Cricket Control Monte Vista

Monte Vista is a settled family suburb with established gardens, and most of our work here is the slow, steady stuff: rats that have moved into a roof, ant trails in the kitchen, fishmoths in a back bedroom. Houses are close enough that one neighbour's problem often becomes the next one's.

Monte Vista: what drives crawling insects here

Ants are the big summer nuisance, coming in through window frames and plug points. Garden crickets and the odd thick-tailed scorpion under paving or pot plants also come up now and then.

Most homes are freestanding brick houses from the sixties and seventies with tiled or corrugated roofs, wooden eaves and mature gardens. Plenty have had additions over the years, and the joins between old and new rooflines leave gaps that rodents find. Wendy houses, garages and outside rooms are common and often hold stored boxes, which fishmoths and mice enjoy. A few newer townhouse complexes add shared walls to the mix.

Roof rats and house mice in ceilings are the most common call, particularly from May onwards. Argentine ants and pugnacious ants are close behind in summer. Fishmoths, German cockroaches and the occasional wasp nest under the eaves make up most of the rest.

Tell-tale signs

1. Large numbers of crickets attracted to outside lights on warm nights.
2. Birds and hadedas probing the lawn intensively, which is often a sign of mole crickets or other insects underneath.
3. Patches of grass that brown and die, and lift easily because the roots have been cut.
4. Raised, soft ridges and tunnels in the lawn, especially after watering.
5. Crickets sheltering in the garage, under appliances or behind skirting boards.
6. Small chewed holes in clothing, curtains or paper stored in damp places.

From the technician

Crickets sometimes damage stored clothing, curtains and cardboard in damp outbuildings. If you use a garage or storeroom for storage, dry it out and box things in plastic.

Our process, step by step

Indoors, we focus on finding where the crickets are coming in and hiding, then apply a residual treatment to entry points, door thresholds, garage edges and other hiding spots. Granular baits can be used around the perimeter of the house to reduce numbers before they reach the walls. For mole crickets, the lawn is treated with a targeted product and watered in so it reaches the tunnels, and timing matters because young mole crickets near the surface are easier to control. We use the least-toxic effective option and avoid spraying open living areas.

Want the full step-by-step? See how our cricket control service works.

Keeping them out afterwards

• Seal cracks in walls and around window frames, and check that airbricks have intact mesh.
• Fit brush strips under exterior doors and garage doors so crickets cannot walk straight in.
• Water the lawn deeply but less often, as constantly damp soil suits mole crickets.
• Clear leaf litter, mulch, firewood and garden rubbish away from the walls of the house.
• Swap bright white outside lights for yellow or warm-coloured bulbs, which attract fewer insects.

Pricing, honestly

The cost depends on whether it is an indoor nuisance, a lawn problem or both, and on the size of the property and garden. A large lawn with widespread mole cricket damage takes more product and time than a perimeter treatment for a house. Follow-up treatments, if needed to catch a second generation, are included in a free quote upfront.

One cricket behind the fridge is a job for a torch and a glass, not a pest control company. If crickets keep coming in night after night, or your lawn is lifting with tunnels, a professional perimeter or lawn treatment will save you a lot of frustration. Buying lawn insecticide and guessing the timing often wastes money.

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