How to Kill Crickets in Your Basement

Crickets living in your basement often damage items such as books, wool, cotton, fur, silk and linens. Cricket damage is especially common during the autumn season as outside temperatures cool and they look for warmer areas in which to live. Preventing crickets from entering your basement is the best line of defense against these pests. Window screens must be sealed, including sealing the cracks in basement walls. However, if these pesky insects have already gotten into your basement, a variety of methods will help destroy them quickly. Killing crickets in your basement requires patience, care and strong attention to detail.

Duct tape
Scissors
Commercial sticky trap
Cardboard
Primer
Yellow Paint
Paintbrushes
Insect trap adhesive
Putty knife
Sodium borate
Plastic spray bottle
Cornmeal
Medicated body powder
Powder bathroom cleaner
Broom
Enzyme peppermint cleaner
Lemon juice
Vinegar

Instructions

- 1
  Cut off long strips of duct tape. Place these strips of duct tape on the floor so that they go around the perimeter of the room with the sticky side up. Position strips of duct tape on your basement window sills with the sticky side up to trap crickets as well.
- 2
  Place commercial sticky traps on the perimeter of your basement floor. Consider also creating your own sticky traps using cardboard by painting the cardboard pieces with a primer and then applying two coats of bright yellow paint -- these insects are attracted to bright colors. Apply a stiff insect trap adhesive, which is available at hardware stores, on the cardboard using a paintbrush; then put the cardboard pieces on the floor near the walls to attract crickets. Scrape the crickets off using a putty knife after trapping them and reapply ahesive as required.
- 3
  Combine a gallon of water and one-half cup of a 3-to-5 percent sodium borate product, also known as borax. Put this mixture into a spray bottle and spray it onto a handful of cornmeal. Put the cornmeal in problem areas of your basement to attract and kill crickets. Consider also situating medicated body powder or a powder bathroom cleaner along the edge of the basement floor to draw and destroy crickets that are looking for food.
- 4
  Sweep up any cornmeal or other powder products you placed on your floor after it has killed your basement crickets. Check the area closely to get rid of toxic remnants that potentially draw household pets, which should be restrained upstairs during your cricket-killing project.
- 5
  Add a half-cup of borax with a gallon of water and pour some of this mix into a spray bottle. Spray the mix along the perimeter of your basement floor to further kill any crickets that attempt to enter your basement.
- 6
  Spray and kill crickets using an enzyme peppermint cleaner, which is available at pet stores. To prepare the cleaner, mix 1 ounce of the cleaner with a quart of water. Pour the mix into a plastic spray bottle and direct the spray onto the crickets which die quickly.

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