SHRIEK! Invasion of the Cave/Camel Crickets

From In the Garden

Shriek! Scream! Help! Can you hear me now? Perhaps not but if you had been any where near my little town in Tennessee you may have heard my shrieks when I encountered some cave crickets in my outside storage shed. It wasn't so much the cave crickets themselves, but the fact that when I ventured to move this axe they were resting on they jumped-at me and everywhere else! Panic! I am not normally a squeamish type of person-hey I've been to Iraq where the guys caught scorpions and centipedes and let them fight it out in an 'arena' and it never bothered me. I squish grubs bare handed and have run into many insects in the garden that usually have no effect on me but these prehistoric things creeped me out.

Mr. Fix-it helped me to identify these crickets. At first he thought they may have been mole crickets; which would have been just as bad. Upon further research we have identified them as cave/camel crickets. Cave/camel crickets like dark and damp areas. They do not chirp and can barely see-figures since they live in caves. My outdoor building is similar to a cave since it is dark and damp due to all the recent rains. In fact the shed was so dark I did not know what kind of insects these really were until my flash caught their mugs. The cave crickets must find the area to their liking because there were quite a few of them. Each time I would open the shed door I would hear a rustling and some movement-creepy. I just chocked it up to the field mice because we also have them in the shed. Nope, not on this day. It was the crickets and my oh my do they ever scuttle and make some intimidating noises! And don't disturb them-if you do be prepared to shriek and run because it is not a pleasant sight to have these ugly things jumping at you....

in the garden....I'm still shaking from my encounter! Grasshoppers have nothing on these fellas! But hubby says they would make good fishing bait. Perhaps he'll go take them away?? Nah, he's busy in his gargage-no crickets there:)