Quick question

[Pete Nice]

If zombies were in the area around your house, the crickets would stop chirping right? There is a lot of cricket activity in my neighborhood. Crickets stopping chirping is a long time sign that there is someone or something in the area that should not be there.

If the crickets around my house at night stop chirping, should I be more cautious?

I would think something as clumsy and smelly as a zombie would shut crickets up fast no?

[Hondo]

Nope. Much like the sound of "last call" it's a mating thing

Cricket chirping
The left forewing of the male has a thick rib (a modified vein) which bears 50 to 300 ridges. The chirp (which only male crickets can do) is generated by raising the left hind leg to a 45-degree angle and rubbing it against the edge of the right hind leg, which has a thick scraper (Berenbaum 1995). This sound producing action is called stridulation and the song is species-specific.

There are four types of cricket song: The calling song attracts females and repels other males, and is fairly loud. The courting song is used when a female cricket is near, and is a very quiet song. An aggressive song is triggered by chemoreceptors on the antennae that detect the near presence of another male cricket and a copulatory song is produced for a brief period after successful deposition of sperm on the female's eggs.[citation needed]

Crickets chirp at different rates depending on their species and the temperature of their environment. Most species chirp at higher rates the higher the temperature is (approximately 62 chirps a minute at 13°C in one common species; each species has its own rate). The relationship between temperature and the rate of chirping is known as Dolbear's Law. Using this law it is possible to calculate the temperature in Fahrenheit by adding 40 to the number of chirps produced in 15 seconds by the snowy tree cricket common in the United States.[1]

Crickets, like all other insects, are cold-blooded. They take on the temperature of their surroundings. Many characteristics of cold-blooded animals, like the rate at which crickets chirp, or the speed at which ants walk, follow an equation called the Arrhenius equation. This equation describes the activation energy or threshold energy required to induce a chemical reaction. For instance, crickets, like all other organisms, have many chemical reactions occurring within their bodies. As the temperature rises, it becomes easier to reach a certain activation or threshold energy, and chemical reactions, like those that occur during the muscle contractions used to produce chirping, happen more rapidly. As the temperature falls, the rate of chemical reactions inside the crickets' bodies slow down, causing characteristics, such as chirping, to also slow down.

Crickets have tympanic membranes located just below the middle joint of each front leg (or knee). This enables them to hear another cricket's song.

[Beckster]

Only if the zombie is trying to locate them. Only when I go to look for the little noise maker will it stop chirping. Now, if you could somehow train them..................

[negadave]

That's a pretty good idea. I've notice crickets shut up when you get close to them. I think it would depend on what time of year though. You normaly only hear crickets when it's warm out.

You'd be better off with a couple of dogs. We always tease my buddy who is a 6'2" 240lb cop, because he/his girl has a tiny little yappy dog about the size of a cat that he has to take on walks and take care of. He says the dogs only job is to alert him and wake him up if someone comes near the house. It's annoying little bark gets your attention really good.