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Crickets

Crickets

Family Gryllidae

Insectalso: Field cricket

Familiar chirping insects that are mostly harmless but can chew on seedlings, leaves, and ripening fruit, especially where they build up near weedy edges. In most gardens crickets are a minor, occasional nuisance, but in large numbers, particularly during dry spells, they can clip rows of young seedlings overnight.

🔎 How to spot it

Crickets are brown to black, with long antennae as long as the body, large jumping hind legs, and, on females, a long sword-like egg-laying tube at the rear. Males chirp by rubbing their wings. Look for chewed, ragged holes in leaves and seedlings and gnawed spots on fruit lying near the ground, with the crickets themselves hiding by day under debris, mulch, and in weedy spots.

🥀 Damage it causes

Crickets chew leaves, stems, and seedlings and gnaw on soft fruit and vegetables resting on the soil. Usually the damage is light and cosmetic, but a large population, often migrating in from weedy or grassy areas during stand establishment or a dry spell, can destroy several rows of young seedlings in a day or two.

🛡️ Prevent it

Keep the garden and its edges free of the tall weeds, grass, and debris where crickets breed and shelter, clearing them early in spring before the crickets mature and move in. Protect vulnerable seedlings with row cover or protective cones. Reduce daytime hiding spots, boards, mulch piles, and dense ground cover, near young plantings.

🧯 If it is already here

Control is rarely needed in a garden. Where seedlings are being destroyed, remove the weedy and debris harborage the crickets hide in, and protect plants with covers. Trapping and baits can knock back a heavy population, and natural enemies, birds, and the simple step of cleaning up cover usually keep numbers down on their own.

💡 Good to know

Crickets are far more often heard than harmful, and the chirping males do no damage at all. Trouble comes mainly when a weedy field or border lets a big population build and then move into the garden, so keeping the edges mowed and clean is the most useful preventive step.

🌱 Plants it attacks

714 plants in the library can be attacked by this pest

Acorn SquashAdirondack Blue PotatoAdzuki BeanAfrican Blue BasilAfrican MarigoldAgapanthusAgeratumAgrimonyAji Amarillo Pepper🍓Albion StrawberryAlice du Pont Mandevilla🥔All Blue PotatoAlmondAloe VeraAmbrosia CornAmerican BasswoodAmerican Beauty Dragon FruitAmerican BeechAmerican PersimmonAmethyst Falls WisteriaAmish Paste TomatoAnaheim PepperAnemoneAngelique TulipAngeloniaAniseAnise HyssopAnjou PearAnnabelle Smooth HydrangeaAnnual VincaApeldoorn TulipApple MintApril Tryst CamelliaArbequina OliveArizona Sun Blanket FlowerArkin CarambolaArmenian CucumberAroniaArp RosemaryArugulaAshwagandhaAsian PearAsian PersimmonAtemoyaAtlantic Giant Pumpkin🥕Atomic Red CarrotAucubaAugust Beauty GardeniaAunt Molly's Ground CherryAutumn Joy SedumAvocadoBachelor's ButtonBalsam FirBalsam PoplarBanana PepperBarbara Karst BougainvilleaBartlett PearBay LaurelBayberryBeach PlumBeauregard Sweet PotatoBecky Shasta DaisyBee Balm🍅Beefmaster TomatoBenarys Giant ZinniaBengal Tiger CannaBetter Boy Tomato🥬Bibb Lettuce🍅Big Beef TomatoBig Boy TomatoBilberryBing CherryBitter MelonBlack BeanBlack Beauty EggplantBlack Beauty ZucchiniBlack Beluga LentilBlack Cherry TomatoBlack CrowberryBlack Currant🍉Black Diamond WatermelonBlack Kabouli ChickpeaBlack Krim TomatoBlack RaspberryBlack Sapote🥬Black Seeded Simpson Lettuce🥕Black Spanish RadishBlack Tartarian CherryBlack WalnutBlack-Eyed PeaBlack-eyed Susan VineBlood OrangeBloomsdale SpinachBlue Bird DelphiniumBlue Bird Rose of SharonBlue FescueBlue Lake Green BeanBluecrop BlueberryBocking 14 ComfreyBok Choy

For educational and informational purposes only. Pest control advice is general guidance drawn from university cooperative extension sources; always identify a pest positively and read and follow the label on any product before use, especially around food crops, children, and pets.