Camel crickets are humpbacked insects found in moist environments like caves, basements, or cellars. They're considered pests and often damage plants and fabrics indoors and outdoors. Here’s where you can find them and how to get rid of them.
What Is a Camel Cricket?
Camel crickets belong to a group of insects in the family Rhaphidophoridae. They're also called humpback crickets. There are about 150 species of camel crickets in the U.S. and Canada. Unlike other crickets, camel crickets don’t chirp because they don’t have organs that produce sound.
Camel crickets have mouthparts for chewing like other crickets. They feed on organic matter, animal products, greenhouse or garden plants, fabrics, and other small insects. They're considered common pests and cause damage if they appear in large numbers. If they enter your house, they can damage fabrics, clothes, and houseplants.
What Are Camel Cricket Characteristics?
Camel crickets have a camel-like humpback. This is because their head bends downward between their front legs, making them look like they have a hump. They have long antennae that are about double the length of their bodies.
Adult camel crickets don’t have wings — so, they can’t fly. But their back legs are huge, making them great jumpers. They can easily jump long distances. They're sometimes called spider crickets because they have six long legs and antennae.
Young camel crickets or nymphs look like adults but are smaller. Camel crickets are nocturnal, which means they are active at night. They can’t chirp. With their long antennae and large hind legs, they use their sense of touch to navigate in the dark.
Camel cricket size. The bodies of camel crickets are small. They're about 1 to 1.5 inches in length, excluding their legs and antennae.
Camel cricket color. Camel crickets are generally pale brown, tan, dark brown, or reddish brown. They might appear black because they’re usually found in dark environments. They have darker brown-colored portions on the back of their bodies.
Camel cricket life cycle. Camel crickets breed in moist and cool places. But in warm locations like greenhouses, they breed all year-round. Female camel crickets lay eggs in the soil in the spring.
In a few weeks, the eggs hatch and give birth to infant camel crickets or nymphs. They look like small versions of adults. Camel crickets spend winter months as nymphs and grow into adults. But little is known about their lives because they are active at night.
Camel cricket lifespan. Camel crickets have a short lifespan. They live for about one to two years.
Where Are Camel Crickets Found?
Camel crickets are found in Asia, Europe, and North America. They're native to Asia, but they spread to the U.S. in the 1900s through the transport of freight or luggage. Currently, they are found in all U.S. states and Canada.
Camel crickets live in areas with high humidity and don’t reproduce until they find the perfect moisture conditions. They typically infest cool, moist, and dark areas of your house like the basement or cellar.
Camel crickets are seen in basements, cellars, crawl spaces, garages, and other dark areas inside buildings. Like their close cousins, cave crickets, they're also found in caves or under logs. You may also find them in wells, piles of wood and stone, tall grass or weeds, tree hollows, mulch or soil, and holes in the ground.
In dry conditions, you may spot camel crickets in unusual places like laundry rooms or bathrooms, as they seek humid places to thrive. You may also see camel crickets in artificial environments like greenhouses or man-made places, where they hunt for food. The greenhouse camel cricket or Diestrammena asynamora lives in greenhouse soil to scavenge for live or dead organic material.
Do Camel Crickets Bite?
Camel crickets don’t bite humans like some other bugs. They have a mouthpart that they use to chew their food, but they don’t have sharp teeth or the ability to bite. They aren’t a direct threat to human health. However, they can be a nuisance when they invade your home.
How to Get Rid of Camel Crickets?
If you have a camel cricket problem at home, here are two ways to get rid of it:
Nonchemical control. The most important condition for camel crickets to survive is moisture. So, the best way to control camel crickets is to keep your house dry and ventilated. This will help reduce the number of moist habitats in your house and keep camel crickets away.
Another way is to prevent pests from entering your house. These steps will help you get rid of camel crickets:
- Trim tall grass and mow the weeds around your house.
- Keep soil, ground covers, shrubs, plants, and moisture-retaining objects at least 12 inches away from the foundation and siding. Use gravel or other inorganic covers near the foundation to keep the area dry.
- Don’t keep wood and stone piles near your house and its entrances. Avoid stacking firewood against the walls of your house. Keep the area under the decks clean. Remove logs or other litter that attracts camel crickets.
- Use tight-fitting screens on your doors and windows to prevent camel crickets from jumping into your house.
- Use weather-stripping to seal the bottom of all entrances like windows or house and garage doors. Seal small openings like crawl spaces or vents with caulk or screening to block the entry of camel crickets.
- Ventilate crawl spaces, garages, bathrooms, and basements to prevent moisture accumulation.
- Use sticky traps or boards in corners, near doorways, or behind appliances.
- You can use a vacuum cleaner to get rid of a small number of camel crickets. But discard them carefully to prevent re-infestation.
Chemical control. Usually, reducing the moisture levels and restricting access to your house help keep pests out. But chemical control may be required if you still have a camel cricket problem.
You can spray cricket-specific pesticides or insecticides outside your house. Cover areas near entrances like vents, windows, and doors.
Chemical pest control is good for outdoor use. Use it indoors only when there is a severe infestation in your basement or crawl spaces. But be careful when you spray it in closed or poorly ventilated areas. You can also apply household or indoor insecticides to baseboards or areas behind appliances.
When you purchase a cricket-specific pesticide, read the label and follow the instructions carefully. Also, check if the product can be used in the specific site you need to treat.
If there’s a severe camel cricket infestation in your home, contact a licensed pest control professional to help you treat it.