:59
Camel crickets don't bite or sting. They have a sharp ovipositor at their rear end, but it is used for egg laying only. Maybe you have some other type of insect.
nathan
14 Jul 2009, 23:27
i have a problem with the cave crickets in my walk out basement. but its not only the walk out basement, its my room. i only kill about one a week and even though im completly terrified of them i can handle that number. but how many eggs are laid at one time?
Ask the Exterminator
15 Jul 2009, 14:38
I tried to find a specific number for you, but all the "experts" give different figures. So, it's anywhere from 150 to 700 eggs. Sorry!
Chris-NJ
17 Jul 2009, 22:49
We bought our NJ house last year with an underground garage; totally infested with cave crickets. Try have 5 or 6 jump at you at a time! I went the chemical route and use a roach bomb, and there must have been 25-30 dead corpses to vacuum up. It kept them out for the season, but now they are back.
Ask the Exterminator
18 Jul 2009, 22:52
They're back because they like the moisture and source of food. Use a humidifier to help fix the moisture problem.
Mr. X
20 Jul 2009, 10:45
I have a VERY unique situation. I have a little five-lined skink lizard trapped in my car. I have tried to get it out of the car, but no luck. It comes out and basks in the sun when the car is quiet, but as soon as it notices some movement, it sneaks right in to some gap within the car.

Any clue as to how I can get it out???
Ask the Exterminator
20 Jul 2009, 10:47
Put out glue boards. When the skink gets trapped you can release it by applying cooking oil to the trap.
Eric
22 Jul 2009, 23:20
Hello i have a rather large problem.I have lived in nj for 12 years and have recently noticed a VERY large infestation around my home.It first started about a year and a half ago. However it has gotten worse.My ground level bathroom has become unusable. The crickets like to hide and come out of know where when you sit down on the john.i have kept this area very clean and they keep coming back. Also across the hall is a bedroom for my son which is also infested..Basically walking around my downstairs you cant help but see a few cave crickets.i am worried about this problem how can i get them out.........An interesting fact my shed and garage have hundreds of crickets that live on the walls.my red walls are now a nice brown badge shade=D
Johnny
23 Jul 2009, 07:01
Your story made me laugh, ATE! It's exactly what I did when I was confronted with literally HUNDREDS of these things in my cabin's outhouse. Since it's primitive and outdoors, there's really no way to stop these things, but imagine opening the door to be met with teaming jumping monsters, coming at you from all directions. I tried swooshing them out with a broom, but trapped inside a confined space with these things jumping on me from all directions reduced me to a 12-year-old girl, screaming at the top of my lungs! I ran out in chills and nervous laughter!

The thought of being in there, with dropped trow, trying to answer nature's call with those things lurking? NO WAY!

