Does anyone else have crickets in their basement?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Camel crickets are the ones you are mostly likely to spot in basements of NW DC.

They are HARMLESS. They eat decaying leaves--not clothes--which is why you see them in the fall and winter.

They like damp places, so a dehumidifier should help.

While they look scary, I think that they are less scary than spraying your basement with chemicals and potentially exposing young children to toxins.

Uh, lice and bed bugs are harmless too, but that doesn't mean I want them in my hair or in my home. And that's the same with camel crickets. In DC, many of us have finished basements, and we don't want bugs in them, especially if we have young children.

OP, you need to find out how they're getting into you house. Seal up any gaps around doors, pipes, and windows. That's what we did, and we haven't seen a cricket in our basement for at least a year. We didn't need to use any pesticides.

Also, if the crickets are getting in, other bugs and potentially mice could get in too. So it's worthwhile to seal everything up. Good luck!

No, lice and bedbugs are NOT harmless. They carry disease. Lice carry typhus. Both lice and bedbugs BITE. Crickets don't harm humans in any way.

[Anonymous]

We have lots in our basement too. I do not mind them. I just catch them in a glass and put them outside. I can't imagine killing them or spraying for them.

[Anonymous]

I hate those things. I have a serious spider phobia and those things trigger it. Ugh!

They are called hump-back crickets or camel crickets. I've heard them referred to as cave spiders or cave crickets, too.