What Do Crickets Eat
Many have asked the question what do crickets eat, and the answers to that query are as vast as the number of crickets who cover the planet. If you are wondering what do crickets eat within your home while they chirp away in the basement, chances are that they haven’t come for food, but rather that they wandered in on accident. Some seek shelter from extreme weather conditions only to find that they are trapped and can’t remember the way back out. This is a cruel fate for the cricket, as most species have little to eat when trapped indoors and they can not mate or reproduce in this dungeon either. There are a few species, most prominently the camel cricket, who will make due with fabrics when there are no other options available, but this species doesn’t chirp or rub. This means that your first detection of him may come in the form of finding the tiny holes that he leaves in his wake while feeding by night.
What do crickets eat outdoors? Well, that is also a loaded question, but in general most crickets are not considered to be agricultural or household pests. The mole cricket, found world wide on every continent other than Antarctica, is the only cricket prone to vast destruction of gardens and agricultural crops and fields. He burrows deep and creates large tunnel networks for living and reproductive purposes. He then proceeds to munch on tender roots and tubers below ground for day time feeding. At night, he immerges above soil level and takes his weight in stems and leaves. Any tasty plant will do, from bell peppers to tomatoes to tobacco, and nearly everything in between. Bad boy!
What do crickets eat if they don’t like their vegetables? Well, if we take a southern mole cricket as a for instance, he is strictly carnivorous, and as such is considered to be a help to farmers rather than a headache and a drain on the wallet. Most other species, however, appreciate a nocturnal lifestyle, spending their daytime hours resting and lightly foraging in dark, moist places. Decomposing organic and plant materials are the most common sources of food for crickets, and it is in areas dense with this type of element where you are most likely to find them.
What do crickets eat when they can’t get to their safe little rotted wood palaces? Some of them eat each other. Yes, you heard me right, there are certain species of crickets who feed on their own dead, and who will actually attack those in their midst who appear to be weakened or dying. The chewing mouth parts and jaws are strong, giving him plenty of power for the task.