Clearing chain store bought crickets of parasites- studies

[Franquixote]

Extrapolating from data about grass finished beef, I'm wondering if gut loading "iffy" sourced crickets (chain stores) may be beneficial in decreasing or eliminating the parasites they ay contain.
When cows are finished on grass, they "shed" a huge portion of the e-coli that arises from CFO ("caged feeding operation" which is overcrowded conditions basically) in a short time- a few days or weeks at most.

Does anyone have any information on whether the same might hold for crickets? Feeding them until a molt or for a few weeks will certainly increase their nutritional profile, but can we rid them of potential pathogens?

This time of year many of us rely on chain store crickets at least a little bit and there doesn't seem to be any information out there on whether or not various pathogens can be reduced by proper husbandry.

Seems like a good topic for any grads looking for a doctoral thesis : )

I don't have any info yet on the life cycle of cricket parasites but have a good text on the subject and may just start experimenting myself- I have scopes and some basic training to do so.

Of course, it'd be a enormous help if someone can comment on this!

 

[kinyonga]

I wonder if garlic and other natural ingredients would help eliminate parasites?

 

[Andee]

Ecoli is not as much of a problem for parasite laden crickets, since e coli is considered a parasite but a either a non-harmful/beneficial bacteria or a dangerous bacteria. It's mostly parasitic prozoan and worms that are an issue for inverts. And even if mammals get those you either have to feed a large amount of some very specific plants (garlic is not one of them I can look some up if you want since my tortoise will self medicate with them if I present them with him and he has tummy issues often caused by parasites (because of this I have never needed to worm him)), and because mammal guts are so completely more complex and take longer to pass things and are just generally different than insects, I wouldn't be surprised if the greens did nothing.

 

[kinyonga]

This was interesting...I wonder if it would work for other insects?...
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120216133428.htm

 

[Franquixote]

Really interesting- Andee is right that protozoans and worms may be hard to kill with healthy diet- and in fact may thrive- but what about keeping the crickets long enough that these other parasites are shed? Don't they eventually need to move on in order to reproduce? And if their "end stage is the insect, then why do they want/need to get into reptiles? It doesn't add up. Either they want to get into the reptiles and will eventually be all pooped out of the crickets, or they want to spread amongst the crickets and shouldn't present a big problem to reptiles. Are there organisms that parasitize both without requiring intermediaries?

 

[Goose502]

As far as I know, the big chain stores are buying crickets and other insects from large insect breeding operations. I’ve seen both rainbow mealworms, and timberline crickets sold. These are gigantic breeders, held to fairly strict standards. Much like meat processors, these standards include selling healthy, parasite free insects. Now they are nutritionally weak, this is due to cheap feeds, thus the need for us to properly gut load. I would believe most parasites are entering these insects at the finale stage of processing (buyers house). Most people aren’t properly sterilizing their cricket enclosures between groups of feeders. I’ve noticed that most on this forum are properly maintaining feeders with good gut loading, and are feeding them to very healthy/strong animals. This is the best defense against parasites.

 

[Andee]

As far as I know, the big chain stores are buying crickets and other insects from large insect breeding operations. I’ve seen both rainbow mealworms, and timberline crickets sold. These are gigantic breeders, held to fairly strict standards. Much like meat processors, these standards include selling healthy, parasite free insects. Now they are nutritionally weak, this is due to cheap feeds, thus the need for us to properly gut load. I would believe most parasites are entering these insects at the finale stage of processing (buyers house). Most people aren’t properly sterilizing their cricket enclosures between groups of feeders. I’ve noticed that most on this forum are properly maintaining feeders with good gut loading, and are feeding them to very healthy/strong animals. This is the best defense against parasites.

Most crickets actually get parasites while at chain stores. I have worked for them. And I was the only one to ever clean the cricket bin, on my days off when I came back their was fly larvae in their water crystals and dead crickets everywhere. It smelled like sewage and made me gag.

Really interesting- Andee is right that protozoans and worms may be hard to kill with healthy diet- and in fact may thrive- but what about keeping the crickets long enough that these other parasites are shed? Don't they eventually need to move on in order to reproduce? And if their "end stage is the insect, then why do they want/need to get into reptiles? It doesn't add up. Either they want to get into the reptiles and will eventually be all pooped out of the crickets, or they want to spread amongst the crickets and shouldn't present a big problem to reptiles. Are there organisms that parasitize both without requiring intermediaries?

Certain parasites need specific hosts, or need specific hosts at certain times of their lives. Stuff like pin worms, round worms, more of the usual intestinal parasites, and the more common but nasty protazoan are very adaptable and can live in any and anywhere. Including us. It's why they are such an issue and such. They usually aren't an issue for a healthy animal since they can easily stop it from being a parasite too heavy to fight well. But when feeding tons of feeders laden with it, they will eventually get overwhelmed. AND it only takes just enough regular stress or a small illness for those parasites to bloom.

 

[JacksJill]

It is possible to breed your own crickets and theoretically reduce the amount of parasites the hatchlings are exposed to by keeping them in a clean environment. This is probably not the quick fix you are looking for. It might work for you over next winter.
I place trays of clean organic soil sand mix like you would use for an egg laying bin with a bit of screen sealed across it to keep the adults from eating the eggs in my adult cricket enclosure and keep it damp and warm. After a couple of weeks I give the tray its own clean warm container to hatch out the eggs. This way there is minimal exposure to the adults parasites.

 

[Andee]

JacksJill that's what I would suggest doing. All inverts carry some sort of parasites at some point. And crickets are probably some of the worst just because... of how much they die and their desire to cannabalize each other. But if you raise them and take good care of them, their parasite load will be miniscule.

 

[JacksJill]

If they are raised clean enough and don't have the opportunity or need to eat poo I would think that would reduce their parasite burden. I'm assuming that their parasitism has a fecal oral route and is not passed directly to the eggs at the time they are laid. Again some scientific evidence would be handy to have.