You hear that?

The end of the summer signals cricket season. It can't be missed. The incessant, constant chirping is an annoyance that is part of nature. Crickets are those creepy, crawling, jumping, flying bugs that give people the willies. Crickets are nocturnal – they sleep during the day and at night they eat at least their body weight each day. Late summer and fall are mating seasons for crickets and, that is one of the reasons for the chirping. (The chirping is also a means for sounding an alarm and for fighting.) The male crickets are the singers. They make the chirping noise by rubbing the sharp edge at the base of they front wing along a file-like ridge on the bottom side of the other wing. The "number" of chirps depends on the temperatures – the higher the temperature, the greater number of chirps (ranging from five to 200 per second). Worldwide there are about 900 species of crickets. In Ohio the most prevalent types are the house (3/4 to 7/8 inches long, light yellow to brown in color); field (1/2 to 1 ¼ inches long, black in color); ground (1/2 inches long, brown in color); snowy tree 5/6 to 7/8 inches long, green or pale green in color); camel(3/4 inches long, brown to dark brown in color); and northern mole (1/2 to 1 ¼ inches long, brown to black in color) crickets. Most bird species (i.e., cardinals, turkeys, blackbirds and some hawks) eat crickets. They also provide nourishment for red fox, turtles, toads, reptiles, and even occasionally cats. Crickets are omnivorous insects. They eat dried organic materials, fresh plant material, small fruits, seeds, and both living and dead insects. Crabgrass, ragweed and chicory are favorites. They can cause considerable damage to agricultural crops. One of the threats is their propensity to seek warm shelter as winter approaches. Seeking shelter in a home can be devastating. Once in a house a cricket has a choice of meals – wool, cotton, silk, nylon, rayon, rubber, leather, furs, (all of which are more liable for attack is soiled with body oils, perspiration or food stains), even wall coverings and carpeting. To prevent crickets from entering the home, seal door thresholds, weep holes (steel wool stuffed into weep holes can serve at temporary insect barriers), soffits along the eaves of homes windows and garage doors. Caulking cracks and crevices in the building to seal the openings serves as a barrier. Nylon bristled door sweeps or rubber seals reduce the risk of crickets entering a building. Crickets are attracted to light. Outdoor lights should be turned off as early in the evening as practical or replaced with low-pressure sodium vapor lamps or yellow incandescent bug lights. Restrict landscape lighting around the building to only a few hours each evening. It is also important to practice good sanitation around the building by cleaning up piles of leaves, bricks, and lumber around the foundation. Firewood should be stored away from the foundation. Keep grass and landscape plants trimmed back as the weather turns, elevate trash cans stored outdoors, and resolve any high moisture areas in the building. If all else fails, capture them, sauté them to make chili-lime cricket tacos or cricket fried rice.