Black field crickets are showing up in large numbers across North Texas as late summer turns to fall, clustering at lights, doors and sidewalks after recent rain and cooler nights.
The Dallas Morning News reported outbreaks this week, including clusters near downtown Dallas. Texas A&M AgriLife Extension entomologist Wizzie Brown said there was a burst after Labor Day when temperatures dropped and that cooler weather ahead should keep them active. They do not bite or sting. The main complaints are noise, piles of dead insects and crickets slipping indoors.
Most of the insects are field crickets in the Gryllus group, dark brown to black and about a half-inch to more than an inch long. AgriLife urban entomologist Michael Merchant has long described fall cricket flights as one of the state’s most predictable pest events. Numbers peak in August and September, especially after a dry spring and summer followed by rain. Dry weather can cut fungal disease in eggs and nymphs, so more insects reach adulthood and take off on nighttime mating flights.
Females lay 150 to 400 eggs in bare soil about two weeks after they mature. Eggs overwinter in the ground and hatch in spring. Nymphs take roughly three months to become adults. The heaviest flights usually last one to two weeks, but crickets stay active until cold weather arrives.
They live outdoors and feed on plants. Indoors they can chew fabrics, carpets and paper. Dead piles can smell. Outdoor lighting is the biggest draw around homes and businesses. AgriLife advises dimming or turning off exterior lights, sealing gaps around doors and windows, and sweeping or vacuuming indoor strays. Chemical sprays can knock down clusters but do not stop new flights.
The surge is a seasonal nuisance, not a public-health emergency.
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