How To Get Rid Of Crickets In Your Garage: Keep Crickets Out Of Your Garage
This post contains affiliate links.
This post contains affiliate links.
Crickets have a way of announcing they are in or around your garage – they make so much noise that it can be annoying. They also chew through soft materials, destroying softwood, cloth, or paper. How to get rid of crickets in your garage?
You can get rid of crickets in your garage by:
- Cleaning and decluttering your garage
- Trap them using molasses or glue trap
- Keep your pets in the garage to catch them
- Use Diatomaceous earth
- Get pest control if DIY methods do not work.
In this post, we explore how you can get rid of crickets in your garage. We start by looking into why they love nesting in your garage before showing you steps to remove and keep them from returning.
Why Crickets Love Your Garage
Crickets in your garage can be more than just an inconvenience. Instead, crickets can cause significant damage and create an unwelcome chorus of chirping sounds that disturb the peace of your home.
Understanding why crickets are drawn to your garage is key to taking steps to make this space less attractive to these pests.
Lots Of Hiding Spots
One primary reason crickets find garages appealing is the abundance of hiding spots. Crickets can gain easy access to your garage from cracks around the windows and doors of your garage.
Even if your garage doors and windows are in great condition, there’s also the larger gap under the garage door.
Once in, the numerous crevices and cluttered spaces provide ideal hiding spots for crickets and insects. This is especially true for common crickets like house and field crickets, naturally drawn to dark, moist environments.
Food Sources
Crickets are also attracted to garages due to the availability of food. Garages often become unintentional storage spaces for items that can attract crickets, including:
- dead insects,
- organic debris or
- food crumbs.
This can lead to an infestation of crickets, as they will eat almost anything they find, making your garage a cricket buffet.
Water & Moisture
Moisture is another key factor that attracts crickets to garages. Crickets need moisture to survive, and garages can often provide this, especially if there are water leaks or the space is not well-ventilated.
This makes your garage an ideal breeding ground for crickets, particularly in the warmer months when crickets are most active.
Your Garage’s Outdoor Lighting
Outdoor lighting is another aspect that can draw crickets to your garage. Crickets are nocturnal and are naturally drawn to lights at night.
Suppose your garage or the area around it is well-lit. In that case, it could invite crickets and other nocturnal insects closer to your home, eventually leading them inside.
These factors can unintentionally turn your garage into a nursery for cricket eggs. Female crickets lay hundreds of eggs, and the secluded, undisturbed garage areas provide the perfect environment for these eggs to hatch.
This can rapidly increase the cricket population inside your garage and make it more challenging to remove crickets once they’ve settled in.
Common Types Of Crickets Found In Garage
- House Crickets: These inch-long musicians bring a distinct chirp into your home, especially at night, as they are nocturnal. Their light yellowish-brown exoskeleton makes them less conspicuous, blending seamlessly into the shadows of your garage.
- Field crickets look similar to house crickets but with a darker, almost black exoskeleton. They are slightly larger and prefer the outdoors but won’t hesitate to venture indoors when conditions outside become less favorable.
- Mole crickets: These have mole-like front limbs adapted for burrowing. They are usually found in garden areas but can wander into your garage, especially if adjacent to a lawn or garden.
- Spider crickets: Also known as camel crickets, they cannot chirp. What they lack in sound, they make up for in appearance, with a hunched back and long, spider-like legs. These crickets prefer moist environments.
- Camel-Backed Crickets: Their distinct humpbacked appearance makes them easy to identify. They thrive in dark, moist environments, making the less frequented corners of your garage a perfect hideout.
Signs Of Cricket Infestation In Your Garage
Detecting a cricket infestation in your garage isn’t always straightforward, especially since these critters can be stealthy. Yet, there are telltale signs that can alert you to their unwelcome presence. Here’s what to keep an eye (and ear) out for.
Incessant Chirping Sound
The first sign is the constant chirping sound, particularly at night. Male crickets chirp to attract females, and this can become a constant background noise in your garage.
This sound is not just a nuisance; it’s a clear indicator that crickets see your garage as prime real estate.
Cricket Droppings
Next, you might start noticing cricket droppings. These resemble small black pepper grains and can often be scattered around your garage.
This is a surefire sign that crickets are not just visiting; they’ve made themselves home.