I guess I'll just wait until winter...
Anonymous
11 Aug 2009, 20:55
i was wondering if you can find these cave crickets in a well?... because i have like this 3 ft. deep well in my back yard but it was covered up with a concrete slab and i noticed it ... and i say like a circle cut out with a metal loop pertruding from the cut out concrete circle so u acn pull it up and look in side and i opened it up and like 3 came running out and one JUMPED ON ME it scared the crap out of me well i was wondering if it was these cave crickets.... haha THANKS!!
Anonymous
11 Aug 2009, 20:56
oh and im in the middle of USA (Illinois)
Lis Ann
11 Aug 2009, 21:22
I didn't know what these beasts were. Someone told me they're called cave crickets. Well, there was one hopping past my bathroom, I thought it was a toad because it's so big. How big do they get? I see them but, never this size. It took a ton of spider killer and it's still twitching. I think they are dangerous because you could break your neck trying to get away from them.
Anonymous
18 Aug 2009, 11:28
I live in a townhouse in Montville, NJ with no basement, so we are on a slab. We have always fought crickets here, but this year is the first time I have seen the CAVE cricket! They are huge! I am not the typical woman with bugs and I can kill them or send them outside if there are any, but these crickets have me totally grossed out! This morning I killed two. I stand over them and smash them with anything heavy...a heavy book is my favorite. I leave the things on the floor until my roommate comes home. I cannot take seeing them again after I have murdered them!
Lexington,Ky
22 Aug 2009, 21:19
HI I have lived in my house for about three years.My garage has a type of wood panel walls could the cave crickets actually be living behind the wall? I see them every fall but have no idea where they are coming from Also what would be the first step to us getting rid of these nasty little creatures? Thanks Lex,Ky
Dan
24 Aug 2009, 18:00
I am looking at how can I stop the breeding of these and rid myself of the existing cave crickets
Kaci
07 Sep 2009, 02:13
I am absolutely terrified of these things. My sister found one in our garage today and caught it in a cup, thinking it was a spider, so she could show our parents. I thought it was a brown recluse at first, until I looked closer, and almost went into cardiac arrest when I realized what it was. Our exterminator told us that they can bite and that they are poisonous, but not enough to actually hurt you. Is this true? I hate them worse than spiders!
Stevie
06 Oct 2009, 20:13
We have a few in our basement. I saw one about a month ago. It was the size of a small saucer dish. I killed it with 1 whack, so I didn't see how high it could jump.
BobK
07 Oct 2009, 05:41
I find them drowned in my basement toilet. It seems to me that you can trap and kill them with buckets of water left around.
NTili
10 Oct 2009, 12:24
I believe I may have cave crickets (at least that's what a pest control person told me after seeing a specimen I had just squashed...I have squahed about 12 of them in the last ten days...however, I'm not sure if these are cave crickets because they appear to have a small set of wings and when you squash them they give off a smell.any thoughts? thanks in advance
John
11 Oct 2009, 23:27
I found one of these cave crickets in my attic, it was stuck to a glue trap for mice. All I hear about is basements. do they like the attic environment too? This sucker was HUGE, thought it was a mouse until I shined the light on it.
Gina
23 Oct 2009, 19:57
We have a REAL PROBLEM with cave crickets. It has been about 4 years since we first noticed them. I have an exterminator come a few times a year to spray the walls in mny basement and fumeagate the crawl space area. Its an old home and we have even gone so far as to have the basement walls resurfaced thinging this would help, but NO. The exterminator was here 10 days ago and we are still going crazy killing them all through the house maybe 20 a day. Can I use a BOMB in the house or what else can I do. Please Help!!
Marie
23 Oct 2009, 22:42
I'v lived in sussex county NJ for almost 14 years now and about 4 years ago was in bed ill when something jumped up in the air and landed right on top of me. When I saw this THING I'd never seen before I freaked and flung it, thinking that I must have killed it, I settled back down only to have it fly up in the air and land on me again.I was terrified and have been now since then. They grow in numbers every year despite exterminating professionally and now on my own with products you can buy yourself. I've had 4 to 5 of these huge cave crickets a night and I can't get to sleep. Once in the shower I felt something bite me, OW, when I looked to see what the heck it was there was a cave cricket on my calf, the rest of that story isn't pretty.......YES they DO bite and they leave a 3 prong bite mark that got red but didn't do anything else other than act as a reminder of my terror in the shower for several days. We have put a dehumidify in the basement which does help and a multitude of glue traps. All helps but NOTHING is getting RID of them. I HATE these cave crickets and would love to know how long they have been in NJ. Like I said I've lived in this house for almost 14 years but have had this problem for only the past 4 years? Good luck to everyone.
Valerie
28 Oct 2009, 15:57
I've been living in N.C. on and off for about 13 years now and i never noticed them until about 3 years ago....dad's basement. (shivers) talk about the heebie-jeebies. :(
Gogron
28 Oct 2009, 16:55
Those hideous mutant cave crickets are everywhere in my house, mainly in my bedroom which horrifies me beyond anything. The creatures are popping and hopping around in my kitchen when I go in there at night, and are always walking around in my room. I don't sleep in my room because the thought of them crawling on me terrifies me. I'm almost nineteen and they have this effect on me, they are scary as hell. I opened up the entry to my attic and There was one on the pull down staircase so I armed myself with a huge knife from the kitched and threw it at the horrible cricket-demon the knife stuck into the staircase in the exact place the cricket was (he jumped and dodged it) he then jumped out at me, onto my chest, so I turned around screaming and it jumped off me onto my friend who then also attempted to kill it. I have also witnessed these crickets cannibalizing one another and eating other crickets remains, I have not read anyone else encountering this, and I saw one cricket eat three others, this was gross. I hope that my house burns down, I hate cave crickets. I am about to write song lyrics for my death metal band because I'm making a song about cave crickets.
Deron
02 Nov 2009, 12:45
For spot killing, nothing beats a fly swatter. They dead before they realize you're there.

