![\"Crickets\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/K7MRWIQCVJBDZEL3QLKJIL3UBE.jpeg\"\/)
Looks like a stinger, acts like a nursery: the cricket\u2019s ovipositor is for egg-laying, not attacking.(Advance\/SILive.com | Pamela Silvestri)<\/p>\nSTATEN ISLAND, N.Y. \u2014 My younger son is usually good about doing his own laundry, but the other day he drew the line when he spotted a \u201clarge\u201d bug near the washing machine. On Monday at 5 a.m., I found the culprit\u2014a cricket. And \u201clarge\u201d was an understatement.<\/p>\n
First of all\u2014I am not afraid. But I did the next logical thing any naturally curious mother in the journalism business would do: I called the experts and turned it into a story.<\/p>\n
Nature\u2019s garbage disposal<\/p>\n
On the bright side, crickets are omnivores and will eat almost anything\u2014from animal waste to decaying organic matter, explains Mark Loffredo of Post Exterminating in Stapleton, a family business dating back to 1947.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re like the garbage disposal system of the natural world,\u201d he said. Crickets often move indoors when temperatures drop, seeking shelter in garages and basements.<\/p>\n
Staten Island hosts several species, he said, including mole crickets, Jerusalem crickets, and camel crickets\u2014the latter being big and often mistaken for spiders. Our interloper was of the camel kind. Loffredo seemed impressed.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey scare the hell out of people,\u201d he said, adding a chuckle. \u201cThey don\u2019t bite, but they look creepy.\u201d<\/p>\n
Expert insights<\/p>\n
After more than three decades in the bug business, Mike Buonocore of A. Aardvark Pest Control Corp. in Great Kills seemed unfazed by my cricket confession.<\/p>\n
And that name? Perfect. Because real aardvarks are insect-eating machines\u2014native to Africa, they can devour up to 50,000 ants and termites in a single night with a 12-inch sticky tongue and powerful claws. Nocturnal and burrowing, they\u2019re nature\u2019s pest control\u2014a clever nod to bug-busting.<\/p>\n
Back to New York City reality: Buonocore said sightings spike every fall, from late September through mid-November, as temperatures drop and insects seek warmth indoors.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not unusual\u2014it happens every year,\u201d he assured. Dry weather isn\u2019t a factor: \u201cIt has nothing to do with water. It\u2019s just seasonal behavior.\u201d<\/p>\n
Crickets, along with other pests, tend to appear in basements and garages during this period, invading through cracks and crevices in walls and foundations.<\/p>\n
\u201cSome people can go years without seeing them, then suddenly have an infestation,\u201d Buonocore noted. They don\u2019t bite, but they do linger through winter.<\/p>\n
And for the record: future guests, no worries\u2014I do not have an infestation. Dude was a rogue cricket.<\/p>\n
Fixes and fun facts<\/p>\n
The common culprits are field or black crickets, which are often heard chirping in homes and apartments. Though some worry about stings, crickets have no stingers.<\/p>\n
Looks like a stinger, acts like a nursery: the cricket\u2019s ovipositor is for egg-laying, not attacking.(Advance\/SILive.com | Pamela Silvestri)<\/p>\n
\u201cOne thing that\u2019s fascinating is the ovipositor,\u201d Loffredo said. \u201cIt looks like a long stinger, which scares people, but it\u2019s actually an egg-laying organ females use to inject eggs into warm, moist soil.\u201d<\/p>\n
Crickets even have a mischievous side: \u201cThey\u2019ll rip apart spider webs and steal the catch,\u201d Loffredo added.Oof\u2014graphic, but a workable visual for a pest punchline.<\/p>\n
Loffredo finds their cheep-cheep sound\u2014created when they rub their wingtips together\u2014rather pretty. In fact, he owns a small cage, traditional in Chinese culture, for keeping crickets as pets.\u201cIt\u2019s a calling sound. The males are more vocal than the females,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Solutions? Glue boards and professionally applied insecticide granules around the home\u2019s perimeter, says Loffredo.<\/p>\n
Crickets on the menu? Not quite<\/p>\n
As food is my usual beat, the answer is still no\u2014crickets haven\u2019t made it onto Staten Island restaurant menus. Occasionally, chapulines (dried grasshoppers) can be found in Mexican grocery stores on Port Richmond Avenue, lending a pleasant crunch to tortillas, if you so please.<\/p>\n
Happily, the Kings Arms still serves their own twist on a Grasshopper cocktail\u2014a blend of cr\u00e8me de menthe, white cr\u00e8me de cacao, and heavy cream\u2014a nod to bugs on a more pleasant note.<\/p>\n
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