Chew Marks On Soft Materials
Another red flag is the appearance of damage to items stored in your garage. Crickets have a wide-ranging diet and will chew through:
- cardboard,
- clothing, and
- Wallpaper.
Crickets could be the culprits if you start seeing inexplicable damage, particularly on fabric materials.
Cricket Exoskeletons
Crickets also leave behind their exoskeletons after molting. These are usually dry shells that crack when you apply a little pressure. And yes, these shells look like crickets.
If your garage infestation is significant, you may find these discarded shells around, particularly in less trafficked areas or dark corners where crickets are likely to hide.
You See Them In Your Garage
Lastly, sighting crickets themselves is an undeniable sign. When this happens, you must gear up to battle these noise crawlies.
You may see them jumping around when you move boxes or hear them scurrying to hide. Adult crickets are about an inch long, making them hard to miss once you start looking.
How To Get Rid Of Crickets From Your Garage
Dealing with a cricket infestation in your garage can be daunting, but it doesn’t have to be a losing battle. You can clear out these chirping intruders with the right approach and prevent future invasions. Here are five effective actions to tackle the problem.
Declutter And Clean Out Your Garage
Crickets thrive in cluttered environments where they can hide, breed, and feed undisturbed. You remove potential cricket hideouts by decluttering your garage and keeping it clean.
Pay particular attention to removing items that crickets find irresistible, such as:
- cardboard,
- woodpiles, and
- other organic materials.
Introduce Natural Deterrents
Diatomaceous earth(paid link) is a non-toxic powder effective against crickets and other insects. Sprinkling it around your garage can help eliminate these pests without resorting to harsh chemicals.
Another less conventional method is to have your pet around the garage. Cats, dogs, or birds love to try to catch these hopping crickets, allowing you to win on multiple fronts:
- Your pets get a good workout
- You get to remove crickets from your garage, and
- You may not need to walk or play with your pets as much.
Trap Them
You can also set up molasses traps(paid link) that lure crickets with their sweet scent, trapping them effectively. Simply fill shallow containers with water and molasses and place them around your garage.
If this is too much work, there are cricket traps(paid link) available that you can simply pick up and deploy. These usually use scents like fruits or sweets to attract the crickets and trap them with sticky surfaces.
Professional Pest Control
Consider professional pest control. Sometimes, despite your best efforts, the infestation might be too severe to handle alone. When this happens, professional pest control can offer better solutions.
They can treat the current infestation and advise on long-term prevention strategies, ensuring your garage stays cricket-free.
How To Prevent Crickets From Getting In Your Garage
Now that you have cleared your garage of crickets. The next natural step is to ensure they no longer come back to haunt you. Here are some things you can do to not have to deal with crickets in your garage in the future:
Modify Outdoor Lighting
Crickets are attracted to lights, especially at night. Consider switching to yellow bulbs or sodium vapor lights outside your garage, as these are less attractive to crickets.
You can also direct lighting away from the garage, minimizing the lure for these nocturnal creatures. Some also install insect zappers(paid link) in front of the lights, ensuring everything that gets too close gets killed – crickets, mosquitoes, or other bugs.
Seal Up Entry Points
Crickets can sneak in through the smallest gaps around your garage door, windows, and other openings. A thorough inspection will help you identify these entry points. Once you found them, work on sealing them up using:
- weather stripping,
- caulk, or
- expanding foam
These steps can significantly reduce the influx of crickets, making your garage less accessible to these and other pests.
Keep Clean And Clutter Free
Cleanliness is your ally. Crickets are attracted to clutter and debris, which provide perfect hiding spots. Regularly cleaning and decluttering your garage removes these hiding spots and makes the environment less inviting for crickets.
This includes removing piles of wood, leaves, and other organic materials that may have accumulated around your garage’s exterior, which can attract crickets closer to your home.
Also, do not eat or drink in your garage. Food crumbs and water spills can easily become a source of food and water for these crickets, encouraging them to come in and nest.
Keep Crickets Out Of Your Garage
Getting rid of crickets in your garage involves assessing entry points, decluttering, and using natural deterrents. By taking these steps, you create an unwelcoming environment for crickets, effectively keeping them at bay.
Remember, consistency is key in prevention, ensuring your garage remains a cricket-free zone and allowing you to enjoy a peaceful, chirp-free space.
Check out comprehensive guides on how to get rid of other garage pests here!
