How to Raise Crickets

Housing

Crickets can be housed in any type of container that prevents the crickets for escaping, maintains adequate ventilation, but minimizes drafts. The easiest and least expensive way to create an enclosure that meets all the requirements is to take a large (18gal. or larger) Rubbermaid, Sterilite, or similar storage container and cut 3in. x 8in. (exact size is not important as long as it provides ample ventilation while still keeping out drafts) strips out of both ends. After the strips have been cut out, use a hot-glue-gun to cover the newly cut openings with metal, screen wire.

Once the enclosure has been built, the next step is to provide the right items for the crickets to flourish. The crickets will need a place to hide, so in order to provide this and to increase floor space, take cardboard egg flats and glue them together. It is best to place the glued egg flats vertically so that dead crickets fall to the bottom of the enclosure and can be easily disposed of, rather than falling to the egg flat below. Next, take a shallow dish and fill it with fish flakes, chicken mash, or dry cat food for the crickets to eat. Finally, provide a way for the crickets to obtain moisture. This can be accomplished in a variety of ways. Options include providing fresh vegetables and removing them when they become stale or mold, providing water crystals, or providing a chick or reptile water dispenser with cotton in the bottom rim where the water is dispensed, to prevent the crickets from drowning and spoiling the water. The cotton balls will need to be replaced periodically.

Breeding

Crickets will breed readily if they are adults and the conditions are right. There are two main factors that determine whether the crickets will breed, temperature and ventilation. The best temperature for breeding is 78-90°F or 26-32°C.

In order to determine the gender of a cricket, look for an ovipositor at the base of the abdomen. Ovipositors are only present in females, since they are used to deposit the eggs below the surface of the soil. Females will lay approximately 100 eggs during their lifetime. Another distinguishing difference between crickets is the ability of the males to make a chirping sound by rubbing their hind legs together. Only males can do this and it is used to attract females.

Female Cricket (Left) | Male Cricket (Right)

Once the crickets have successfully mated and the female is ready to lay her eggs, she will search the enclosure for a suitable place to lay them. The best way to provide a suitable place for the eggs to be deposited is to take a plastic food storage container that is approximately 2in.x 4in.x 4in. (H x L x W), fill it with moist potting soil, and provide an object for the females to access it. Place the egg laying container inside the main enclosure and after 2-3 days remove it and place the lid on top.

Hatching & Raising the Young

Baby Crickets Soon After Hatching

The containers with the eggs should be kept at the same temperature as the main colony container (78-90°F or 26-32°C). The soil containing the eggs must never be allowed to dry out, or the eggs will also dry and never hatch. After the eggs have been sealed in the egg container for about 7 days, place it in a larger plastic container, such as a shoebox or sweater box, and take the lid off the egg laying container, but lay it gently on top to keep the soil from drying and to allow the new born crickets to get into the larger container. The eggs will begin hatching about 1-6 days after being placed in the rearing container. The overall incubation time for the eggs at the listed temperatures is about 12-16 days. The shoebox or sweater box that the babies are raised in does not need to have any ventilation because the babies will need the humidity to molt while they are still young. Once they have reached .5 in. or 1.25 cm in size, they can be placed into the main colony enclosure. The young can be fed the same diet as the adults; the only difference between the housing is the increased humidity, due to the lack of ventilation in the rearing containers.