Crickets may not be commonly associated with dry desert environments, but actually, there exists 100 species of true crickets in virtually every region within the United States. Arizona is home to three true crickets, but “true” crickets only include cricket species that belong to the Gryllidae family. This family belongs to the Orthoptera order, which includes all cricket and grasshopper species. Other cricket species that are not considered true crickets include splay-footed crickets, ant crickets and bush crickets. Luckily, crickets do not spread disease or inflict painful bites, but a few species in Arizona are considered nuisance pests that can cause both indoor and outdoor damage.
Crickets are abundant all over the world, including Arizona. Crickets are known to invade homes in order to survive the winter within hospitable conditions. In some cases, homes can become swamped with these fairly loud insects. The Indian house cricket is light yellowish brown in color and they grow to be around ¾ of an inch in length. This species is the most significant cricket pest in Arizona due to their habit of gathering around the foundation of homes in large number in order to sneak their way indoors. When the house cricket is not able to enter a home through an open door, which they often do, they prefer to slip indoors through cracks in a home’s foundation. The house cricket is the only cricket that is capable of reproducing offspring indoors. In fact, several generations of house crickets can limit themselves entirely to indoor habitats without stepping outside once. Since most cricket species are nocturnal, the house cricket waits for a home’s occupants to go to bed before it skitters across floors in search of crumbs and other sources of human food. These crickets are generally a mere nuisance, as their chirping sounds can be loud and annoying to homeowners. House crickets also tend to leave behind large amounts of feces within homes. When house crickets become numerous within a home, they can damage drywall and fabrics. While outdoors, house crickets often damage young garden plants and flowers.
Have you ever heard a cricket chirping in your home, but could not find it
