Adults are very attracted to lights, and become active at night (hide during the day) to crawl, jump or fly sometimes in countless numbers up the sides of houses, entering openings of even second and third story windows and roof skylights. The continued, monotonous "chirp" is loud and distracting, resulting in lost sleep. They will feed on silk, woolens, nylon, rayon and wood. They can bite when handled carelessly. They are found in fields, pastures, lawns, roadsides and in woods.

Field Crickets overwinter as eggs or nymphs in moist, firm soil. Each female lays between 150 to 400 eggs which hatch in the spring. Nymphs resemble adults except are smaller and wingless, molt eight to nine times and reach adulthood in about 90 days. They are serious agricultural pests feeding on many crop plants. They become household pests in late summer and early fall when they move out of fields and into buildings. They can damage furniture, rugs and clothing and the "chirping" of adult males can be irritating. They are readily attracted to lights, can fly and are often found around dumpsters. Large swarms may invade well-lighted areas covering streets and the sides of buildings black with crickets. They feed on nylon, wood, plastic fabrics, thin rubber goods and leather. Outbreaks occur when rainfall follows a period of drought.

There are many different kinds and sizes of field crickets, none of which are able to survive and reproduce in buildings. They are found outdoors in similar places as are house crickets, especially under stones or boards, entering cool, moist basements in hot summers.

Ground Crickets act similar to field crickets except are smaller, overwinter as eggs, are largely active at night and attracted to lights. They occur in pastures, lawns and wooded areas.

Snowy Tree Crickets occur in trees, shrubs, weeds and high grass and are excellent singers, chirping at a regular rate varying with the temperature. Eggs are laid in the bark or stems of fruit and ornamental plants, often seriously damaging the twigs during the process of egg laying. Eggs are laid in pin-size holes (usually in single rows), sometimes injuring brambles of bush fruits. Overwintering eggs hatch in the spring with nymphs maturing in late summer. Apple, peach, plum, prune, cherry and berries are food hosts.

Camel Crickets are active at night in cool, damp, dark areas and occasionally invading damp basements or crawlspaces. They are not attracted to lights nor produce songs. Overwintering occurs as nymphs or adults in protected places. They may be found living in large numbers, causing alarm. Some textiles may be damaged. Some hide under hay bales, feeding on other insects seeking shelter there. Most are found in caves, hollow trees, under logs and stones and in other dark, moist places. They can live and reproduce indoors.

Northern Mole Crickets spend most of their life burrowing in the soil, coming to the surface as the soil is wet or flooded with rain. They are not often pests, but sometimes enter basements or homes. They fly to lights during their spring mating period. Females lay eggs in the soil (35 eggs per cell). Eggs hatch in 10 to 40 days with adulthood reached by autumn. They feed on roots, tubers and underground stems of grasses, strawberries, vegetables, etc. Mole crickets overwinter as adults in the soil.

There are special songs for courtship, fighting and sounding an alarm. The principle role is to bring the sexes together with different songs in different species. Male crickets stridulate or "sing" by rubbing a sharp edge (the scraper) at the base of one front wing along a filelike ridge (the file) on the bottom side of the other front wing, resulting in a series of "chirps." The number of chirps varies with the temperature with more (faster) chirping at higher temperatures. Chirps vary from four to five to more than 200 per second. The song is amplified by the wing surface.

Smoke detectors or alarms occasionally give off cricket "chirp-like" sounds. This mechanical chirping is a signal repeated at regular intervals, both during the day and night, warning that the battery is weak and needs replaced. After learning the source, homeowners are relieved and "embarrassed" for blaming crickets for the noise.

Crickets are usually active at night (nocturnal), prefer shelter in cracks and crevices and invade homes seeking moisture. An occasional cricket or two in the home usually presents no serious problem. They are seldom serious pests in the home.

Sanitation is the most important means of eliminating nuisance crickets. Keep all areas in and around buildings free of moisture, dense vegetation and weeds (1 foot band next to foundation). Mow lawns, cut weeds, and clean up garbage collection areas. Remove harborage sites such as piles of bricks, stones, rotting wood and other debris. Caulk and seal all cracks and crevices, especially near the ground level at basement windows and doorways. When the structure is brick and weep holes are present weep hole vents is the best product for excluding all crawling pest including rodents. Also your weep holes will still vent as intended. 

Make sure that all windows and doors are tight-fitting with proper screening in place. Exclusion is an important factor as well as light discipline. Avoid bright mercury vapor lights in entryways and along structure perimeters since crickets will be attracted from far distances. Convert to sodium vapor yellow lights (less attractive to insects) instead of white, neon or mercury vapor lights.

Never store firewood next to the house foundation. Raise garbage cans off the ground if practical. Trash and dumpsters should be placed as far from the building as possible. Crickets are attracted to food in these areas. Crickets may be troublesome at trash dumps, grassy roadsides, pasture fields and wooded areas (breeding sites) before entering structures. Crickets indoors can be captured on insect traps 

Heavy cricket migrations are hard to control. It may be necessary to use contact insecticides LIQUID CRICKET SPRAY both inside and outside the home. Indoors, apply to cracks and crevices, baseboards, in closets, under stairways, around fireplaces, in basements and other hiding places. Use ECO PCO Dust or Aerosols 

Outdoors, when populations are large, treat around the foundation with ECO PCO Dust or Baits. 
The named brand products mentioned in the control measures are not a recommendation of Ohio University or William F. Lyon 

Ohio State University Extension Fact Sheet 
Entomology 
William F. Lyon