SAN ANTONIO — If this week's cricket craze has made one thing clear, it's that no one can avoid them—not even those that clean them up for a living.
Employees at Jan-Pro Cleaning Services have spent the better part of the last few days cleaning up their own businesses, all while responding to dozens of others dealing with this insect invasion.
"We're getting calls for (the) UTSA area, central San Antonio for sure, so we have gotten a few extra calls for some cleaning," said Amanda Gutierrez, the sales manager at Jan-Pro Cleaning Services.
Crickets have crashed San Antonio’s streets and sidewalks, leaving businesses dealing with a mess. Which is where Gutierrez's business steps in.
"That’s a special service, for sure," she said with a laugh. "I don’t think it's on a lot of our scopes for work, but we can manage."
The cleaning company has been responding non-stop to commercial businesses dealing with the bug boom. Crews sweep and vacuum up the critters, dead or alive.
"I would say its been three or four years since we've seen this," Gutierrez said.
But what is the solution?
An entomologist KENS 5 spoke to said pesticide is an option but then you'll be left with an even bigger problem.
"They'll start to die and pile up onto each other and start to smell," entomologist Molly Keck said.
"When you see them in these numbers, that smell is pretty significant."
"It is a very bad smell," Gutierrez agreed. "But that's when you'll need to give us a call. We are fully prepared. We're definitely taking care of cricket season as best as possible."
