How Long Do Crickets Live

Summary: If you have crickets in your home one of the first questions you want answered is, how long do crickets live. Fortunately, adult crickets do not live too long, but it all depends on the species. Read this article to learn the lifespan of various crickets and learn a few tips on how to keep them out of your home.

Oh, the life of a cricket! Lying about in the sun all day and singing love songs all night long. That's the good life, for sure, but not if you're on the receiving end of those cricket calls. Once you start hearing them inside your home you can't seem to get them out of your mind. So, exactly how long do crickets live? I'd like to mark my calendar to know when I'm going to get some peace and quiet.

Field cricket

Let's start with field crickets which commonly thrive outdoors during the warm summer months. However, when fall sets in and temperatures cool down, field crickets have to adjust their habitats. One way for them to survive is by moving indoors. The field cricket packs up its belongings, buckles up the kids, and heads for the nearest building it can find. The easiest path for them to get indoors is through a tear in a window screen or via a crack in the foundation of the structure. If the cricket cannot find a place to live indoors, it will most often expire by winter.

Some field crickets have adapted to cold weather. As temperatures drop and food becomes scarce, it goes through diapause. There are two types of diapause. One is obligatory diapause where the animal or insect must do this during some stage of its development. The other is facultative diapause when the animal or insect goes to sleep when something bad is going to happen. 

Another way to explain diapause is to think of the last time you had a really bad day. You might have fallen into bed and hoped that you could sleep for a week wishing your problems would go away. Well, field crickets do this, too. It essentially sleeps through its problems. Its metabolism slows down and it goes dormant. In this altered state, field crickets do not have to worry about finding food, thus allowing it to survive the winter. Different from hibernation.

Mole crickets typically live about one year. These crickets can survive the cold months by overwintering. Don't worry, though. If you had an infestation of mole crickets in the fall, only the adults will make it through a visit from Jack Frost. Young mole crickets cannot survive freezing temperatures. When spring rolls around again, make sure to get rid of the adult crickets quickly before they reproduce. Otherwise, you'll have a whole lot of them on your hands.

screen repair

House crickets only live about two to three months. You are probably able to infer from their name that they can survive indoors. This species is more than willing to visit you in the winter as long as your furnace is pumping out warm air. However, in the summer, they are more likely to live outside. House crickets can also be found near garbage dumps. The waste contained in dumps can give off enough heat to warm the crickets for a short time.

There are a couple of strange reasons why house crickets do not live as long as other species. First, some house crickets die shortly after reproducing. Second, house crickets may have trouble finding food when vegetation has stopped growing. If this is the case, it may turn to eating other house crickets to survive. It may even eat its young. The young crickets don't stand a chance against a hungry parent.

If you have heard chirping in your home and suspect that crickets are hanging around, you shouldn't have to deal with the noise for very long. Once a cricket reaches the adult stage of development, it typically only lives about three weeks or so. If it is indoors and cannot find food, it may die even faster. The exception to the rule being the camel or cave cricket which can survive two or more years.

The following list includes ways to get rid of crickets, if you can't stand the thought of them driving you crazy for three weeks.

Tips to prevent or get rid of crickets:

• Replace any window screens or doors screens that have rips or tears in them.

foundation cracks

• Seal cracks in the foundation of your home.

• After raking leaves, keep the pile away from the sides of your house. Crickets tend to congregate in stacks of debris.

• Make sure to mow your lawn on a regular basis. Be sure to mow down tall grass growing along the foundation walls. The taller the grass, the more attractive it becomes to crickets.

• Move garbage cans away from your house.

• Clean your gutters out at least once every few months, as crickets may gather in any leaves stuck there.

• Eliminate clutter in basements and garages

That last task is usually the one that makes us reconsider just how badly we really want to get rid of those crickets. Such is life! Work or lay about in the sun. Oh, to be a cricket!

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