I've used Raid Foggers (not bombs)and that usually gives us some relief for a couple months. We see them sparingly.
danielle c
04 Nov 2009, 20:21
What can I use as far as chemicals, bombs, foggers, etc that will not hurt or kill my cats?? I was attacked by 3 of them this morning when i went up into the attic!!! We used to see them once in a while in the unfinished yankee basement, but NOW they are in my house, on the kitchen counters and coming from the pull down stairs into my attic. These things tormented me growing up, and now are back to haunt me in my adult life, lol.
Kim
05 Nov 2009, 08:39
I found one cricket in my basement but i'm not sure if it's a lone cricket or if there's more we've had them before but we got rid of all of them and we got rid of them probably 5-3 years ago. Can you tell me whether there might be more of them?
SqueamishWonder
05 Nov 2009, 09:53
These things freak me out! For starters, MY vision isn't the greatest, so when you have two freaked out adversaries with different kill strategies pitted against one another, I look like I'm doing the jig and those vile demon crickets are jumping at me like the floor is going to give way! I HATE THEM! I hate them I hate them I HATE THEM! I trapped one last night with the intention of simply releasing it outside (stupid move on my part, I know) but when I threw the plastic cup down on it I chopped off one of its legs and felt all compassionate and subsequently blinded it with a flashlight for a few minutes attempting to study it, then drowned it in ammonia. (I figured that would kill it painlessly while giving me a certain amount of pleasure and peace of mind). If it wasn't between me and the outlet, I would have just let it go, but I had to unplug my computer so my dad wouldn't trip over the cord in the morning coming out of his bedroom. That is one animal/insect that I wish God would have left OFF the ark! *shivers*
reybo
11 Nov 2009, 14:12
Could cave crickets be mutating?

When we lived on a farm in an 1880 house over a crawl space, we never saw one. We moved 18 miles into town to a DRY, warm 1952 rancher with basement, and discovered camelback HQ. We had ample time and examples to study them. Over the years we saw them night after night in September shortly after dinner suddenly appear on a particular wall of the tool shed. Then, around 8:45, they begin marching across the walls to exit the shed. From there they cross the back wall of the garage and - with absolutely no hole/slot/air vent to go through, they mysteriously appear OUTSIDE the concrete garage marching across a brick wall, headed for the gap where the brick gives way to redwood siding. A few days later they appear in the basement for another winter. So we caulked the slot under the siding, and murdered by spray night after night of camelbacks on the march. Since 1996 we've had central air. Not a hint of darkness or dampness in the basement. Smaller cricket population but still here. Dropping the VHS tape of "Home Alone" is my favored way of execution, since they jump UP into it. Wasp spray is more certain, and neater. The basement was totally renovated last year - new floor atop the old tiles, new gypsum walls, etc. After years of finding and sealing the cracks and crevasses by myself, last year three of us went over every square angstrom of the basement, and sealed it air tight. Today when I go downstairs I will find one, maybe two dead crickets in plain sight that were not there yesterday, and maybe one weak and dying cricket. Just where are they coming from? Either George Herter or Earl Proulx once told me that a dish of water with liquid soap will attract and kill camel crickets. This winter I'm finally going to try it. Why how? I have a granddaughter just reaching the crawling stage, and her playroom is in the basement. Maybe Mother Nature thinks a cricket is a suitable playmate for an infant not but me. Nah ....
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