Spider Cricket: What It Is, Why It Jumps at You, and How to Get Rid of It

What is a spider cricket?

A spider cricket is a wingless cricket in the family Rhaphidophoridae, with a humped back, long thin legs and antennae longer than its body. Most found in US homes are 1/2 to 1 inch (13 to 25 mm) long without the legs, tan to dark brown, and live in damp, dark places such as basements and crawl spaces.

The long legs and the way it sits low and still make it look like a spider at first glance. That is where the name comes from. It is a true insect, though, with six legs, two antennae and a body in three parts.

Worldwide there are more than 1,100 described species, on every continent except Antarctica. About 150 live in North America north of Mexico, according to the Missouri Department of Conservation. Most are outdoor animals of caves, logs and leaf litter. Only a few come indoors. If you are not sure what you found, our six checks for naming any bug are a good place to start.

Spider cricket, camel cricket, cave cricket: what’s the difference?

There is no difference. These are three names for the same group of insects. “Camel cricket” comes from the humped back, “cave cricket” from where many species live, and “spider cricket” from the long legs. “Spricket” is a nickname that blends spider and cricket.

People also use local names. You may hear sprickets, criders, humpback crickets, camelback crickets or sand treaders. In New Zealand, close relatives are called cave weta. Every one of these is a member of the same family, Rhaphidophoridae.

Is a spider cricket a spider or a cricket?

A spider cricket is a cricket. Spiders have eight legs, no antennae and a body in two parts. A spider cricket has six legs, two long antennae and three body parts, like every insect. It is a distant cousin of the house cricket and the grasshopper, in the order Orthoptera.

How big is a spider cricket?

Most spider crickets in US homes are 1/2 to 1 inch (13 to 25 mm) long, measured without the legs or antennae. Large ones reach 1 1/2 inches (38 mm). With the legs stretched out, a big one can span the palm of your hand, which is why so many people think they have found a giant spider.

The antennae make it look bigger still. They are usually longer than the body. In one native species, Animal Diversity Web measured antennae of 44 to 52 mm (about 1 3/4 to 2 inches), three times the body length.

Why the sizes online do not match

Sources give different sizes because some measure one species and some measure the whole family. Two popular figures are wrong for a US basement. Read this table before you trust a number:

Which spider cricket is in your basement?

In the eastern US, the spider cricket in your basement is most likely the greenhouse camel cricket, an insect from Asia. In a 2014 survey of US homes led by Mary Jane Epps of NC State University, 88% of houses with an identifiable camel cricket had the Asian kind. Only 12% had native camel crickets.

The study, published in the journal PeerJ, used photos and specimens from 163 households. Its title sums it up: the invader was “too big to be noticed”. In other words, a large foreign insect had spread through American basements and nobody had tracked it.

Can you tell them apart from a photo?

Usually not. Scientists separate them by the spines and spurs on the lower legs and by color pattern. The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee field station notes that some are “very hard to tell apart, except by an expert with a microscope”. The good news is that it does not matter at home. Every kind is harmless, and the same steps get rid of all of them.

Where in the US are spider crickets found?

Spider crickets live in every region of the US. Native kinds occur across North America, and the Missouri Department of Conservation lists them statewide. The 2014 survey had reports from 39 states and Washington, DC. Its authors found the Asian greenhouse camel cricket “widespread and abundant in the eastern United States”, where damp basements are common. The rarer Japanese camel cricket turned up only in the Northeast.

Do spider crickets bite?

No. Spider crickets do not bite people, sting or carry venom. They have small chewing mouthparts for dead plants, fungi and dead insects, not for skin. Mary Jane Epps, who led the 2014 survey, put it plainly in an NC State news release: camel crickets “don’t bite or pose any kind of threat to humans.”

The fear comes from the jump. A spider cricket can land on your arm or face, and the legs feel prickly for a second. That is a scare, not a bite. If you did feel a pinch and then found a mark, look for another cause. Our bug bite identification guide explains which bites leave which signs, and why no one can name a bug from a photo of a bite.

