Here’s Why Crickets Become Silent When You’re Near

Picture this: You hear the loud chirping of a cricket somewhere in your house. You slowly tiptoe towards the loud, annoying noise and you hear it getting louder. The noise is so close, you’re about to locate the intruder, and all of a sudden — nothing! Why is it that every time you get close to a cricket, the little guy goes silent?

Feel the Vibrations

Crickets don’t have an eagle eye or big ears to help them know when a predator is coming near. Instead, crickets have tympanal organs on their legs. These organs will vibrate each time they feel any vibrating air molecules — also known as sound. Once the tympanal organs vibrate, the chordatal organ (special nerve receptor) will send a nerve impulse to the brain.

When a cricket knows that a potential predator is getting too close, it will go silent to stay hidden.

Chirp, Chirp

If your home is being overrun by crickets, don’t think you can remove all of them on your own. Just because you haven’t heard any crickets recently, doesn’t mean there aren’t a few more hiding somewhere in your home.

Female crickets don’t have the ability to chirp, which means you could still have crickets in your home without hearing any chirping sounds. Why do only male crickets chirp you might ask? Males will rub their forewings together as a mating call to attract female crickets.

Having a cricket chirp nonstop and then go silent the minute you go looking for them has to be the most frustrating thing ever! When you need crickets removed from your home, contact Knockout Pest Control. To learn more, or to schedule an inspection, give us a call at (800) 244-7378.

Don’t forget to follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Google+!