Raising Brown House Crickets
Overview of Cricket Care
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Water and feed as needed
Restart the Cricket Hatching Bin (CHB)
3. Every 3rd CHB change (estimated)
Replace the egg laden Egg Laying Box (ELB) in the breeders with a new ELB.
Move the egg laden (ELB) to the hatching bin.
Replace old-maid breeders with fresh breeders.
5. Moving crickets being raised into clean bins-
Timing highly variable. Generally after 2 week from the start of a bin, then about 10 days later and at harvest.
Below is how to accomplish each step and some variables. This is an edited version, leaving out many variables. Important, deeper details can be found on the web page. Click on this link.
1. Daily- Not many variables here. Most days this takes 5 minutes or less.
Food wise- Crickets under 2 weeks old are fed straight Flake Fish Food. Older crickets get moistened dry cat food. See the web page for detail on what kind and how to feed.
Water wise, for under 14 days old, use an inverted 16 dram pill bottle setup. Older use an inverted 12 ounce soda bottle setup. The soda bottle setup can be used sooner to extend water refill times, but there are caveats to this.
Using dry foods, crickets are almost impossible to over feed. The aim to give enough for at least 24 hours. If feeding cannot occur the next day, double the food. Crickets can go a day without food and water but this will slow growth and increase cannibalism.
2. Restarting the Hatching Bin (CHB) every 3 days, approx. This takes about 5 minutes.
To restart the hatching bin, place the prepared new bin next to the existing bin. Set a scale in the new bin, zero the scale. Move an ELB from the old bin to atop the scale. Add water to make the substrate most but not overly soggy to achieve a certain weight. Repeat with all the ELBs, add food to the bottom of the bin, fill the water vial, and date the bin using a dry erase marker
Transfer the pinheads into a new prepared rearing bin. To do so, remove the old water supply and bottom paper from the bin with pinheads. Tilt the bin onto a bottom corner, gently rap the corner onto a firm surface. Dump the pinheads and remaining food into the new bin (not onto the water supply). Use a chip brush to gently move any remaining pinheads that remain. Date the new bin with the current date and a second date indicting one month later.
3. Restarting the ELB --Before pinheads start to hatch-
To restart the Egg Laying Box (ELB)- If not already completed, move the old egg laden ELB into a fresh CHB while doing a step 2 (don’t forget water). Prep a new ELB with medium and screen. Add water to achieve a very moist, almost soggy environment. Inset a dated ID tag into the ELB and set it in the breeding container. The tag is aids in determining future events. This restart should coincide with a cycle in step 2.
4 Preliminary. Choosing the next batch of breeders (see web page for details).
Capture sub-adult, active, perfect crickets, catching several more than you will need for the next batch of breeders. Dust with powdered Sulphur and process them to their new bin. Allow the potential breeders to mature over the next week or so.
4. Restarting the breeding container.
When ready to restart the breeder container, select the crickets that are to be breeders from those in the previous step and move them into a new, prepared breeding container. Keep everything as isolated and sanitized as is reasonable to reduce a mite infestation. Date the new container, list the number of males and females for future reference.
5. Moving smaller crickets from a soiled container to a clean one.
The first move is done at approximately 14 days of growth and is very easy. Prep the new bin. Add an inverted plastic lid from a large coffee or peanut can. In the old bin, remove everything except for the crickets and frass. Move the shelters into the new bin. Dump everything SLOWLY onto the inverted lid set in the new bin. Let most move out on their own into the new bin and dump the remaining frass and skins directly onto the lid to be removed later. Add food and water the new bin. Set the new bin onto a heated base. After a few days remove the lid with frass and use it in your garden.
5a. For mid-size crickets or ones being harvested.
Remove everything except the crickets and frass and skins. Move the crickets to a temporary bin separating them from their frass. Click here instructions on how. Once done, dump the crickets into a prepared bin if more growth is wanted, or weigh to get a count, then dump into a transportation bin.
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