Do spider crickets sting?

No. The long spike on the back end of a female is an ovipositor, an egg-laying tube she pushes into soil. It is not a stinger and cannot pierce skin. On some females it is more than half the length of the body, which makes it look more dangerous than it is. Males do not have one.

Are spider crickets poisonous?

No. Spider crickets have no venom and are not poisonous to touch. The Missouri Department of Conservation calls them “completely harmless”. No source we read links them to any disease. Wash your hands after handling any insect, as you would after gardening.

Are spider crickets dangerous to dogs and cats?

We found no veterinary or extension report of a spider cricket harming a dog or cat. Cats and dogs often chase and eat them. The bigger danger is what you put down to kill them. Keep sticky traps and any insecticide where pets cannot reach them, and note that a pet can eat an insect that was sprayed.

If a pet eats an insecticide or a trap, call your vet or the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center at (888) 426-4435. A fee may apply.

Is it bad to have spider crickets in your house?

It is not dangerous, but it is a sign. Spider crickets need damp air, so a basement full of them is a basement with a moisture problem. As the UW-Milwaukee field station puts it, “A basement that has camel crickets is a basement that has dampness issues.” Fix the damp and you fix most of the crickets.

Why do spider crickets jump at you?

A spider cricket jumps to escape, and it cannot see you well. Its eyes probably tell only light from dark. When a light goes on or a foot lands nearby, it leaps blindly, about 10 times its own height or more. In a narrow basement or stairwell, that jump often lands on you, so it feels like an attack.

No study has tested whether they aim at people. Still, the escape jump is well recorded. The University of Maryland’s Michael Raupp watched one clear the edge of a bathtub in “a leap more than ten times its own height”. The cricket is not chasing you. It is trying to get away, and it guessed wrong.

Can spider crickets see?

Barely. Their eyes probably sense light and dark but do not form clear images. Instead, a spider cricket finds its way with its long antennae, the hairs on its legs and two short feelers at the tail called cerci. Some cave species are blind, according to the University of Maryland’s Michael Raupp. The ones in houses are not blind, but they rely far more on touch.

Do spider crickets chirp?

No. Spider crickets have no wings, and crickets chirp by rubbing their wings together. They also have no ears. The National Park Service notes they lack the eardrum-like organs other crickets use and feel vibrations through their legs and antennae instead. So if you hear chirping in the basement, it is a house cricket or a field cricket.

Can spider crickets fly?

No. Spider crickets have no wings at any stage of life. They move by walking and jumping. A cricket-like bug that flies is a different insect, such as a house cricket, a field cricket or a cockroach.

Spider cricket or something else?

Count the legs and look for antennae first. A spider cricket has six legs, two long antennae and a humped back, and it has no wings. Spiders have eight legs and no antennae. A house or field cricket has wings and a flat back, and a cockroach runs instead of jumping.

Spider cricket vs wolf spider

Both are brown, leggy and found in basements, and both make people jump. However, a wolf spider has eight legs and no antennae, and its body is in two parts. A spider cricket has six legs, two antennae as long as its body, and a humped back. See our wolf spider guide if yours has eight legs.

Spider cricket vs house cricket

A house cricket has wings folded flat on its back and chirps at night. It has no hump, and its legs look normal for its size. A spider cricket is silent, wingless and humped, with hind legs far longer than its body.

Spider cricket vs Jerusalem cricket

A Jerusalem cricket is a different insect, sometimes called a potato bug. It has a large round head and a shiny brown belly with dark stripes, and it is 1 to 2 1/2 inches long. It lives only west of the Rocky Mountains. UC Davis says it can bite when handled but is otherwise “essentially harmless”. A spider cricket has a small, tucked head and much longer legs.

Spider cricket vs camel spider

The names cause mix-ups, but these are unrelated. A camel spider is a desert arachnid with eight legs and huge jaws. A camel cricket is the same insect as a spider cricket, with six legs and no venom.

