How To Identify Cricket & Termite Droppings

It can be challenging to differentiate between termite droppings and cricket droppings. Determining the difference is very critical because one of the most destructive and vicious termites found in America defecates pellets that look similar to cricket droppings. To the untrained eye, there is little to no difference in termite poop or cricket poop.

Discovering Cricket Droppings

Discovering cricket droppings within your home is not a difficult problem. You will always need to apply pest control application techniques in order to notice any cricket droppings. If you notice any droppings, seal all entry points to your home. Finally, contact experienced cricket control companies or you can eradicate them yourself. Cricket droppings should never be ignored.

Cricket droppings are black in color. They are often found in a spread-out pile while termite droppings are mostly found in a tall heap of droppings. Cricket droppings dry faster than termite droppings therefore making it impossible to determine the duration of the infestation. Crickets aren’t a serious health threat in themselves, though it is recommended that you avoid contact with their droppings or wash your hands if you do touch them.

Crickets attract unwanted predators. As the cricket population ultimately grows, it invites predators such as scorpions and spiders into your home. These predators pose the real threat to you and your family.

Discovering Termite Droppings

The first sign of termite presence or infestation may be mud tunnels that always run up walls, wood, or foundations. These insects are specifically attracted to damp wood, mostly found in basements, tunnels, or areas with very high humidity. These tunnels are created by the subterranean type of termites who often use their frass or feces as part of the building material for the pellet-like tubes. When it comes to the Phoenix area you won’t be likely to find subterranean type termites. The Western Drywood termites, the most destructive termites, can be found throughout Arizona.

Drywood termite colonies frequently eject grain-like pellets through a small hole over the external surface of wood and within the internal termite galleries. Most of these pellets are often found in small heap piles near or below infested wood. These pellet heaps are typically a lighter color than cricket dropping piles. Drywood termite pellets are a strong warning sign of termite activity within your home.

Drywood droppings, or frass, can be of different colors. This greatly depends on the color of the wood the termites have been eating. It’s a fact that all drywood droppings are six-sided.

Drywood termite droppings look a lot like wet coffee grounds or beans mixed with sand gravel. Termite fecal pellets are rice-shaped, hard, elongated, and relatively less than 0.04 inches long. These droppings are not harmful or smelly.

Soon after termites reproduce or swarm and locate a new nest, they often shed their wings. These little wings normally look like scraped fish scales and are commonly found piled together like termite frass. Equally, noticing a pile of discarded wings does not necessarily mean you are infested with termites, but it can mean that they are nearby. Therefore, if you notice wings next to insect droppings this could mean that the pellets belong to termites and not crickets. If you’d like to read more about eliminating termites through eco-friendly techniques try reading our “5 Eco-Friendly Solutions for Termite Control” post.

Contact The Experts At Green Home Pest Control

Identifying insect droppings helps you understand what types of threats your family or home are facing. Regardless of the type of bug droppings you find, you should contact a pest control professional. Phoenix residents can contact Green Home Pest Control to get rid of pests. We offer professional termite control and other pest control plans and will schedule a consultation to identify your pests and then take the correct steps to protect your family and home from pests.

Learn more about our home pest control and commercial pest control services.