GRASSHOPPERS AND OTHER INJURIOUS INSECTS OF 1911 AND 1912. 87 



CRICKETS. 



One or more of our common field crickets may be at times a nui- 

 sance and a destructive pest when domiciled in a dwelling-. How- 

 ever pleasant the chirp of "The Cricket on the Hearth" (and the 

 writer confesses to being very fond of their music) , when their song 

 indicates the presence in the house of an insect which eats holes in 

 clothing and is otherwise obnoxious, the particular housekeeper de- 

 sires to take measures to remedy the evil. These insects are prac- 

 tically omnivorous, partial to almost any food product, are canni- 

 balistic, and as stated above, will occasionally riddle an article of 

 clothing. Marlatt in an article on the House Cricket (Bui. 4, Ser- 

 ies, U. S. D. A. Bureau of Entomology) emphasizes the fondness of 

 crickets for water and accounts for their wanton cutting and gnaw- 

 ing of clothing by their fondness for moisture, the intimation being 

 that damp clothing is more likely to be injured than dry. He goes 

 on to say, however, that any of the common field grasshoppers or 

 crickets entering the house are apt to gnaw curtains, wearing ap- 

 parel, etc. 



We have been appealed to for help in ridding a house of crickets 

 which, on account of their abundance, had become a nuisance. At 

 our suggestion the afflicted parties used "Hooper's Fatal Food," 

 dusting it about in places frequented by these insects, and report 

 success. Note also what was said in the article on Ants, with refer- 

 ence to the use of tanglefoot mixture on the outside of foundations 

 to prevent insects crawling into houses. Mr. Marlatt (op. cit.) 

 claims crickets can be destroyed in large numbers by taking ad- 

 vantage of their fondness for liquids, and setting in places where 

 they occur vessels filled with beer or other liquid. Many will doubt- 

 less drown in such receptacles. Uncooked vegetables, small pieces 

 of carrots, or potatoes, thoorughly poisoned with arsenic may be 

 used, taking proper precautions to prevent accident. 



Crickets may be prevented from eating binding twine in the field 

 by soaking it before use in a solution of bluestone. 



