The first time I saw a cave cricket I was a 17 year-old living in Highland Lakes, New Jersey. I was upstairs in my parent's house when I looked over the railing of our balcony and saw what a thought was a four inch spider walking across the floor downstairs. I quickly realized that for my girlfriend and I to leave the house we would have to cross the beast's path. Like the man I have always been, I promptly dressed in long sleeves and pants and put on a knit hat, despite the summer night's heat. The only two weapons at my disposal were a large plastic container full of clothing and a shovel from the fireplace. I unwisely chose the shovel and my first whack merely rebounded off the rug and the crustacean like shell. The spider-like creature walked nonchalantly away. This was no spider, but a new animal never before seen on this continent. What was supposed to be a secondary weapon, now became an escape plan. I told my girlfriend to put on her coat and I dropped the thirty pound tupperware on the land lobster and ran barefoot out of the house.
My family would have been miffed at my staying out all night at a girl's house so, after dropping her off, I knocked on my best friend Mike's door, waking his parents. They took me in, as I was now a refugee, and I didn't go home 'til the next morning, and only then to gather some clothes for work. When I got there all evidence of a battle was gone. Apparently when my parents lifted the top to my cave cricket tomb, the bug stretched it's legs and walked back into the basement from whence it came.
Flash forward 16 years and I, as I'm sure all of you, are now very familiar with cave crickets. They seem to populate every basement in the land. Yesterday I took matters into my own hands and bought some glue traps at the local hardware store. I was skeptical.
Well, I am a skeptic no more. There are four more just like this. For the faint of heart, I sincerely apologize.
So what's the grossest thing living in your basement? And do you think this is where the missing socks go?
I can't believe I live in that house.
Posted by: Kristen | November 11, 2009 at 11:33 AM
I can't believe you are going to eat those! That's disgusting.
Posted by: Jake | November 11, 2009 at 11:52 AM
Those yellow strips from Strosniders are the best! And I like the placement of the penny in the photo for scale.
Posted by: Lesli | November 11, 2009 at 12:39 PM
lsadflasjdfl i hate them! especially when they crawl out of airvents and appear under your feet while you're watching tv. gross. I don't think they exist in Spain, thank god.
Posted by: Emily | November 11, 2009 at 12:44 PM
I wish that I could tell you with a straight face that I put the penny there to give a frame of reference. In reality it was dropped many months ago and I have left it there for fear of bending over and having a cave cricket attach itself to my face.
Posted by: Joe | November 11, 2009 at 01:14 PM
What do they put in the trap that makes all the cave crickets risk their lives for a taste?
Posted by: Liz | November 11, 2009 at 05:35 PM
Human Scent
Posted by: Joe | November 11, 2009 at 05:49 PM
I am horrified. Never seen these before. Are they in Chicago? Please tell me no. We have spiders and some centipedes but thats it...I HOPE!
Posted by: David Thomas | November 11, 2009 at 10:51 PM
Joseph you neglected to mention their jumping ability. Patrick and I have never feared any creature more then the north jersey cave cricket.
Posted by: devon | November 12, 2009 at 08:59 PM
Oh man, and the jumping seems so aggressive. You swear they mean to come right at you. And by the way, Katie (still in Northern NJ) had one crawl up her pant leg last week. She didn't feel it until it was on her thigh.
Posted by: Joe | November 12, 2009 at 09:11 PM
I just HATE these things. They can jump unlike anything I have ever seen. Like Giant spiders that can jump stories in a single leap. My biggest fear has always been that they will jump right up at me and get tangled in my hair. My heart races at the near thought of it. I too was introduced to them as a teenager and couldn't believe that anything like that actually existed. I thought I discovered a new creature myself. And my parents put up the sticky traps and filled the traps in a matter of hours, and it never stopped. They just keep coming. They are all over NJ, but I have not seen any thus far in Boston. Maybe you should move up here? Is this picture to size? I swear they are much better in person, with really long legs (thick legs, not like the fragile daddy-long legs).
Posted by: Jill | November 13, 2009 at 04:59 PM
You may have brought them to DC from NJ. From what I hear, if you have them in your house at any time in your life, you will always have them in your house, no matter where you move.
Now I see the penny for sizing. Really really gross and disturbing!
Posted by: jill | November 13, 2009 at 05:02 PM
I subscribed to your blog when is the next post
Regards
Gimmi
Posted by: stock broker advice | November 18, 2009 at 11:16 PM