Camel Crickets

This page is about the insect Rutgers Cooperative Extension describes as “brownish, wingless, up to one inch long” with large hind legs, and which NC State Extension says has a “spider-like appearance” because of those legs. It is a nuisance insect. Every source read for this page says so in its own words, and the page is written to match that rather than to inflate it.

What This Page Does Not Carry

What a Camel Cricket Is

The name describes the shape. NC State Extension states that “Camel crickets get their name because of their slightly humpbacked appearance” and that “Their long legs give them a spider-like appearance.” The second half of that is why they are so often reported as spiders.

They have no wings. NC State states plainly that “Unlike other crickets, they do not have wings as adults.” Rutgers gives the same character inside its description — “brownish, wingless, up to one inch long” — and Iowa State University Extension repeats it independently. Three sources, one character, no disagreement.

They are nocturnal. Rutgers: “Active at night, they hide during the day.” That is why a basement can hold a population a householder only meets when a light goes on.

The family is Rhaphidophoridae. University of Maine Cooperative Extension gives that name and the common alternative, cave crickets, which Iowa State explains is descriptive of their natural habitat: Iowa State states that as well as caves, “they live in other cool, damp situations such as in wells, rotten logs, stumps and hollow trees”.

The Chirp Test

This is the single most useful thing on this page, and it costs nothing to apply. Rutgers states that camel crickets “lack sound-producing structures, therefore no chirping sounds are heard.” NC State turns the same fact into a diagnostic: camel crickets do not chirp, and it tells the reader that if chirping is being heard indoors then the insect is likely a field cricket instead.

So a chirping basement is a different problem from a silent one. If there is chirping, the characters below are the ones to check. Clemson Cooperative Extension states that “House crickets are one inch or less in length and hold their wings flat over their backs. They are yellowish-brown in color with three dark stripes on the head.” For the other common indoor chirper, Clemson gives “Field crickets are variable in size ranging from” half an inch to over one inch, many black and some varying shades of brown.

Clemson also draws the residence distinction that matters for how long the problem lasts: “House crickets can spend their whole lives inside buildings.” Camel crickets, on Iowa State, generally do not — see below.

Why They Are Inside

Moisture, on every source. NC State states that “Like many insect pests, camel crickets are attracted to cool, moist / humid areas in and around our homes.” It then names the rooms: “The crickets often invade storage buildings, crawlspaces, basements, garages and indoor areas where moisture may be a problem” — and gives bathrooms and laundry rooms as its own examples of the last.

Weather drives the timing. NC State states that “Camel crickets often become a problem when we have extremes in weather conditions”, naming excessive rainfall and extended hot dry periods as the two extremes. Both push the same insect toward the same damp indoor space, which is why the problem can arrive in a wet spring and again in a dry August.

They are mostly wandering in by mistake. Iowa State describes them as usually “accidental invaders” that wander in from adjacent areas, and University of Maine uses the same phrase. That framing matters for what to do: an insect that keeps walking in through a gap is answered by closing the gap, not by treating the room it walks into.

What They Damage

Very little, and every source that claims damage qualifies the claim. Iowa State is the flattest: “Camel crickets are of little economic importance except as a nuisance in buildings and homes, especially basements.”

NC State goes one step further but keeps the condition attached: although they are mostly a nuisance pest, “they can damage stored items, such as garments and linens packed in boxes in a garage or basement if the problem goes unchecked” for some time and the crickets cannot find other food. Rutgers describes them “feeding on starch, fungi, and occasionally fabrics.”

There is a sign worth knowing about. NC State states that “A telltale sign of a heavy infestation is the presence of dark fecal smears on surfaces”, and gives a floor joist as its own example of where to look. It is worth washing hands after handling anything so marked, as with any insect droppings indoors.

Drying and Sealing

NC State is explicit that this is the part that works: “Although pesticides can help reduce the nuisance problems with camel crickets, they are not a long-term solution.” Its own list, in its own words:

• “Reduce moisture indoors, as well as in other critical areas such as basements or crawlspaces.”
• “Install weather-stripping along the bottom of house and garage doors so that it fits tightly against the threshold.”
• Caulk or seal gaps and openings around window frames, doors, the foundation and clothes dryer vents, crawlspace access doors and soffits, and where heating, air-conditioning and plumbing lines pass through the foundation.
• “Stack boxes and other items off of the ground and away from the walls in a garage or storage building.”
• “Keep ground cover and mulch at least 12 inches or more away from the foundation.” NC State adds that an inorganic cover such as gravel is preferable close to the foundation.
• “Do not stack firewood against the house.”

Iowa State adds the outdoor harborage in almost the same terms: “Piles of bricks, stones, boards, leaves, etc., should be removed.”

The 12-inch mulch setback is the only measured figure on this page. It is NC State’s, and no other source read here publishes a distance. It is given as a minimum, not a target.

Removing the Ones Already In

For small numbers, mechanically. Clemson: “Indoors, vacuuming can remove crickets.” It adds that the vacuum bag should be thrown away outside afterwards. Iowa State agrees for individuals: “Occasional, individual crickets can be picked or swept up and discarded.” Rutgers names a fly swatter, a broom and a vacuum cleaner as mechanical means where only a few are present.

For larger numbers, NC State names a trap class. “Place sticky boards, such as those used for cockroaches and mice, in corners and behind appliances to catch crickets that enter your home.” That is a specific, ordinary product class rather than a proprietary device. No sticky board is named on this page for the reason set out at the top: the listings could not be read on the day.

Rutgers adds a cause worth removing rather than trapping around: remove cardboard boxes, as the glue may serve as food.

Where the Sources Disagree

Four sources, four positions on spraying indoors. They are set out here rather than reconciled, because reconciling them would mean choosing one and presenting it as the consensus it is not.

What they do agree on is everything before the spray. All four put moisture reduction and exclusion first. The disagreement is only about what to do after that, and it runs the full width from “do it” to “last resort of limited benefit”. A reader deciding whether to treat indoors should know the published advice is not settled.

On outdoor treatment the spread is narrower. NC State puts barrier sprays and perimeter baits first among chemical options and notes heavy rain can defeat them. Rutgers describes a band on and around the foundation, outward two to three feet. Iowa State says a residual barrier may be of benefit if enough spray is applied to reach the breeding sites. All three agree the outside is where a chemical belongs if one is used at all.

Questions

Sources

Five publications, all university extension services, each fetched and read on 3 September 2026. Where two sources state the same character it is reported as corroboration; where four disagree, all four are given. No claim on this page rests on a source that could not be opened.