Many insect antennae, including those of house crickets (Acheta domesticus), are filiform. These mechanosensory structures are used for tactile sensing in addition to other sensing functions; as such they readily bend in response to physical contact with objects in their environment. We analyzed the recovery of antennae passively deflecting around a fixed obstacle at four distances along the flagellum. Measurements were made on live restrained crickets, with the joints associated with the first two segments (the scape and the pedicel) held rigid with epoxy to ensure the deflections were passive (there are no muscles in the flagellum). The antennae returned quickly to their initial positions after being perturbed in either ventral or dorsal directions. After 0.1 seconds an antenna was within 30% return of its original position (2.8 mm from its original position after an average deflection of 9.6 mm, n = 156). There was no significant difference in return speed between ventral and dorsal perturbations. The maximum speed of an antenna was dependent on the distance of the obstacle along the flagellum, with the speeds differing with sex of the cricket for some distances. An antenna’s quick recoil allows for it to quickly reposition for new tactile input.