How To Get Rid Of Camel Crickets Naturally

You’ve probably encountered camel crickets when you explore the caverns and other places outside the world. Once the camel crickets enter your house, they may cause significantly more damage than an actual cricket.

Here is all you want to know about the camel crickets, including how to remove these pests and prevent them from entering your house.

What Are Camel Crickets?

Camel crickets are simply pests, but why call them as such, right? Crickets are those grasshopper-like insects that make this annoyingly loud chirping sound. They are found lurking in grassy areas. Camels, on the other hand, are domesticated mammals. They have long legs, a humpy back, big lips, buck teeth and are once a means of transportation for the Arabs, especially in their earlier desert expeditions. There are camels with one hump and camels with two humps. Camel crickets are not these animals, though.

These critters belong to the cricket family, and they do look like spiders. So yes, camel crickets are creepy crawlies and insects. They will destroy your clothes and any fabric-covered thing in your home. Camel crickets are pests in the real sense. 

How To Identify Camel Crickets?

These nocturnal creatures are called camel crickets because these insects are cousins with crickets, but their backs have a hump, like camels. The cave or the spider crickets is the prevalent type. The cave crickets live in caves since they want it damp, and they also dwell in moist environments like plants, stones, and rotten wood. Their life span is at most two years, while some do not live beyond one year.

Adult camel crickets can be 13 to 33 mm long. They have an antenna and six very long hind legs to jump high to scare off predators. Some camel crickets are light brown, and others are dark, but they have bands on their backs. 

While they may live in moist places, camel crickets may find their way inside your home. And when that happens, your t-shirts, curtains, and table cloth may fall victim to these pests. They attack in groups, and they will destroy whatever they munch on. 

Why Do You Have the Camel Crickets In the House?

It will destroy your clothes, carpet, and any other thing you have that is covered with fabric or textile. That is why it is called a pest because camel crickets are a headache. The probable reason why you have it in your home is because of the moist and damp parts in your crawl space or your basement. If you live in the woods with a wooden cabin or reside near a lake or lagoon and any body of water, you have to expect an infestation of camel crickets. They need a safe area to lay their eggs, and your basement may very well be the best place for that. 

What Do Camel Crickets Eat?

Camel crickets are omnivorous, meaning they eat plants, bugs, and any organic matter. While they cannot harm humans, they can, however, destroy your plants, your clothes, your carpet, aid in rotting the wood in our basement, and more. They love to chew.

Do Camel Crickets Bite?

If and when you see a camel cricket, you might get alarmed. It looks hideous, but it cannot harm you. It will chew on you though there will be no pain since it cannot bite human skin. These insects are not poisonous, but they leave droppings in your clothes or where they reside. They will not hurt you physically. Still, camel crickets will damage your things and your garden.

Do Camel Crickets Die In The Winter?

Camel crickets do not die in the winter. In their life cycle, most camel crickets are nymphs during wintertime. (Team, 2021) They hide during this time to preserve their energy and evade predators. This is when they move under your house and attack your things. 

Why Do the Camel Crickets Jump At You?

Jumping is their defense mechanism. It is a tool they use to scare their attackers, and maybe the camel crickets see humans as a threat. With their powerful hind legs, adults can jump as high as three feet. They will bite if you cross their boundary.

Also Read: Why Do Camel Crickets Jump At You?

Ways To Get Rid Of Camel Crickets Naturally

You can follow these natural tips in getting rid of camel crickets:

1. Camel crickets hate the light, and so put them in your basement.
2. Get rid of dampened areas in and around your house.
3. Make sure your entire house is free of holes where camel crickets can crawl in.
4. Create soap and water mixture and spray it on camel crickets. This will irritate them.
5. If you have a cat, it is a camel cricket’s enemy.
6. Put up traps in your basement to catch these bugs.
7. Sometimes, a vacuum cleaner can suck up the eggs of the insects and get rid of them.
8. You can make a red chili and water mixture. Spray it on damp areas and plants too.
9. Plants like garlic, clover, and sweet peas are an irritant to camel crickets. If you have these in your garden, the bugs will stay away.
10. Another trap for these insects is molasses. Open up a tub, and they will pile on it. They love the smell of molasses and will get trapped.
11. Oils like neem oil, cedar oil, eucalyptus oil, and peppermint oil are natural insecticides. These oils will kill the camel crickets in such horrible ways. Neem oil affects the hormones of the insect, which will destroy their reproductive cycle. Cedar oil will suffocate the camel crickets as they die of dehydration. If you mix peppermint oil with white vinegar, it is an effective repellent. As for eucalyptus oil, it will repel attacks from the camel crickets if put near clothing or fabric.
12. Boric acid kills many insects, not just camel crickets. Just be careful in handling it.
13. Diatomaceous earth will injure and kill camel crickets upon contact. It can also hurt and so, make sure that your pets are far away from DE. Use gloves upon application in the infested area.
14. If citronella can repel mosquitoes, it can also keep camel crickets away.

How To Prevent Camel Crickets From Getting Into the House

They will probably lay eggs in your dark and damp basement, and so, to prevent them from doing that or if they are already in the area, here are some suggestions: 

1. Keep your basement well ventilated. Use a dehumidifier.
2. Make the basement moisture-free.
3. Seal all cracks and holes within the basement and outside to prevent these insects from coming in.
4. Use insecticide.
5. Take off any matter that may create vegetation for the insects.
6. Keep trash away.
7. Always keep the grass short on your lawn.

If the insects are in your garage, you can do these: 

1. Seal off the garage to prepare it for treatment.
2. Put sticky traps as they fall prey to that, and electronic traps. They will get electrocuted.
3. As mentioned, the garage must be free of any clutter where the insects can breed. And it has to be hole-free too.

(If the infestation is too severe, contact a pest control service provider.)

Final Words

Getting rid of camel crickets starts with you. Keep everything clean and dry within and outside your home. Make sure the basement and garage are not moldy and damp. Camel crickets love moist areas and so get rid of that. If you do not want these insects in your home, be clean.