Hey all - I'm looking for some advice on crickets. Recently I've noticed that there are quite a number of small crickets in my front lawn. I've examined them and I don't think they are mole crickets. I just think they are common crickets, but there are alot of them.

The reason I ask is that about 3 weeks ago I noticed a few small brown patches of grass, which at the time I attributed to the scorching weather we had in the DC area so far this summer. We've recently got a good bit of rain and the patches haven't seemed to get any worse since I initially noticed them.

Could these crickets be causing the lawn damage, or if not will they cause damage in the future? They appear to be throughout the lawn rather than concentrated in one area. Has anyone else dealt with something similar? I hate to use insecticide if its not necessary, but I can't have Jimeny and his buddies eating my grass. Any thoughts?