Jerusalem Cricket Facts & Information

What Orkin Does

Your local Orkin Pro is trained to help manage Jerusalem crickets and similar pests. Since every building or home is different, your Orkin Pro will design a unique program for your situation.

Orkin can provide the right solution to keep Jerusalem crickets in their place and out of your home or business.

Appearance

• Size: They are large insects and can be up to 50 mm long.

• Color: Jerusalem crickets are yellow to brown in color.

• Body: They have large heads and beady black eyes. From the front they appear to have a small face.

• Characteristics: In Spanish, they are often called el niño de la tierra—the child of the earth. They have also been called “the old bald man” and the potato bug. These insects do not have wings, so they move around by hopping. They do not chirp like house or field crickets. The sounds they make have been compared to scratching or hissing sounds.

Habitat

The ideal environment for these insects are gardens or flowerbeds. During the day, Jerusalem crickets seek out dark places to hide under rocks or logs, but they are mostly active at night. In extremely hot, dry seasons, these insects may move into homes.

Diet

The primary foods Jerusalem crickets eat are:

• Crops

• Insects

• Roots

• Tubers

Geographical Range

They are most likely to be found in the western parts of the United States and parts of Mexico. They are native to the desert southwest, the western states, and along the Pacific coast.

Life Cycle

Jerusalem crickets have a low rate of reproduction, so large infestations are rare. They do not reproduce or infest indoors.

Eggs

Females may kill and consume the male after mating. She then lays 3 mm eggs in burrows.

Nymphs

Nymphs hatch and go through a series of molts until adulthood.

Adults

The average time to become an adult from egg is around two years.

More Information

How to Prevent Jerusalem Crickets

Jerusalem Cricket Bites

Jerusalem Cricket Sounds