Why are there spider crickets in my house?

Spider crickets come indoors for damp, dark shelter and food. They move in most in late summer and early fall, and during hot, dry spells or very wet weather. Basements, crawl spaces, garages and laundry rooms suit them best, because the air there stays cool and humid.

Outdoors they live under stones, logs, mulch and leaf piles. When the weather turns extreme, they follow the cool, damp air into the nearest gap. According to NC State Extension, problems start “when we have extremes in weather conditions”. Some also come inside to spend the winter.

What attracts spider crickets?

Damp air is the main draw. After that, they look for:

• Dark, quiet places, such as boxes, storage shelves and the gap behind a washer.
• Food, such as mold and fungi on damp walls, dead insects and other organic debris.
• Shelter close to the house, such as mulch, firewood, brick piles and leaf piles.

How do spider crickets get in?

They walk in through gaps. The usual ones are the space under a house or garage door, cracks in the foundation, gaps around windows, and openings for pipes, wires and vents. Crawl space and dryer vents without screens are common entry points, too.

Are spider crickets breeding in my basement?

Sometimes, but not usually. Iowa State says they rarely reproduce indoors except where it stays dark and damp all year. The UW-Milwaukee field station says they rarely breed inside “unless conditions are perfect”. Cornell Cooperative Extension says they can breed indoors year-round. The difference is the room: a wet, dark basement suits them, and a dry one does not.

Look at sizes to tell. Young spider crickets look like small adults, so finding tiny ones and full-size ones together, especially in winter, suggests a group is living there. Dark smears of droppings on walls or boxes are a sign of heavy numbers, according to NC State.

What does it mean if you see one spider cricket?

One spider cricket in late summer usually means one wandered in. It is not an infestation. Several a week, or crickets in winter, point to a damp space they like. Use this table to decide how much to do:

Where do spider crickets live?

Outdoors, spider crickets live in cool, damp, dark places: caves, under rocks and logs, in leaf piles, hollow trees, wells and holes in the ground. They are active almost only at night. Indoors, they choose basements, crawl spaces, garages, sheds, laundry rooms and shower areas.

Cave crickets play a real role underground. They leave caves at night to feed, then return to rest. Their droppings, eggs and bodies feed other cave animals, which is why the National Speleological Society named cave crickets its 2023 Cave Animal of the Year.

What do spider crickets eat?

Spider crickets are scavengers that eat almost anything. They feed on dead insects, fungi, decaying leaves, roots and fruit, and other organic debris. They also eat each other. In a basement, the mold on damp walls and dead bugs on the floor are often enough to keep a group going.

Do spider crickets damage clothes or boxes?

They can, but only a little. Several extension services, including NC State and Clemson, say large numbers can damage fabrics or garments packed in boxes on the floor, mostly when other food runs short. Others, including the Missouri Department of Conservation and the University of Minnesota, say they do no real damage. In short, store things off the floor and you have little to lose.

No extension source we read says they harm the structure of a house. Their droppings can stain walls, stored tools and boxes.

What eats spider crickets?

Plenty of animals do. Outdoors, many predators eat them. Indoors, house centipedes and spiders catch them, and cats hunt them. When grabbed, a spider cricket can drop a leg and escape, which is why you sometimes find one with five legs. Our house centipede guide explains why that predator may be in your basement for the same reason.

Do spider crickets eat spiders?

Not as hunters. Spider crickets scavenge dead insects, which can include a dead spider, but they do not chase live ones. The traffic goes the other way: spiders hunt crickets, and the cellar spiders in a damp basement feed on the insects that share it.

Spider cricket life cycle and lifespan

A spider cricket lives about one to two years. Females lay eggs in soil in early spring, and the young hatch a few weeks later. They look like small adults and grow through summer. Many spend the winter as young or adults, NC State Extension says, and some come indoors to do it.

