Indoor cricket in Bulgaria
For those who think that cricket is not popular in Bulgaria, this is not the case. Many have been perplexed as to why this year in particular many Bulgarian households have been left in awe by the invasion of this cricket. Expats and tourists in the Bulgarian countryside have been hit by six and some have been caught or even made it a nasty situation.
The cricket ground is to blame as the hard cracked surface without any sign of vegetation has given rise to a very offensive formation all closed in defense of guard batsmen. It has really become Bulgarian home cricket.
Let me make this more clear…
Many areas of Bulgaria and certainly rural houses in south east Bulgaria have been infested with black field crickets.
Many people, including Bulgarians, have spoken deeply about the problem and many are forced to spend (a rare occurrence in villages) on poison to control the number of people invading their homes. Literally buckets full of these creatures find their way into homes and buildings, making it a nightmare for those fearful of these relatively harmless insects.
This started in early July and has been caused by the very poor season for sunflowers, sweet corn and many other crops that should have been in their prime right now. The poor aptly named field crickets are now without their normal food source such as seeds, plants or other smaller insects. They have been known to feed on grasshopper eggs, moth pupae, butterflies and flies, and even steal food from webbed spiders. This is conclusive evidence that crickets have a positive effect on the field of action.
Therefore, the lack of natural diets leads the Bulgarian field cricket community to find other sources of food and inevitably, houses and buildings are a rich alternative source for them, where so many other foods and insects hang out. .
If you can imagine the areas of agricultural land that surround the small towns, especially in the southeast of a region of Bulgaria. Southeastern Bulgaria has the lowest population density compared to other regions, as well as being the most industrial in agricultural activities. These facts are a double whammy with the cricket problem creating an unprecedented situation where literally swarms of Bulgarian field crickets now have no choice but to seek other food sources to survive.
Where does this leave the country dweller? Well, the vast majority of these invaded homes are simply swept up every few hours, cats, chickens, other wild birds and mice love them for food, so the outbuildings take care of themselves. The biggest problem is actually in the living room where of course cattle and pets or otherwise are not allowed in Bulgaria. This is a human problem and as far as the Bulgarian inhabitant is concerned it is just another chore to be done as part of the daily routine. This has happened before in bad seasons and is accepted as an integral part of country life.
As for Bulgarian foreigners who want the Bulgarian life, well, they are having the real life of the Bulgarian countryside for real. The pretty little image through rose-colored glasses suddenly disappears with this setting, but this is nature, and at some point, nature throws things at us that we’re uncomfortable with. It would be the same in your own homeland, where country life may not be able to be afforded, but the same clash of natural circumstances may well prevail on occasion.
Ways of entering a home include open doors, gaps in ill-fitting doors and windows, and cracks in windows and window frames, through the foundation or siding. Other points of entry include attics and improperly installed light fixtures, fireplace vents, and crown molding. The typical Bulgarian house has many hotspots in the nature of its Bulgarian construction, so give away your homes to these encroaching field crickets now making their way into the fold.
It has to be said that well renovated houses built to Western European standards have much less of a problem and the only real prevention to do is to keep the doors and windows closed. This isn’t really any difficulty, as fly screens are part of that renovation and most fixtures should be relatively airtight against straight walls and ceiling built with plumb lines in place. What these crickets have done is become a barometer of how well your home has been renovated!
Of course, other prevention measures can be implemented. The only really effective one that places insecticide powder around the perimeter of the house and simply sweeps up the debris every morning scattered around. Inside the house I don’t like to use poison, so on the occasion that I see one, I use a refillable hand float and feed the contents to the chickens in the morning.
Fortunately this is a limited overs game and the cricket season basically ends with the first cold night, numbers will dwindle before this and eventually all will die with the first frost. Next year is another season where hopefully the popularity of cricket in Bulgarian households will remain strong on Sky Sport TV. Mind you, some prefer the Bulgarian bug type to the actual game!