The sound of crickets is almost synonymous with calm nights (or bad jokes), but it's not what you want to hear in your house.

Have you ever noticed that when sitting outside on a warm evening, the sound of crickets chirping is so soothing and peaceful… but when you hear that sound inside, it’s almost immediately rage-inducing? Is it the repetitiveness of the noise, or the fact that it seems to move as you search for the culprit? Is there any psychological study out there about this? Either way, that classic, annoying tiny violin isn’t the only reason you don’t want crickets inside your New England home.

Common crickets that can turn up in New England houses are field crickets, house crickets, and camel crickets, the latter of which are wingless and therefore not the perpetrator of the constant chirping. Each type of cricket has its own environmental preferences; camel crickets prefer cool, damp and dark areas while field crickets and house crickets are drawn to light. No matter their ideal surroundings, any of these can wander into your home.

Although crickets aren’t harmful to humans (except perhaps to the ears), you don’t want them setting up shop in your home. Camel crickets and house crickets, but not field crickets, are capable of reproducing indoors, and an infestation of any type of cricket can damage property. Outdoors, their diet consists of plant materials and dead insects; inside, they will resort to paper and fabrics such as wool, cotton, silk, and linen. That means your clothing, rugs, curtains, sheets, and other household items are at risk.

Put simply, one cricket may not do much more than drive you crazy, but multiple crickets can be problematic. Save your sanity, and your belongings, and call Burgess Pest for an estimate-- let us keep the chirping outside where it belongs.