Cricket Deterrents Lab Experiment Science Project
Cricket deterrents lab experiment, science project
Insects have been a nuisance to man since the beginning of time, up until the present. One
of the plagues that struck Egypt was swarms of crickets, and locusts, which destroyed crops, and
ate entire fields. Swarms of Crickets can cover up to 210 km. There have been cases of up to
100,000,000,000 insects in a swarm (one hundred billion). In these huge masses, they can
completely destroy the land and everything on a farm. I chose to do this experiment because when
I am at camp I am constantly woken up by the loud chirping of these annoying insects.
There are three types of crickets: Mole Crickets, Field Crickets, and House Crickets. The
Mole Cricket’s body is designed for digging subterranean tunnels. This Cricket’s body is well
adapted to digging. The Mole Cricket usually lives in hot dry areas, and are extremely harmful to
plants such as barley, and flax
The Field Cricket has had a history in ancient China. This cricket’s beautiful song was
held in particularly high esteem. These crickets were often kept in exquisitely ornamented cages
made of sandalwood, ivory or jade.
The Most common cricket is the house cricket. The house cricket’s body is more slender
than that of the field cricket. It is also generally lighter in color. This crickets appears in
abundance in central Europe, such as cellars, houses, bakeries, and so on.
Procedure
Problem: How do I make a cricket deterrent that is environmentally friendly?
Hypothesis: If I use a deterrent that has a strong odor, then it will deter the crickets
from that area.
I started my experiment by first buying 60 crickets. The crickets were stored in bags until
they were ready to be used. I purchased a clear plastic box with holes in the top for breathing. I
made a divider out of cardboard and secured it in the center of the box, making four equal sections.
One section was the control, and in the others I put a deterrent.
Two tests were made that were thrown out because they were irrelevant. In the first case,
the crickets were not deterred at all by any of the substances. The test was done outside, and the
crickets seemed to simply move their position depending on the location...