They are a thing of nightmares... what looks like a 3-5 inch spider that hops with terrifying power and impulisivity, when you least expect it and directly at you. They seem to favor soft targets such as hair, eyes, mouth and inviting clothing folds.

Totally harmless except that they look EXACTLY like the creatures from the Alien movies with Sigourney Weaver and Starship Troopers. They don't bite, don't seem to eat human food and are generally scarce except at a few times of year (especially during dry periods).

Control with diatomaceous earth if they're a plague, which can happen.

Here is a link that might be useful: More info

Camel back or hump back cricket. They like dark, damp places like crawl spaces and garages where they will over-winter. Multiply like crazy and leave blackish sticky speck droppings/spittle all over the place. Definately do not want to have these. Exterminator will get rid of them.

We have them in our basement- the cats have a field day with them. They are harmless- I personally would rather have them than pesticides/poisons in my house.
You need to borrow a neighbor's cat- he'll take care of them in a flash!

yikes, i soooo hate these things. they do jump AT you too, really daunting if you are like me and don't like spiders, as they do look like them. Our house sat empty for two years before we bought it, and these things had moved in...almost moved when i saw the first one...LOL.

they got ran out of the house, but still like the detached garage. after almost nine years here, I've finally gotten to where I can go out there and not jump when I see them. My neighbors however were not happy that we ran them out of the house...LOL, they started heading back to their homes, they thought they had gotten rid of them.

yes, ugly little critters aren't they? It is however, funny to watch when the cats spy one that sneaks in. they do make short work of them, however, they don't clean up after they get done playing. yuck.

mine don't look quite like that picture, much more hairy. more spider than cricket looking.

sally

Yeah those bugs multiply like crazy in crawls spaces. They are especially bad since their feces emits alergens.

I saw something that looked like a spider but hopped like a cricket in my basement one day last week. Like ssfkat3 said, mine also looked more spidery than cricket looking. From what I remember, it looked like it had LOTS more legs. It was a light brown color. I yelled upstairs to my husband to ask him if he had any bug spray. Not waiting for an answer, I went over to my laundry area and got the Magic Sizing (spray starch) and sprayed him LOL. He hopped off somewhere behind our wood stove. If that stuff didn't stop him in his tracks, I don't know what would.

I'm new to VA, so its good to know what these things are. I see them all over our ground, and they are a nuisance. I moved here from FL. Now, there we have some scary looking insects. There's a species of grass hopper that is as long as your middle finger and wider, and pretty intimidating. There are roaches the size of small cars, but then there are plenty of snakes to eat them. Ah, every place has its charms.

were are they from iv never ever herd of them they really scare me but im really scared of alot of bugs so i want to know !!!!!!!!!!

Yes I have seen these insects my whole life. I agree with one of the above posters I too would rather have these than pesticides in my home. Indeed they like to jump at you. Another courious behavior I have noted: They are populated in my bathroom (they appear to come through the pipes) and sometimes I leave the door open, my dogs tend to saunter in and when they do spot a Spider Cricket they try to get it. The cricket then hops towards me, Than assumes position between my feet appearing to feel safe there. Pretty intersting. I also allow actual spiders to live in my home as long as they stay on the walls and in corners. When I see them walking abouty living room I gently scoop them up and place them outside. Dangerous or not all living creatures deserve life.