cricket breeding

Raising crickets can be fun and easy. Many people have been buying crickets at pet stores for years. The money spent could easily add up to hundreds of dollars in a year. Breeding crickets is not that difficult with a few simple rules and methods. In this article I will briefly explain how to raise crickets at home.

First you will need a container for the breeding colony. I like to use large plastic storage containers. Rubbermaid’s work great and are less than $10 at most retail stores. You will need to poke a few holes in the lid for it to flow. I make about 20 holes with a soldering iron. A drill bit works well too.

Now, a very critical area is temperature. Crickets should be kept between 75 and 80 degrees. They will live at lower temperatures but their reproduction will slow down and even stop. I keep my colognes in my guest bedroom closet. If you can’t keep them in the house because of their noise or a frightened family member, you can keep them in the garage. But you will need to provide a source of heat in the winter. What I have done in the past is place a medical heating pad under the container. Another thing you can try is to poke a hole in the lid and put a light bulb through the lid. the light will provide enough heat for your crickets.

Now seek refuge inside the container. The best to use are egg cartons. They provide a ton of hiding places and increase your floor space. You can also use toilet paper rolls or paper towels. However, these can roll and kill some crickets.

Feeding your crickets the right diet is crucial. Mating and egg laying will exhaust your female crickets if they don’t have a high protein diet. I feed my crickets cheap dog or cat food. I also feed my crickets vegetables once a week. You will need to be very careful that the vegetables you provide are free of pesticides. I have found that growing my own is the easiest way to do it. I grow mustard and kale in my flower beds and feed them to my crickets. I provide water in a shallow jar lid with gravel in the bottom. This prevents the smaller crickets from drowning.

Now all you have to do is provide a place for the females to lay their eggs. Place a small sandwich storage container filled with moist vermiculite in the bottom of your container. Your females will start digging and laying eggs immediately. You can now remove the container and place it in another container until the baby crickets hatch or you can leave it with the large crickets.

That’s all it takes to raise your own crickets at home. Do not hesitate to consult our site for more details on the breeding of crickets.