With 600+ Reviews!
You flip on the basement light and something large, brown, and spindly launches itself directly at your face. That is a camel cricket, and it is not attacking you. It is just terrified, and it has very poor aim.
Quick answer: Camel crickets, also called spider crickets or cave crickets, are common in NC basements, crawl spaces, and garages. They are not venomous, do not bite, and do not chirp. They are drawn to moisture and darkness. The fix involves reducing humidity, sealing entry points, cutting off clutter they hide in, and treating with sticky traps and professional perimeter treatment for persistent populations.
What Exactly Is a Camel Cricket?
Camel crickets belong to the family Rhaphidophoridae. They get their name from their distinctly humped back. They are wingless, so you will never hear them chirping, which also sets them apart from the field crickets that get into your garage in late summer. Their antennae are longer than their body, and their hind legs are dramatically oversized relative to their frame, giving them that alarming spider-like silhouette.
The species most common in NC homes today is actually the greenhouse camel cricket (Diestrammena asynamora), an Asian species that has displaced native cave crickets in eastern US homes over the past several decades. Research from NC State found that this invasive species now accounts for more than 90 percent of camel crickets collected from homes across the eastern United States. For practical purposes, they behave the same way as the native species you may have grown up calling a spider cricket.
One important clarification: they do not bite humans, they are not venomous, and they carry no known diseases. The scare factor comes entirely from that jump-toward-you defense reflex. When startled, they leap in the direction of the threat as a predator-deterrent, which happens to be directly at whoever turned on the light.
Why NC Basements and Crawl Spaces Attract Them
Camel crickets need two things above all else: moisture and darkness. North Carolina’s Piedmont region delivers both in abundance. Humid summers push indoor humidity in unventilated basements and crawl spaces well above 70 percent, which is precisely the threshold these insects require to thrive. A vented crawl space under a house in Chapel Hill, Hillsborough, or Mebane during July is essentially ideal camel cricket habitat.
They move indoors when conditions outside become too hot and dry, typically during summer, and again in fall when temperatures drop and they look for a place to overwinter. Any gap in a foundation, a door sweep that does not quite seal, a utility line penetration, or a vent without screen keeps them from having to work very hard to get inside.
Once inside, they gravitate toward the lowest, dampest areas: crawl spaces, basement corners, under sinks, behind water heaters, and anywhere cardboard boxes or piles of stored items sit against concrete. They are nocturnal, so a daytime inspection of the basement may turn up very little, while a night check with a flashlight tells a different story.
What Damage Can They Actually Do?
Camel crickets are omnivores, and they will chew through things that hold moisture or organic material. In practice, that means stored items in your basement or crawl space are the primary concern.
- Cardboard boxes. Any cardboard box sitting on a damp floor is fair game. They will chew through the outer layer and into whatever is stored inside.
- Paper and documents. Paper stored in damp conditions attracts them, and they will feed on it.
- Fabric and clothing. Stored clothing, towels, or upholstered furniture left in a humid basement can show chew damage over time.
- Wood surfaces. In very heavy infestations they can abrade soft wood surfaces, though this is less common than textile or paper damage.
The structural risk is low compared to something like termites. The nuisance factor and the potential damage to stored belongings are the main practical concerns, along with the psychological discomfort of sharing your space with dozens of large, jumping insects.
How to Cut the Population Down
Effective control works on two fronts: making the environment less hospitable and treating the existing population. Start with conditions first, because chemical treatment alone will not hold if you are continuously giving them perfect living conditions.
Reduce moisture. A dehumidifier running in the basement or vented crawl space is the single most effective long-term deterrent. Target indoor relative humidity below 50 percent. Check for dripping pipes, condensation on ductwork, and HVAC condensate line drainage. Fix leaks promptly. Improve exterior drainage so water does not sit against the foundation after rain.
Seal entry points. Walk the perimeter of the foundation and look for gaps around utility lines, gaps where the sill plate meets the foundation, and vents without intact screening. Install or replace door sweeps on any exterior door that leads to the basement or garage. Weather stripping on those same doors matters too. Camel crickets cannot enter what they cannot get through.
Declutter storage. The pile of cardboard boxes, old newspapers, and fabric items sitting on or near your basement floor is a camel cricket buffet and a harborage site. Move stored items into sealed plastic bins. Get boxes off the floor with shelving. Remove any organic debris from the crawl space, including old wood scraps, insulation that has fallen from the joists, and debris that accumulated under the house over the years.
Sticky traps. Glue board traps placed along the perimeter of the basement or crawl space access give you two things: they catch live crickets and they tell you how significant the population is and where they are most active. Place them flat against the wall in corners, behind the water heater, and along the sill plate. Check them weekly.
Remove outdoor harborage near the house. Firewood stacked against the exterior wall, deep mulch beds against the foundation, overgrown groundcover, and debris piles near the house all create outdoor staging areas for camel crickets before they move inside. Stack wood away from the foundation on an elevated rack. Keep mulch depth to two or three inches and pull it back from the wall itself.
When to Bring in a Professional
If sticky traps are filling quickly, you are finding them on main living floors, or the population has persisted through a full season of DIY efforts, it is time for a professional treatment. A perimeter spray treatment applied to the exterior foundation and interior baseboard areas creates a barrier that knocks back active populations and provides ongoing control. Interior harborage areas and crawl space entry points are also treated to target the spaces where they concentrate.
The combination of habitat modification and a professional treatment cycle is what actually produces lasting results. Habitat work removes their reason to stay. Treatment handles the current population and reduces the likelihood of re-entry while you are getting conditions corrected.
Scott’s Turf and Pest Services handles camel cricket problems throughout Orange, Durham, and Alamance counties. If sticky traps and DIY measures are not making a dent, schedule a visit through our professional pest control page and we will assess what is drawing them in and put together a treatment plan that fits the specific situation in your home.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do camel crickets bite?
No. Camel crickets do not have the jaw strength to break human skin in any meaningful way, and they have no venom. They are not aggressive toward people. The jump reflex that makes them seem threatening is a defensive behavior they use to startle and escape predators, not an attack. The worst they will do is land on you when they misjudge the direction of their jump.
Why do camel crickets jump toward you instead of away?
It is a defense mechanism, and it is genuinely poorly aimed. When a camel cricket feels threatened, it jumps toward the source of the threat to startle it into backing off. In the wild, this works reasonably well against birds and rodents. In a basement, it just scares whoever turned on the light. They are not intentionally targeting you.
Are camel crickets the same as cave crickets or spider crickets?
Yes, all three names refer to the same group of insects. Cave cricket references their preference for dark, damp spaces similar to caves. Spider cricket is a regional nickname based on their spider-like appearance when their long legs are spread out. Camel cricket refers to their humped back. In NC homes, the species you are most likely dealing with is the greenhouse camel cricket, which has become the dominant indoor species across the eastern US.
How do I know if I have a serious camel cricket infestation?
Place sticky glue board traps in basement corners, behind appliances, and near the crawl space access door. Check them after 48 to 72 hours. If you are catching more than a handful per trap, the population is established. You may also find them on upper floors, in laundry rooms, or in attached garages, which indicates significant numbers in the lower spaces below. Visible chew damage on stored cardboard or fabric is another sign of a population large enough to be doing real harm.
What time of year are camel crickets worst in NC?
Two peaks are common in NC. The first is mid-to-late summer, when hot and dry conditions outside push them to seek the cool moisture of basements and crawl spaces. The second is fall, when dropping temperatures push them to find shelter for overwintering. Populations can persist year-round indoors once they have established, particularly if humidity levels in the basement or crawl space stay high through winter.