Have you ever been disturbed by the sound of crickets at night?
It can be pretty unsettling to have this insect’s chirping sound in your ears.
In this blog post, I will show you 7 ways to get rid of cricket noise at night. Follow these steps, and you’ll be able to sleep peacefully once again.
Ways On How to Get Rid of Cricket Noise at Night
Below the guide, I will be recommending some effective DIY methods that will help you get rid of cricket noise at night.
1. Try Less Harmful Methods
I moved into my new home in April of this year, and from day one, I noticed some crickets around.
They are not in every room; only their vocal cords can travel through the very thin exterior walls. In a couple places, you have to be standing right up against the wall to hear them.
But they are loud and consistent enough at night to be considered a problem.
I see no need for me to kill harmless creatures just because they sing outside of hours.
So here is what I did: buy a package (or two) of “eye masks” sold by drug stores since people working nights use them when sleeping days so as not to be disturbed by sunlight seeping through windows and disturbing their sleep.
They are simply black plastic that covers the eyes and blocks all light. I bought two packages, cut off the elastic string at one end of each pair, folded over the “glasses” on both sides (this keeps them from falling off) taped them with a thin strip of duct tape to hold them together.
I then fastened these to the outside wall of my home in key places where sound could be heard coming in through window sills or other openings near exterior walls like wood trim between siding boards.
The string side is facing outside, so it holds its place. This has primarily solved my cricket noise problem.
The best part is they do not kill any creatures but rather insulate crickets from hearing the noise.
The cheap package of eye masks I bought cost $1.50, the tape and scissors hardly anything at all. This was a lot cheaper than hiring someone to spray poison somewhere or trap them; much less costly than buying a sound machine that will not do the job anyway.
2. Terminate The Source of Crickets Sounds
If you want to get rid of cricket noises at night, you need to find where these crickets are coming from.
You may think that only crickets sound bad, but other insects could also cause disturbing noise, such as frogs, flies, mosquitoes, and cicadas.
The best way to get rid of such noises is by eliminating their source.
Find the nest and fill it with insecticides or use pesticides that contain specific ingredients that are safe for your family but fatal for insects such as boric acid, pyrethrins, and rotenone.
Regularly clean up your indoor plants: Crickets prefer to live in dark places where they can hide easily from predators.
Some common places which crickets like to reside include leaf piles, closets, basements, and garbage containers.
You should regularly check under your house’s foundation and make sure there is no rotting wood, as this increases the likelihood of attracting pest infestation, especially if you have moisture issues.
Keep outdoor lights off at night: Making sure that you turn off all unnecessary lights in the evening is important to ensure a good night’s sleep.
Nighttime lighting encourages insects such as crickets to come out of hiding and search for food sources which can be distracting if one has just gone to bed.
To get rid of cricket noises at night, make sure that you only have the most necessary lights when it is dark out.
3. Block Cricket Access to House
Place fine mesh over any potential entry/ exit points around the outside of your homes, such as windows and doors, so that they cannot come inside.
This will also prevent other insects such as ants from getting inside and adding to problem infestation levels.
4. Natural Insecticides
Make use of sprays that contain pyrethrum, a natural insecticide.
Spray the exterior of your home and also around the doors, window frames, baseboards, etc.
The mixture will last for about 3 weeks, and you can use it in conjunction with other methods as described below.
5. Cover Any Damp or Dark Places
Cover any damp or dark places such as basements or wet crawl spaces with plastic sheets so that crickets aren’t able to hide there anymore.
This might require some physical activity on your part, so it is recommended that you don’t skip this step if possible.
Also, be sure to clean up any leaves and other organic debris outside regularly during fall months so that they don’t pose as an attractive hiding place for these insects on your property.
6. Use Light Traps
Use light traps that are specially designed for catching crickets.
They come with a light bulb inside, which attracts the insects, and they can be placed near any dark, damp areas in your house where you’ve noticed cricket activity.
They are simple to use and cost-effective, so it’s a good idea to give them a try in conjunction with other methods described here if possible.
7. Sticky Traps or Glue Boards
You might also want to place sticky traps or glue boards targeting crickets around the exterior of your home or anywhere else around the house where you think these insects hide during daytime hours.
This is an easy way to trap crickets, and you’ll notice that there will be significantly fewer chirping noises coming from outside due to their gradual elimination through this method after some time.
8. Peppermint Oil
A few drops of peppermint oil applied in dark corners and along baseboards can also stop crickets from coming inside.
The smell of the peppermint will keep them away, mainly because they don’t like it too much.
You can find plenty of natural insect repellent recipes online for this purpose; you might want to make a mixture yourself and try out which one works better at your place.
9. Few Homemade Traps
You can also set up a few homemade traps using recycled materials around your backyard if there are any trees or bushes that cricket seems to be attracted to.
They need light to see and move around, so you should take advantage of it. Cut a hole on top of an old bucket big enough for cricket to go through quickly but small enough that it can’t get back out.
Next, cut a slit in the top of a second bucket and place it upside down over the first one so that there is only a small opening left, leading to the bottom bucket.
The cricket would have to jump from the ground directly into this second bucket and fall inside, but because of its own weight, it wouldn’t be able to climb back out even if it wanted to!
10.Try Eggshells
Use some eggshells on your property around bushes or trees where you’ve noticed crickets are frequenting.
Try sprinkling some powdered cinnamon on the shells; crickets have an aversion towards cinnamon, and they won’t come near eggshells sprinkled with this powder even if they aren’t covered with egg.
11.Trim Your Grasses
Keep your grass well maintained and trimmed around trees or bushes as it’ll be crickets’ main hiding place during daytime hours.
The fewer places they have to hide, the easier their elimination process becomes because you won’t need to look in too many different spots for them. If you’ve noticed that there are a fair few of them on your property, consider calling an exterminator of lawn care company for further assistance.
12.Use DIY Cricket Traps
It is possible that if you live close to a lake or any large body of water, then crickets might be traveling over from the wetland areas adjacent to your home.
Try setting up some traps near these areas; use recycled materials such as old buckets, bottles, etc., that can be filled with water and placed in the area.
This way, crickets will get attracted to the water, which is their main food source as they are thirsty insects. They will move towards it trying to drink but will fall inside and drown.
13.Lemon Juice and Warm Water
You can also try spraying your backyard plants with a mixture made from lemon juice and warm water.
Mix one part of each ingredient in a spray bottle, shake well, and mist your plants such as roses, cucumber plants, etc., as this mixture is known to work really well against crickets in these areas.
It’s best to apply it at night because although lemon attracts crickets during daytime hours, its smell keeps them away once the sun hides behind the horizon.
14.Pyrethrin Insecticide
You can also use a pyrethrin insecticide spray such as Cy-Kick, specifically designed to control crickets.
Make sure you only apply it when rain isn’t in the forecast within 24 hours, or else it’ll simply wash away all your hard work.
Spray generously around areas where you usually notice crickets living, hiding, and breeding.
15.Abamectin B1a
Another effective DIY solution for killing crickets naturally that has proven itself very efficient is made with abamectin B1a, which kills crickets and lice, fleas, and ticks.
This chemical basically gets into the insects’ nervous system through their exoskeleton and makes them go crazy until they die from exhaustion and lack of oxygen.
It’s undoubtedly the best way to take care of crickets with little or no effort on your part.
Final Thoughts on How to Get Rid of Cricket Noise at Night
Above are some of the best methods on How To Get Rid of Cricket Noise at Night
These are methods that have worked for me in the previous post, and I’m sure they’ll work for you as well.