House cricket

Field cricket

What’s the difference between house crickets vs. field crickets? There are a few. Though they’re each in the same family (Gryllidae), the house cricket is in the genus Acheta (Acheta domestica), while the field cricket(s) belongs to the group Gryllus. Probably the most common species of field cricket is Gryllus pensylvanicus which literally can be found all over North America (also Canada, most of the US and even into northern Mexico). They are dark brown to black in color and a pretty robust insect, often reaching an inch in length. The chirping song of the male is a very familiar sound in late summer.

Field crickets eat a variety of different plant species (mostly weed) and will also occasionally feed on insects. I have a rock pile in a section of my yard (a future wall if I ever build it!) which gets weedy toward the end of summer and I see lots of them living there (I’m sure they appreciate my unassembled wall). Field crickets are an ‘occasional invader’ and rarely cause any problems for me as a homeowner, but after invading a structure they’ve been known to cause chewing damage to different fabrics.

House crickets are the ones reared commercially as food for exotic pets and for human consumption in many Asian countries (I’ll stick to a nice steak for my protein, thanks). They can be found in the same types of locations as the field cricket, though I’ve never really observed this. Slightly smaller and lighter brown in color, this species does very well living inside buildings. In fact, one of my earliest memories dealing with this species as a pest was in one of the dining halls at my alma mater UNH. House crickets were almost mimicking a cockroach infestation in the way they were the infesting floor drains, and some of the kitchen equipment. As always, a regular semi-annual service program can eliminate problems you may be having with either species. Contact our office for details.

House cricket: Aiwok (Own work) [GFDL or CC BY-SA 3.0], via Wikimedia Commons
Field cricket: Jeffrey Reed [CC BY-SA 3.0], via Wikimedia Commons