Cricket Invasion!

Around this time every year, you probably notice black or brown crickets sneaking into your home and school. Sometimes, your only clue that crickets are in your house is the incessant chirping from the basement. A few days later, you find cricket carcasses in corners and under boxes. So what drives these insects into buildings each fall? Warmth! Field crickets of the Genus Gryllus react to the falling temperatures by seeking warmth - in your home or school. Unfortunately, indoor environments don't have the moisture field crickets require to live, and in a few days they usually dehydrate (or starve) and die.

Field crickets overwinter as eggs in the soil. The adult crickets do not survive the winter cold, so there is no need to feel bad about the demise of crickets in your basement. As for the chirping, which is pleasant to hear (for a really short time), it's only made by males in search of mates.

Photograph - Joseph Berger, Bugwood.org