By Samantha Garza | Staff Writer
The transition between summer and fall has kickstarted cricket season, with an overbearing amount of them showing up around campus and in houses.
According to Eric Benson, general manager of 855bugs.com, cricket season begins the moment the temperature outside starts to drop from the high 90s and 100s to the 80s and low 70s. A big amount of crickets is usually expected around September and October; then, it dies down when the cold fronts start to come in.
According to 855bugs.com, one of the reasons there are many crickets at the same time is because they can lay up to 400 eggs at a time, making things get out of control if the majority survive.
Benson said crickets are attracted to light, which is why people may notice a difference in the amount of crickets seen at night and during the day. He said they are especially prevalent in commercial areas with a lot of light.
“They come into the light at night and during the day,” Benson said. “They try to seek shelter. So they’re trying to get inside buildings, and they will hide behind gutters or any harborage areas to keep themselves safe from the birds.”
Benson also said crickets are more likely to be attracted to white light than to yellow light; however, they will still come toward yellow light.
If people are having trouble with crickets, Benson said he suggests keeping the lights off at night until cricket season is over.
Although it may seem like there is an excessive amount of crickets everywhere, Benson said he has seen much worse in past years.
“Three years ago was much worse than it is right now,” Benson said. “I have seen [cricket season] last a week, and I’ve seen it last a full month. It just depends on the season.”
Benson said this year, cricket season will last about three to four weeks.
To try to control the amount of crickets around people’s homes, Benson said he suggests getting a treatment done outside houses. Although the treatment will help get rid of the crickets already present, it will not stop people from seeing them.
“New ones are going to fly in every night, so even if you have a treatment done, you are still going to see crickets,” Benson said. “It’s just there’s going to be product there to kill the ones that are coming in.”
The Woodlands junior Cristina Villanueva said the amount of crickets around campus and her apartment is “disgusting and annoying.”
“They are everywhere,” Villanueva said. “I’ve seen a lot in my room, and I’ve seen that my cat has eaten a lot of crickets.”
Villanueva said while she was cleaning her apartment, she would find a lot of cricket limbs and dead crickets.
“It’s just really annoying at night because I walk out of my apartment and they are everywhere,” Villanueva said.
