When I moved into my new-to-me house in 2010 there were lots of silverfish – some of them big (1.5” or more). On the floor, on my counters, in cupboards, in drawers. I hate those damned things.

But I’ve always kept a spider-friendly house. They kill insects. As a result of that, I believe, the silverfish population diminished greatly. And the few that remained were 1/2” or less.

Then, maybe two years ago, I began seeing crickets for the first time in my house (I like crickets too). All were light brown in color, and all the same size, approximately 1/2”. I always see them on the floor – nowhere else. I take care to avoid stepping on them. Now there are almost no silverfish left – can’t remember the last time I saw one.

The spiders are also mostly gone. Maybe the crickets kill them too. Or maybe the crickets are such efficient predators that the spiders starved to death.

I never see the crickets attacking anything, but they must be preying on something or they, too, would expire.

We usually see a cricket or three when we turn on the kitchen light at night, usually congregated around the dog's food bowl (Clark can be a messy eater). Mrs. A is diligent about eradication with either the swatter or the Bug-A-Salt. This year we have had many fewer than usual. Last week we discovered a baby snake in the laundry room adjacent to the kitchen. Coincidence?

Crickets do eat other insects (among other things), so they may be responsible.

I had crickets.....until I got a cat.

She's a short hair tabby that goes after any little critter that moves.

No crickets in my house. Ever tried to get to sleep when one is hiding in your bedroom and chirping?

3 cats. Any insect that comes inside doesn't last long.

quote:

Originally posted by Tejas421:
No crickets in my house. Ever tried to get to sleep when one is hiding in your bedroom and chirping?

I’ve never seen or heard a cricket in my bedroom. Their home base is beneath my Sub-Zero refrigerator. It has two compressors. As a built-in, its heat exchanger fan runs while either compressor runs. The crickets seem to like that. I see ‘em in the kitchen, bathroom, and connecting halls, but nowhere else. I seem to be blessed with a superior brand of cricket.

BTW – crickets that I’ve seen in other locales were dark brown to black. But mine are light brown.

I have a plastic tub of about 200+ crickets in my closet. Expecting another order to arrive today. My Sandfish lizards love them.

What the chirpchirp is going on here???

You mean like cheap burner phones?

I had a lizard as a kid, and kept couple dozen at a time that lived in the reptile tank. Some get out, and every now and then you would have one singing somewhere in the house.
Never noticed them eating anything though.

Where do silverfish come from, and how do they appear in an upstairs bathroom. A mystery to me.

quote:

Originally posted by r0gue:
Where do silverfish come from, and how do they appear in an upstairs bathroom. A mystery to me.

How do they get upstairs? In general, they’re very mobile. And they eat damned near anything.

“These pests are scavengers that will eat virtually anything available, especially carbohydrates and proteins. Outdoors, they consume vegetable matter, but once indoors, they will feed on flour, dried meat, glue, wallpaper, cereal, rolled oats, and other starches. [I’ve read that they eat wallboard too.]
……
Silverfish can contaminate food, stain clothing, destroy books, and are generally a maddening presence in the home.

Silverfish have a slow reproduction rate but can survive without food for a year, with a lifespan of up to eight years. If you have a silverfish infestation, it is a sign of a long-term problem that requires the help of a professional pest control service. …”

https://www.orkincanada.ca/pes...%20other%20starches.

Or, if you don’t want to pay for “professional pest control service”, get crickets. I hate those damned silverfish.

Great for fish bait. The frequency of their chirps is tied to the ambient temperature.

I prefer there to be ZERO insects of any sort in my house, including arachnids.

If I saw crickets in my kitchen I'd go nuts trying to figure out how they got in.

My house is not an eco-system. It's a high-probability place to die for all non-mammals, and shit, most of those too.

The scarcity of bugs in my climate may well be the thing that keeps me from escaping skyrocketing taxes...

^^^I'm with this guy...ANY insect is shown NO Quarter within the confines of my home!

Anything on my property other than the k9, will die.

Crickets here are black. Had them in my childhood home. When September came around and they are constantly chirping you get to hate the little bastards.

Oh God no. Not on purpose. Last year I was overrun with them for whatever reason. Never seen so many in the house. I expect this year to be the same. Besides driving me crazy, the put hole in a lot of clothes. Dirty laundry often ends up on the basement floor near the washing machine and the little bastards made lots of holes in socks and t-shirts.