How do I catch my own food?

[Moomash]

I understand that you can bulk buy crickets from many sites but I don't have a debit card to purchase anything online. So, PLEASE no references to websites or alternate ways to buy anything. This is specifically a thread about

HOW TO CATCH YOUR OWN CHAMELEON FOOD

So, lets stick to the staples: crickets, etc.

What's the best way to catch my own crickets overnight?

I remember when I was a kid I loved doing arts and crafts stuff out in my yard to catch all kinds of critters, and once I was taught if you dig a hole in your yard deep enough to hold a plastic cup completely and set 4 rocks high enough for an insect to crawl under around the cups and finally set something like bark or a larger rock on top of the smaller rocks to act as a shallow roof that if left overnight you'll find a few random insects at the bottom of your cup!

Is there anything like this I could use to catch chameleon food?
I wonder if I use my cricket food as bait, I'll end up with a few crickets in my cup with that strategy!

Any other insect catching strategies would be greatly appreciated!

 

[Chamamature]

petstores have fresh feeders

 

[pssh]

Go to a store and see if they have pre-paid visa cards. Buy one and use it to buy stuff online.

 

[KatiLemons]

Generally people don't rely on outside bugs as a main source. Petstore crickets are usually gutloaded and also should be recieving the right gutload in your care aswell.

 

[steve0o09]

yea, im new but id say theres no way you could catch enough insects to keep up with the feedings of your chameleon

 

[Moomash]

Generally people don't rely on outside bugs as a main source. Petstore crickets are usually gutloaded and also should be recieving the right gutload in your care aswell.

I have my own gutload to feed crickets. I just want to know of some ways to catch bugs outside.

 

[fluxlizard]

When I only had a few lizards, I would often take my net and go sweep through a field for grasshoppers this time of year. Doesn't take very long, and many dollar stores nowadays have butterfly nets.
If you know where black field crickets are, you can lay out some cardboard on the ground and come back in a few days and flip the cardboard to find them underneath.
You can make a termite tube and collect termites- it's just a 4" or 6" pvc filled with damp cardboard with holes drilled in it for termites to go in and out of, about 18 or 24" long. You can bury it vertically, then cap the top for access- bury near a termite colony in the woods, return in a week or two and uncap and slide the cardboard out- it will be full of termites.
You can get a black light and a sheet or bucket and catch bugs at night that way. You can do similar with a porch light left on and the butterfly net.

But what are you going to do when winter comes?
Save some money, go buy a prepaid credit card like someone else already suggested, and buy roaches you can breed yourself, and maybe mealworms you can also easily breed yourself, and then start learning how to breed other feeders...