Signs of a Cricket Infestation

Crickets are usually heard before they’re seen. That persistent chirping from somewhere inside a wall or basement? That’s the classic tell. But there are other signs worth knowing:

  • Chirping at night — house crickets are nocturnal and the males chirp to attract mates. If you hear it inside, they’ve already gotten in.
  • Chewed fabric, paper, or food products — crickets aren’t picky. They’ll chew clothing, curtains, cardboard boxes, and pantry items.
  • Camel crickets in basements — these humpbacked, spider-like crickets don’t chirp, but they jump unpredictably when startled. Finding a cluster of them in your basement is unsettling and a sure sign of a moisture problem.
  • Cricket droppings — small, dark pellets near harborage areas like corners, behind appliances, or along walls.
  • Dead crickets — finding dead ones during the day often means a larger population is hiding out of sight.

Why Crickets Are Common in Colfax, IA

Iowa summers are warm and humid — perfect cricket weather. House crickets (Acheta domesticus) thrive outdoors through spring and summer, building up big populations by August. Then the nights start cooling down in late summer and early fall, and they start looking for warmth. Your home is the obvious target.

In Colfax and throughout central Iowa, the late August through October window is when cricket pressure peaks. Gaps around garage doors, utility penetrations, window wells, basement vents — crickets find them all. Bright outdoor lighting makes it worse. Crickets are strongly attracted to light, so homes with lights left on near entry points tend to draw more of them in.

Camel crickets are a separate problem altogether. They don’t care about temperature the same way — they want dark, damp spaces year-round. Iowa basements, especially older ones with any moisture issues, are prime camel cricket territory. If you’ve got both species, you’ve got both problems.

Our Cricket Control Process

Miller Pest Solutions has been dealing with Iowa’s cricket season since 2001. The approach isn’t complicated, but it has to be thorough to work.

Exterior perimeter treatment is the backbone. We treat a band around the foundation, entry points, and exterior walls before crickets get inside. Timing matters here — treating in late summer, before the fall migration, is far more effective than reacting after they’ve already entered.

Bait stations placed in key harborage areas give ongoing knockdown between treatments. Crickets are drawn to the bait and don’t make it back to reproduce.

Crack-and-crevice treatments address interior entry points — gaps around pipes, conduit, utility lines, and door frames. These are the highways crickets use to get from outside to inside.

Lighting recommendations — we’ll point out if outdoor lighting is drawing crickets to your entry points and suggest alternatives (yellow bulbs or relocated fixtures) that make a real difference.

For camel crickets in basements, we address the underlying moisture conditions and treat harborage areas directly. A dehumidifier recommendation often goes hand-in-hand with the treatment.

Why Choose Miller Pest Solutions

Joel Miller has been doing pest control since 2007. Miller Pest Solutions has been operating in Iowa since 2001. We’re QualityPro Certified and NPMA members — not because the certifications are required, but because they reflect how we operate.

We’re not a franchise following a script. We know Iowa’s pest cycles, the quirks of older Iowa homes, and what actually works versus what looks good on paper. When we treat for crickets in Colfax, we’re using methods calibrated for this region and this season.

We offer free phone bids. No need to schedule an appointment just to get a price — call us, describe the situation, and we’ll give you a straight answer on what it’ll cost and what we’d do.

Get a Free Phone Bid Today

Crickets chirping inside your walls at 2 a.m. are not something you have to put up with. Miller Pest Solutions serves Colfax, IA and surrounding communities. Call (515) 329-8801 or visit millerthekiller.com to get a free phone bid and get rid of the noise — and the infestation behind it.