The Difference Between Grasshoppers and Crickets (and How to Prevent Both From Invading Your Home This Fall)

Outside, the chirping of grasshoppers and crickets adds to the ambiance – especially in summer. Indoors, however, this noise can quickly become a nuisance. While some people don’t find grasshoppers and crickets as scary as spiders, it can be unsettling when you come across one or more of these insects in your home.

But if you found one in a closet, would you know if it was a grasshopper or a cricket? This will allow you to distinguish the two insects and prevent them from entering your home in the fall.

The difference between grasshoppers and crickets

Although grasshoppers and crickets look similar, they are not the same insect. However, they belong to the same order (Orthoptera). Here are some of them main differenceswhat should help you distinguish them:

• Crickets typically have long antennae while grasshoppers have short antennae
• Grasshoppers have larger bodies than crickets

• Most crickets come out at dusk, while grasshoppers are usually out during the day
• Crickets produce their signature chirp by rubbing their wings together; Grasshoppers chirp by rubbing their hind legs against their wings
• All locusts have wings and most can fly; Only some crickets have wings
• Locusts are mostly herbivores; Crickets are omnivores
• Crickets are usually brown or black; Locusts blend in with the color of their surroundings, most commonly light green, like leaves

How to keep grasshoppers and crickets out of your home

Like some other insect species, grasshoppers and crickets like to seek a warm place to live when the weather cools — and wouldn’t mind moving into your home. And while both grasshoppers and crickets can choose to spend their winters indoors, Crickets are more likely to be the ones who invade your home.

Unlike grasshoppers, which are more interested in eating plants in your yard, crickets will gnaw through clothing, floorboards, and furniture, so you definitely don’t want them in your home. Your best bet is to prevent them from happening in the first place, and the same techniques work to ward off grasshoppers and crickets. she contain:

• Installing weatherstripping or other material under doors or around windows with gaps in them
• Repairing holes in window or door grilles
• Sealing cracks or openings in the foundation of your home
• Not storage Firewood directly at the house
• Trim tall weeds and grasses grow next to the house