Species: Camel or cave crickets (Ceuthophilus species); Greenhouse stone cricket (Tachycines asynamorous)

What to look for

  1. Profile. NC State says camel crickets are named for their slightly humpbacked appearance, and that their long legs give them a spider-like look.
  2. Length. Maryland gives 13 to 33 mm (1/2 to 1 1/4 inches).
  3. Wings. Unlike other crickets, camel crickets have no wings as adults.
  4. Antennae and hind legs. Maryland describes both as extremely long.
  5. Color. Light tan to dark brown.
  6. Sound, or the absence of it. NC State says camel crickets do not chirp, so chirping indoors points to field crickets instead. Maryland adds that of the three common indoor invaders, only house and field crickets sing.

Where and when

Maryland extension says the camel cricket's preference for dark, moist places almost always confines it to damp basements and crawl spaces. NC State adds storage buildings, garages, bathrooms and laundry rooms, and says the crickets often become a problem after weather extremes, either heavy rainfall or long hot dry spells. Outdoors NC State finds them under stones and logs and in firewood stacks.

Does it matter?

NC State calls camel crickets mostly a nuisance pest, but says they can damage stored items such as garments and linens packed in boxes in a garage or basement if an infestation goes unchecked and the crickets cannot find other food. It describes dark fecal smears on surfaces as the telltale sign of a heavy infestation. Maryland's remedy is fixing basement moisture, sealing gaps and using sticky traps.

Related guides

  • House centipede: The fast, many-legged thing in a bathroom is almost always a house centipede.
  • Silverfish: A silverfish is a wingless, flat, teardrop-shaped insect covered in silvery scales, with long thread-like antennae and three tail-like appendages at the rear.
  • Earwig: An earwig is the flat, dark reddish brown insect with a pair of claw-like pincers at the rear.

Sources