Crickets: More Than Fish Bait?

Anyone who enjoys fishing knows the value of the cricket. It is commonly used as bait to catch smaller common fish, especially bass and trout. But besides becoming fish food and constantly chirping in our lawns, what do crickets even do? Do they serve a purpose, or are they just a nuisance? Let’s take a closer look at the cricket and find out how it spends its days.

Why are Crickets Popular Fish Bait?

Crickets are mainly used in lake fishing, since the still waters allow them to stand out to the fish. These insects are readily available for purchase at most sports stores and pet stores. They are also surprisingly not too difficult to get on a hook, especially with a bit of practice. Crickets can be frozen to be used later, but they will die in the freezer, so they lose a lot of efficacy with that. The simplest reason as to why they are great fish bait is because they are live insects with obvious movement. Fish can smell the crickets through the water, even if they are freshly dead, so they can track this food source. The movement is also attractive, since it is a different motion than that of the fish swimming by. The key to keeping the cricket alive for optimal fishing is to cast carefully and not move the line aggressively. Crickets are delicate insects, so they will be killed by too much sudden movement. 

For anyone who wants to use crickets as bait, there is a method to hooking them in order to keep them alive for as long as possible. Any hooked cricket will die after several minutes, but you can still get it in the water for a good amount of time before that happens if you are careful. Experienced fishers report that the best place to hook crickets is behind their head and on top of their back. They should be down on the bend of the hook for the most security while still appealing to fish. A cricket hooked too deeply will immediately die, and one hooked too flimsy will escape. When you cast, let the cricket make its own natural movements in the water. The fish will recognize a live insect and be drawn to it. Crickets are most effective as bait in the early mornings of spring and summer, since that is when they would naturally be near the water anyway. There are many tutorials online if you want to learn more about how to properly hook a cricket and have the fishing of your life.  

Cricket Life

Since crickets look so similar to its cousins, the grasshopper and katydid, it is necessary to know its features so you know what insect is in your yard. Most species of cricket have flat bodies with long feelers, or antennae, and can be half an inch to an inch long. The largest species, bull crickets, can be two inches long! Crickets also have great eyesight, thanks to their compound eyes that see in all different directions at once. Their hearing is excellent through their ears on the knees of their front legs. Even though crickets have obvious external wings, most species don’t fly. They favor hopping with their strong back legs. Young crickets look almost exactly like adults, just smaller and without wings. These nocturnal insects can bite humans using their alarmingly strong jaws, but they aren’t attracted to humans. The most common cricket in America is the black field cricket, which tends to stay in large fields and grassy areas as its name implies. Crickets like to stay hidden in general, but they can be visible when they are hunting for food. 

Diet

Since crickets tend to stay in thicker grasses, their preferred meals are also plants and insects that are found there. The favorite meals of crickets include dying plant material, seedlings, fungi, grass, and worms. If they are desperate enough and the opportunity presents itself, they will even eat dead crickets. Crickets can be considered beneficial on both ends of the food chain. When they dig for and eat dead plants, crickets break down the plant material and revive the minerals in the soil. Conversely, they are a source of food for many other creatures. Crickets are a favorite of spiders, birds, bats, rats, and reptiles. There are also cultures that enjoy crickets as a delicacy, usually toasted or fried with some kind of delicious seasoning. Crickets are useful because of what they eat and what eats them, but they are less helpful by what they do in their natural habitats. 

Habitat

Crickets are a versatile insect that can survive in basically any type of environment. They are commonly found in marshes, forests, grasslands, and fields. They especially love fields and the shady areas under debris in the summertime, when temperatures are much higher. Even though they can help the soil of plants get new nutrients, crickets can be detrimental to gardens and crops. They injure seedlings when they eat them or nest near them. Female crickets can lay up to 200 eggs at once, and since they lay eggs in loose soil, the hatched crickets have easy access to plants for their food. 

Since crickets seem to love open areas so much, you may be wondering why you find them so close to or inside your home. Crickets are attracted to three main facets when they are exploring: food, light, and shelter. Homes have all three, and the house lights contrasted with the dark night is definitely a beacon for nocturnal insects. A drop in temperatures will also motivate the crickets to find somewhere with warm shelter, like a house in the fall. Crickets would not be very noticeable around homes if they didn’t chirp constantly and provide a constant soundtrack that many of us don’t want. 

Chirping

The chirping songs of crickets have been the background songs to our lives for years. It can evoke nostalgia for childhood summer evenings where we would still be playing outside and taking advantage of the hot sun finally setting. But many of us don’t stop to think about exactly why these insects are so vocal and only stop when we walk by. One interesting fact to note is that only male crickets chirp. So the constant noise we hear every summer is a chorus of male crickets, mainly using it to attract mates. The chirping is done by stridulation, where the cricket rubs his wings together to produce a shrill sound. There are varying songs that the crickets sing, depending on the stage of the mating process. A courting song is played when a female is near, and a slightly different tune is sung after the mating process is finished. 

The old tale that crickets can tell the temperature through their chirps is relatively true. It is not an exact science, and won’t always give you the right temperature. One variable is that crickets only chirp when the temperature is anywhere between 55 and 100 degrees, so anything warmer or colder will not elicit a chirp. The age and energy of the cricket also has an impact on their chirping status. One factor to note about chirps telling the temperature is to listen for the rate of chirps. A higher rate means that the temperature is higher. But as for gaining an exact number, it is probably best to just check your phone. 

Are Crickets Pests?

So, now we come to the question: are crickets really pests? The answer is a definitive “sometimes.” Creatures become pests when they bother us or invade our homes and yards, and crickets can definitely do both of these. They are mainly destructive in large numbers, since one cricket won’t do too much damage to plants. More crickets also means more excrement and more predators attracted to the area, so there is not an advantage to having more crickets. They can also cause problems if they get inside your home, as they like to eat through fabrics like cotton, silk, and wool. 

There are a few ways to prevent crickets from invading your life. Reduce areas with a lot of moisture, including standing water, and keep your lawn trimmed down. It would also help to trim other plants in the yard, especially close to the house, so that the crickets can’t use them as a pathway to your home. Also, keep any debris and firewood stacked away from the house. Crickets and other pests love to hide in these, and they can easily get in your home if the piles are close enough. But even with these measures, it may still be a good idea to call pest control. We have the eco-friendly treatments to remove crickets and other pests without damaging your home or the environment. Crickets’ chirps may be nice to hear on a summer night, but that doesn’t mean they can bring the concert near or inside our homes. 

Citations

Crickets. (n.d.). Terro. Retrieved on March 25, 2022, from https://www.terro.com/crickets 

Hahn, J. & Ascerno, M. (2019). Crickets. University of Minnesota Extension. Available at https://extension.umn.edu/nuisance-insects/crickets (Accessed on March 25, 2022). 

House crickets. (n.d.). Pest World. Retrieved on March 25, 2022, from https://www.pestworld.org/pest-guide/occasional-invaders/house-crickets/ 

How to fish with crickets? Guide to cricket fishing! (n.d.). Slo-Fishing.Si. Retrieved on March 25, 2022, from https://www.slo-fishing.si/fishing-for-beginners/336-how-to-fish-with-crickets 

Utterly astonishing facts about crickets. (n.d.). Animal Sake. Retrieved on March 25, 2022, from https://animalsake.com/facts-about-cricket-insect