Frequently Asked Questions About Insects - Department of Entomology at Texas A&M University

Frequently Asked Questions

Topic:	Crickets
Question:	I am the plant manager of a plastics company in Texas. We receive many complaints from our customers that our cellophane-wrapped packages of our foam products are often infested with crickets and other insects. Some customers do not want to handle such packages, so they return them to us for credit. This situation costs us thousands of dollars per year in lost productivity.
Answer:	Insects trapped in wrapping materials can be an occasional problem in businesses. There are three key things to do to help eliminate the problem: (1) adjust the lighting and seal up the building or packing area. Insects are attracted to lights, especially ultraviolet and bluish lights. (2)Change the lights to yellow to reduce the attraction to insects. You may want to move the lights away from the building and even repaint the building a dull or none reflective color. Sealing up the building can be difficult, but is probably the most helpful. (3) Use weather stripping on the doors and caulking around the windows and corners of the structures.
Related Link:	http://citybugs.tamu.edu/FastSheets/Ent-1008.html
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Response by:	John A. Jackman, Ph.D.
Title:	Professor and Extension Specialist
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