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Crickets & Mole Crickets

Stylized illustration of crickets & mole crickets

By The Pest Guide Team · Updated
Edited by Fellipe Antequera · Editorial policy

What pulls house crickets, basement-dwelling camel crickets, yard field crickets, and subterranean mole crickets into a single group is a shared family trait that anyone who has ever tried to catch one can recognize immediately, which is an overall body plan built around heavy jumping legs or specialized digging claws. Even though they all belong to the same insect order, they split into entirely different lifestyles once you look closer, ranging from the loud, flat-backed chirpers behind your water heater to the silent, humpbacked jumpers in a damp crawl space and the torpedo-shaped diggers tunneling underneath your turfgrass.

Distinguishing these creatures from common lookalikes usually comes down to a few obvious giveaways, such as noticing that unlike flat, shield-headed cockroaches, crickets either leap powerfully or tunnel heavily, while unlike carrot-shaped silverfish that wriggle like fish across a basement floor, crickets have distinct legs built for jumping or spade-like front claws. If you find something with heavy pincers at the rear, you are looking at an earwig rather than a field cricket, and if you spot a bright green insect sitting on outdoor foliage with ultra-long antennae, you have a katydid instead of a pest trying to find warmth indoors.

Explore crickets & mole crickets

Illustration of House cricketHouse cricketAcheta domesticusIllustration of Camel cricketsCamel cricketsFamily RhaphidophoridaeIllustration of Field cricketsField cricketsGryllus speciesIllustration of Mole cricketsMole cricketsFamily Gryllotalpidae

Questions about crickets & mole crickets

Crickets & Mole CricketsHow do you get rid of camel crickets in a house?Learn how to get rid of camel crickets in a house using moisture control, physical exclusion, and targeted maintenance.Crickets & Mole CricketsWhat do house crickets eat?House crickets eat almost anything organic: food scraps, pet food, grains and paper. They can also chew holes in cardboard and laundry.Crickets & Mole CricketsWhat are tiny jumping bugs in a house?Learn what tiny jumping bugs inside your house are, how to identify springtails, fleas, and camel crickets, and what steps to take for control.Crickets & Mole CricketsWhat are mole crickets?Mole crickets are burrowing insects about 1 to 1.5 inches long, velvety brown, with heavy shovel-like front legs for digging through soil.Crickets & Mole CricketsWhat do mole cricket holes and lawn damage look like?Mole cricket damage shows as raised, winding tunnels, small mounds of loose soil and spongy turf with irregular yellow or brown patches.Crickets & Mole CricketsWhat do mole crickets eat?It depends on the species. Tawny mole crickets eat grass roots, stems and vegetables. Southern mole crickets mostly hunt earthworms and insects.Crickets & Mole CricketsDo mole crickets bite?No. Mole crickets have small jaws made for clipping roots that cannot break human skin. If handled they may push or give a faint pinch.Crickets & Mole CricketsAre mole crickets dangerous?No. Mole crickets have no venom or stinger and spread no disease. They can badly damage lawns, pastures and gardens by tunneling.Crickets & Mole CricketsHow do you get rid of mole crickets in a lawn?Treat mole crickets in early to mid summer, when nymphs are small. Confirm them first with a soap flush, then use targeted insecticides or nematodes.Crickets & Mole CricketsAre mole crickets found in Oklahoma?Yes. Oklahoma has the native northern mole cricket, which rarely ruins lawns. The invasive lawn-destroying species are not established there.Crickets & Mole CricketsHow do you compare a plant symptom with actual insect evidence?Learn how to accurately distinguish between plant stress symptoms and actual insect damage before taking action.Crickets & Mole CricketsWhy should an invasive pest sighting be checked against an official map?Explains why invasive pest sightings must be checked against official maps, detailing quarantine zones, identification cues, and reporting protocols.Crickets & Mole CricketsWhat should a lawn inspection confirm before grub treatment?Learn what a thorough lawn inspection must confirm before applying grub treatments, including identification, counting thresholds, and timing.Crickets & Mole CricketsHow do you monitor a garden pest across its life stages?Learn how to monitor garden pests across their life stages by spotting key identification cues, timing interventions, and knowing when to call professionals.Crickets & Mole CricketsWhen does garden damage justify intervention?Learn when garden damage actually justifies intervention and how to avoid unnecessary pesticide treatments.

Research sources

This page was researched with publications from these institutions, then written and reviewed by The Pest Guide Team: