Buy an iguana? (grin)

Actually, I've been told that they love molasses and that if you pour a bit of molasses in a bowl and then add water, they'll get into the bowl looking for the molasses and drown in the water, then you can just dump them out.

I can't vouch for this as I've never tried it, I think I read it in "Organic Gardening" several years ago.

You know, some Asian cultures think they are good luck, so maybe you're just lucky!

Annie

Thanks Annie...DS had a few lizards years ago-- Solomon Islands Skinks. I'd buy crickets at the pet store and then carefully dump them into the tank. We had a few escape...but that was a looong time ago!
I tried the molasses trick a couple of weeks ago in another area of the house. The molasses was untouched however we didn't hear the cricket again either! I'm sure they're heading in for quieter surroundings, but this time I don't have access to the area where the chirping is coming from. They seem to be behind/ underneath the sink or the dishwasher. I can't put a dish of molasses in there!

Put a damp dish cloth in the sink, your little friend will likely be under it in the morning. We used to get crickets in the house up in Maine quite often and that does seem to work to attract them so you can relocate them or squish them - your choice.

Alexa

I can send you my cricket slayer, Murphy. He loves to get those guys. So much so, he'll sit by the door where they were coming in (until I figured it out!) and drag them in so he could "play" with them.

The Glue traps/ boards made for mice!
Years ago, we were invaded by crickets and this very old guy in the farm supply store told me to set these out. He said the crickets line up in rows in these traps. I didn't believe him, but it was cheap and worth a try.
OMG!!! He was right! We were catching crickets every where.
2 houses later, I still use them & still catch crickets -- never caught a mouse--and I know there are mice in the garage!

I've got them in my basement this year, although I have not heard them chirping. Maybe I need my hearing checked!

They really creep me out because I am afraid one will jump at me on my way to the washing machine. They are usually on the walls. My research shows they are attracted to moisture. I am hoping they will just die of old age before they reproduce.

I have a glue trap, so maybe I'll put that out. I just don't want to catch a mouse. Those traps are too mean for mice. They deserve a quick and final beheading, before they know what hit them.

Good luck with your cricket hunt.

My cat Onyx also it a cricket catcher. They get into our basement & he loves to patrol for them. He is sad now that the weather has turned cold & they are no longer around.

Ellen, I go to sleep every night listening to crickets. On purpose.

Moe suffers, and I mean suffers from a a severe form of Tinnitus. Has for years. We have a sound machine tuned to "summer nights". We fall asleep every night to the sounds of crickets and a babbling brook.

I actually find it soothing, because the sound is consistent. If I was lying awake waiting for the next chirp, I would probably feel the same way that you do.

Maybe a sound machine is the answer for you too? At least until you rid your house of the real thing.

~Ann

I feel his pain, like Moe, I have had Tinnitus for many years, so no kind of trap or catcher would get rid of my crickets.

My Lizard Catcher might do the trick, I can send her to you for cricket patrol when she finishes her nap.

Good luck with that.

Thanks Rob & Cathy for offering me your cricket catchers. If I lived closer, I'd certainly borrow them for a week! I'm off now to the hardware store to buy sticky traps. I think I can also shoot some pesticide in a small space in the toe kick. I just need one of those super thin straws for accuracy.
Alexa-- I did have a leak under the sink for a couple of weeks. Now I have all new plumbing fixtures and it's better. If I put the damp cloth on the floor near the toe kick will that do it, or should I put it in the sink, over the drains?

I would put it in the sink - seems crickets will seek the moisture, but the slippery surface of the sink keeps them from escaping.

Good luck!

Alexa

I have one in my car. Because of the contained small space it is LOUD. The extreme drop in temp tonight should take care of it. I just tell myself it is better than a bee or spider.

My first thought was that you should get a gecko, but I see you've already had lizards. However, geckos are also loud and might be worse.

I have had tinnitus from birth (or at least as long as I can remember), and so I hate the quiet. There was a special on PBS News last night on it, and I recorded it so that I would not miss it and also be able to identify to Kevin what it is that I hear constantly - he does not have it and neither did our DM, but I inherited it from DF. According to the news show, 50 million Americans suffer from it. Now that I have a sleep apnea mask, the sound from that machine somewhat drowns it out, but not completely.

When I had a pond in Venice, Bernard and I caught some tadpoles in Malibu Creek (and stole some watercress) to put in the pond. The tadpoles were tiny, and then they grew into tiny tree frogs (about the size of a thumbnail) and would sit in the orange tree next to the pond. At night they would make a sound that was like a dog barking, and so our neighbor asked us if we had gotten a dog. When I told him it was the tree frogs, he was okay with it, and they went away eventually. Geckos are just as loud, but they are great insect catchers. Later we had bullfrogs in the pond (from tadpoles that I bought), and they would go hunting in the yard to catch bugs. We had watercress as long as we had the pond - it reseeded itself each year and was great in salads and sandwiches.

I remember plagues of crickets as a child, and they were especially bad in San Antonio - the streets would be black with them. My grandfather's ranch was occasionally invaded by migrating tarantulas, and they move fast and jump high (or so it seemed to me as a child). I was quite frightened by tarantulas (and scorpions and snakes) growing up. Most spiders don't bother me, but tarantulas jump!

Lars