How to Save a Cricket

Photo by Alex Suprun on Unsplash

This may never happen to you. But, on the other hand, it must have happened to me for a reason — so I’m passing it on.

Crickets are friendly. They eat other little things that may not be so friendly. If one or two get into your home, you may sometimes be annoyed by the chirping; but usually you don’t even know they’re there.

Yesterday I saw a cricket in the bottom of my bathroom wastebasket. The sides of the basket were slick, and the cricket was obviously unable to get out. I’ve been around for a while, so instead of trying to pick the bug up with my fingers, I turned the basket over onto its side. When I came back later, the cricket was gone.

Today, there was another cricket in the wastebasket! At first I wondered if it was the same one; could it possibly think that going in there was a good idea? But I soon saw that this was not the case, when I looked up and noticed the ceiling fan situated directly above the aforementioned receptacle. The little guys must have fallen from there.

After turning the basket over again and letting this one join its relative, I moved the wastebasket to a different spot on the floor. If a different spot hadn’t been available, I would have fashioned a cover, or bought a new can that had a cover.

This is a new apartment building, and the exterminators were in here recently. I am not going to call ICE on a cricket. Besides, anyone who has ever owned a home in a warm summer climate knows that certain little guests are unavoidable. As long as things are kept reasonable, “Live and Let Live” is the best policy to follow. Otherwise, you will drive yourself crazy.

In case this is read by someone who kills bugs indiscriminately, no matter what kind they are — some of us believe in things called karma and ahimsa. I have had cause, in the past, to be grateful when a Power larger than myself has saved my ass from death.