Crickets are disgusting, vile creatures.

I'm trying to start a colony also so I have the giant ones and I thought I was ok with dubias when they were just little, they were kinda cute cuz they reminded me of rolly pollys but the big ones oh God even talking about it just made me shiver. Heeby geebies for sure.
I still can not stand the giant dubia. Although the worst thing for my gag reflex has been the Blue bottle spikes. They are straight up maggots. So nasty.
 
Thanks for the warning, I'll steer clear of those :LOL:
They go into larvae stage pretty quickly though and you store them in the fridge. Beman finally figured out that the fly was food not friend and has really enjoyed hunting them.
 
They go into larvae stage pretty quickly though and you store them in the fridge. Beman finally figured out that the fly was food not friend and has really enjoyed hunting them.
Do you recommend those for flying feeders? I know Pesto loves to hunt the flies, but my BSFL have been taking FOREVER. I've had them for a month now and still no hatch. Granted, I'm sure I'm doing something wrong :LOL:
 
Do you recommend those for flying feeders? I know Pesto loves to hunt the flies, but my BSFL have been taking FOREVER. I've had them for a month now and still no hatch. Granted, I'm sure I'm doing something wrong :LOL:
Are your BSFL in the fridge or someplace warm? I do the gum container method with both the BSFL and the spikes. Once they are at the larvae stage I toss them in the gum container. The blue bottle flies are a little more active then the BSF. So I like having both. They end up hatching out at all different times. I have yet to have them all hatch at the same time but I am also putting 5-10 in then waiting a week before adding more.
 
Are your BSFL in the fridge or someplace warm? I do the gum container method with both the BSFL and the spikes. Once they are at the larvae stage I toss them in the gum container. The blue bottle flies are a little more active then the BSF. So I like having both. They end up hatching out at all different times. I have yet to have them all hatch at the same time but I am also putting 5-10 in then waiting a week before adding more.
So I put the bsfl that have become dark and dont move into the gum container, the others are just hanging out in their little container that they came in next to his enclosure.
 
So I put the bsfl that have become dark and dont move into the gum container, the others are just hanging out in their little container that they came in next to his enclosure.
Yep.... So the ones in the original container are still moving around right? I am surprised that after a month you are not getting them hatching out in there too. It is taking my BSFL about 2 weeks I am actually going to raise the gum container closer to the top of the enclosure though so it stays warmer.
 
Yep.... So the ones in the original container are still moving around right? I am surprised that after a month you are not getting them hatching out in there too. It is taking my BSFL about 2 weeks I am actually going to raise the gum container closer to the top of the enclosure though so it stays warmer.
Yeah, they are still wriggling around in there. I did notice that once I put the dark ones in the container, without the super wiggly ones next to them I noticed slight wiggling still. But its been about 2 weeks since absolute stillness so maybe they will start hatching soon?? I'll keep you updated! I know Pesto would love them so i hope the hatch soon to get the brat eating
 
Never thought I would be envious of people that have roaches, Lucky! lol. I'm stuck with crickets for now, but I found a place in Canada that ships BSFL! I know he's a picky eater right now, but I'm hoping If I give him a variety he becomes more "cultured", lol.
 
Never thought I would be envious of people that have roaches, Lucky! lol. I'm stuck with crickets for now, but I found a place in Canada that ships BSFL! I know he's a picky eater right now, but I'm hoping If I give him a variety he becomes more "cultured", lol.
Your funny! Beman was not sure of the BSFL at first but once he finally tried them now he is all about them. He loves the flies too.
 
Your funny! Beman was not sure of the BSFL at first but once he finally tried them now he is all about them. He loves the flies too.
Nice, I can't wait till I can offer him more variety. I just imagine eating meatloaf every night... no steak & potatoes?? lol
 
Never thought I would be envious of people that have roaches, Lucky! lol. I'm stuck with crickets for now, but I found a place in Canada that ships BSFL! I know he's a picky eater right now, but I'm hoping If I give him a variety he becomes more "cultured", lol.
So far Pesto will only eat dubias if it's from tongs. I dont think he notices them in the cup. My mom swears that he took some from the cup when she was watching him but I dont believe her :LOL: other than that he is still stuck on crickets. Wont even look at the bsfl
 
So far Pesto will only eat dubias if it's from tongs. I dont think he notices them in the cup. My mom swears that he took some from the cup when she was watching him but I dont believe her :LOL: other than that he is still stuck on crickets. Wont even look at the bsfl
Try hand feeding the BSFL. This is how Beman discovered they were good.
 
So far Pesto will only eat dubias if it's from tongs. I dont think he notices them in the cup. My mom swears that he took some from the cup when she was watching him but I dont believe her :LOL: other than that he is still stuck on crickets. Wont even look at the bsfl
Lol, sure mum, I'll believe it when I see it, eh. Ya I can totally get how people compare them to a 4 year old, lol.. but I want french fries.
 
I'm slowly trying hand feeding with Cletus, he lets me get close and stand there till my arm falls asleep, got him to do it once so far. He drinks water in front of me tho, so slow progress I guess. He literally will wait for me to give up and just put a bunch in his cup.
cricket-cham-500.jpg

This is where my food goes, lol
 
My husband added a very thin layer of coco earth to the bottom of our cricket bins and it has cut down on the funk considerably... he swears they are "happier." The only smell is when one or more are dead somewhere for a bit (we have banded crickets)... but man all it takes is ONE to stink the place up! So between the thin layer of soil, being selective about what we feed them (nothing very wet or more than they'll eat in a day), and then adding CUC beetles, we are in pretty good shape. I bought 100 buffalo beetles and spread them between 4 enclosures, and also added a few super worm and dermestid beetles. Too soon to tell how much they are helping but I don't notice as many dead cricket parts or rotting smells from the bin.
 
I just finished cleaning my cricket and dubia bins and I feel like I have creepy crawlies all over me. They are both gross but the crickets are just the worst. Are there any CUC that I can put in with them that will make it even a little less gross??? I'll literally do anything, please help me bug people!

Dermestid beetles usually come with the dubias. They breed prolifically and you end up with micro sized little meal worms the worm their way through the frass. I clean my dubia bin once every month or so, since the babies actually use the frass as a natural hide from adults who sometimes like to use them as snacks. My bin never stinks and never gets gross. Crickets on the other hand... yeah I had like 60 left after a mass die off, i drowned them and dumped them, never again.
 
Dermestid beetles usually come with the dubias. They breed prolifically and you end up with micro sized little meal worms the worm their way through the frass. I clean my dubia bin once every month or so, since the babies actually use the frass as a natural hide from adults who sometimes like to use them as snacks. My bin never stinks and never gets gross. Crickets on the other hand... yeah I had like 60 left after a mass die off, i drowned them and dumped them, never again.
Yeah when I was cleaning the dubia bin I noticed a bunch of little worms. They are all gone now, oh well :LOL:
 
Here in Western WA we don't even have crickets in the wild! Some occasional grasshoppers but no locust swarms or cicadas either. So yeah, the nights around here are pretty quiet.
 
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