Crickets

[BugBoy99]

Haha, join the club. I've kept millipedes, roaches, giant land snails, beetles, roaches, mealworms, fruit flies, birds, cats, dogs, hamsters, rats, rabbits, frogs(of course), fish and I can't remember what else... It's what we live for. Will post photos soon.

[BugBoy99]

Okay, here are my first photos. I had a yikes moment last night, when I found three crickets under the screen. SO, I tried something different. I cut the inside out of a margarine containers lid, placed the netting(from an old fishing net) over the container, and then placed the outside of the lid over the netting. It is working great!


Container for egg-laying

Female cricket exploring the container

I might modify it later.

JV

[fish4all]

The fiberglass window screen works great, I used it many times when I raised crickets.

As for feeding the little ones, I moved the eggs into a smaller container and fed them in a very small plate I turned upside down so the bottom rim held the food in place. I mostly used egg layer mash for all my crickets and had them breeding too fast to feed off to the mantids I had at the time. I fed them anything I could get as far as vegetables and fruit. For water, I used crystals in a shallow plastic can lid with window screen over the top. They would like water off the screen and the crystals with zero drownings.

I will see if I have any pictures from back then. It was a long time ago and I don't think i will be raising them again, the smell just got too bad with a big colony even cleaning it out once a week.

[BugBoy99]

Thank you fish4all. I think that, for now, I'm going to let the cricket breeding thing go. We basically live in mold paradise, and my egg substrate keeps getting covered in mold. I haven't managed to hatch one batch of eggs due to the mold.

[fish4all]

Don't give up, don't use a substrate! It isn't needed. And the stuff is called plastic canvas.

I live in a mold haven also. I raised crickets through 6 generations. I ever used a substrate and it worked great. Anytime I have ever tried a substrate with insects it always molds here unless it is the middle of summer and the few weeks it dries out completely around here.

[BugBoy99]

Okay, so what do you use if not a substrate? Where do the crickets lay their eggs?

[fish4all]

For egg laying I used straight sand, nothing added. And I boiled it to sterilize it. To prevent mold I also sterilized the screen, the container and the lid. Coconut coir fiber is also sterile. The key is to keep the mold out. Don't leave any wetness in the container from food or water. Use water crystals, they actually prevent mold. Use carrots, celery, and other moist but not wet food. No cucumbers, don't use really ripe or bruised apples, avoid excess wetness at all costs. Humidity is key, I know, but keeping the entire cage as dry as possible works. Change out egg crates monthly, weekly if needed.

For the eggs, use a sterile container with no substrate to put the egg container in. Make sure it stays humid but keep it dry from all excess moisture on the lid, bottom and anywhere else.

And my crickets liked to stash food, find it and get it out.

For the baby crickets, put a piece of plastic mesh on the bottom so they have some traction and can get to the food and water crystals easily. You can do this in the adult cage also if you find they are having trouble moving around on the bottom.

The humidity is an average 85% here and doesn't drop below for very many days a year. They call Washington state the Evergreen state for a reason. If it isn't a tree, grass or weeds, the moss and algae will make it green.