There is no larva or pupa stage. The young simply get bigger with each molt until they are adults. The National Park Service says a female may lay 30 to 60 eggs in her life. Then the cycle starts again in spring.

When do spider crickets come out?

Spider crickets are most noticeable from late summer to late fall. Of 11,415 US sightings on iNaturalist, 38.8% fall in September, October and November, and February is the quietest month. Google searches for “spider cricket” follow the same curve, peaking from late August to November.

That matches the University of Maryland’s observation that the yearly home invasion begins “late in summer and early autumn”. So the best time to dry and seal the basement is early summer, before the numbers climb.

How to get rid of spider crickets

To get rid of spider crickets, dry the space first. Run a dehumidifier to keep the air below 60% humidity, set sticky traps in corners and behind appliances, and seal gaps under doors. Outside, pull mulch 12 inches back from the foundation. Spraying is a last resort and rarely needed once the space is dry.

Start with what costs nothing, then add tools as needed. Most homes need only the first five steps.

Should you spray for spider crickets?

Usually not. If drying, sealing and trapping work, insecticide treatments are not required. Clemson Extension advises spraying indoors only “when the population is large or when camel crickets threaten valuable items”, and it says to focus on the outside of the house. Iowa State calls spraying floors indoors “a last resort of limited benefit”.

If you do use a pesticide, choose one registered by the EPA for crickets and follow the label exactly. The label is the law. Treat a band around the outside foundation, not open rooms. In crawl spaces, NC State says baits in corners or along the sill plate work best, though some are hard for homeowners to buy.

Spraying without drying rarely lasts. One Reddit user in r/Delaware wrote that six days after an exterminator sprayed, they were “seeing more now than before”.

Natural ways to get rid of spider crickets

The natural ways are the main ways: dry air, sticky traps, sealed gaps and a tidy yard. A dish of soapy water catches some. Cats and house centipedes eat them too. No natural spray or scent is proven to repel spider crickets.

What does not work, and common myths

Most of what fails against spider crickets goes after the ones you can see and leaves the damp alone. Here are 8 common beliefs, several of them repeated on Reddit, and what the sources say about each.

• Myth 1

  Myth: “It is a spider.”

  Truth: It is a cricket, an insect with six legs and two antennae. Spiders have eight legs and no antennae.

• Myth 2

  Myth: “Spider crickets bite.”

  Truth: They have chewing mouthparts for dead matter and do not bite people. The scientist who led the 2014 survey says they “don’t bite or pose any kind of threat to humans”.

• Myth 3

  Myth: “The spike on the tail is a stinger.”

  Truth: It is the female's egg-laying tube, and it cannot pierce skin.

• Myth 4

  Myth: “They mean your house is dirty.”

  Truth: They mean it is damp. A spotless basement can still have them if the air is humid.

• Myth 5

  Myth: “They eat holes in your clothes.”

  Truth: Large numbers can nibble fabric stored on damp floors, mostly when food is short. Clothes kept in dry rooms are at little risk.

• Myth 6

  Myth: “One spray around the house fixes it.”

  Truth: Without drying the space, they keep coming. Iowa State calls indoor floor spraying “a last resort of limited benefit”.

• Myth 7

  Myth: “Ultrasonic plug-ins keep them out.”

  Truth: None of the extension guides we read recommends them, and one Reddit user in r/newjersey said the crickets “just kept coming”.

• Myth 8

  Myth: “Glue traps attract more bugs.”

  Truth: Sticky traps catch what walks onto them. Use them to find where the crickets come in, then seal that spot.

When to call someone

Most spider cricket problems end with a dehumidifier, traps and a door sweep. Call for help when water is getting into the house, when you rent and cannot fix the damp yourself, or when you still catch many after a month of dry air and sealed gaps.

Not sure it is a spider cricket at all? Upload a photo to our free bug identifier for an answer in seconds.

Pest control disclaimer. Photo-based identification can help, but it is not always perfect. For dangerous spiders, large infestations, or anything you are unsure about, contact a licensed pest control professional.