I’m hoping that an entomologist or Dr. Kieran Lindsey can help me with my cricket conundrum. Since I moved to Long Beach, CA, in August of 2010, there has been a cricket wintering in my Honda Fit (or 2 different crickets each year). He chirps in the morning, but not in the afternoon. He may chirp @ noon-time if it’s chilly and rainy. He likes Nina Simone, & last week, the fiddling on Prairie Home Companion with Elvis Costello really delighted him. He does not seem to like it when I sing along. As you can see, my cricket companion brings me a great deal of joy. I’m worried, though, about why he’s still hanging around as it’s now springtime, & my car can get very hot during the day. I don’t (purposely) feed him, although I do eat fruit & granola while driving, so he might be eating the detritus. He seems to move around the car, but primarily hangs out in the mid-section/passenger area. I’ve never seen him, but the chirping is far too random to be mechanical. I really want him to live a long, happy life, and I don’t want him to die from the car-heat in the impending SoCal summer. What should I do to help him? Thank you; I tremendously appreciate your assistance.
I don’t know the life span of a cricket, but not too long I suspect. If your friend finds a mate you might have a chorus of crickets. I don’t think you can do much to help your cricket, just enjoy the “music” for now.
I thought I had a cricket in one of my vehicles a couple of years ago. After searching for quite some time I finally found the “cricket”. It was a very small tree frog. I gave him a new home near the pond in my backyard.
I’d let a spider loose in there.
Then if I couldn’t get rid of the spider, I’d put a bird in there.
Then if I couldn’t get the bird out, I’d send in the cat…
Then the dog…
…
…
or does this method only work for getting rid of flies?
For the past three months, I’ve had a recurring problem with dozens of small black bugs (about the size of fruit flies) appearing in the interior cabin area of my 2010 RAV4 (primarily on the floor areas). They have wings but do not fly. . . they just just crawl around. I’ve had the car thoroughly cleaned at a detail shop and fumigated with bug bomb twice by a professional exterminator, but the bugs have reappeared after each instance the very next day. I’m at a loss as to where these creatures are coming from. The car is locked tight whenever I’m not using it so they must be breeding from within the vehicle somewhere. I wonder if anyone has ever heard of a similar infestation like this (?).
I helped a friend with a similar problem by taking samples to our state’s Department of Agriculture office. They have entemologists there that can identify the bugs and provide a report on exactly what conditions they nest under, what they eat, why they might be there, and…bestly…how to get rid if them.
And their services are free of charge.
What a nice post, and a compassionate one too.
Maybe park in the shade, use sun shields, open the vents to maintain air circulation, put in a container or a double-sealed zip-loc with ice, I don’t know. They can travel to where it’s cooler. Yes, the local agriculture office, or perhaps a good visit to Wikipedia or the 'net, can help you maintain the joys of cricket music (sure beats listening to the news!). Good luck.