Cricket Invasion Begins Across North Texas
FORT WORTH, Texas (CBSDFW.COM) - If you've noticed a lot of crickets congregating in your homes or in your stairwells at work, you're not alone.
"This is the beginning of the season in the fall," says Chris Penler of All That Crawls Pest Control in Hurst.
Penler says we haven't had a heavy cricket season in a few years, but that could change. So why are we noticing them now? Like us, they're not fond of the heat. "Just like any other creature in the Texas summer, they're going to seek out the shade." And, like us, they instinctively know that fall is coming.
Having bred in the summer, the number of natural predators like lizards make a difference in their populations, too. "The lizards will follow the insect population; it's all kind of a balance," according to Penler.
Another factor: whether your home or business is located near a big, well-lighted field.
"People that use Mercury vapor lights are going to have more of an attraction that people that use Sodium vapor lights," he says.
So, what's the difference? Mercury vapor lights are the ones that give off a bluish-white light--Sodium vapors are more the yellow.
"Change out to a yellow light; maybe a business with a parking lot wants to go to a Sodium vapor instead of a Mercury vapor," he suggests. "It's just a different wavelength of light, it's less attractive to them."
Even though it seems like they're everywhere, Penler says the can be controlled. "Crickets, generally speaking, if done properly and done smart are relatively easy to kill and take care of."
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