Are clean up crews worh it?

[pigglett79]

My dubia bin is getting pretty dirty and it is hard to clean it out as there are lots of babies in there. Does anyone have experince with clean up crew insects that really work?

 

[VanessaS]

I just cleaned out my bin and I was wondering the same thing.

 

[Kushcham]

I could be wrong but ive heard its good to leave a lot of the frass at the bottom. I only clean my colonies once every month or so.

 

[mrlloyd]

when i had my huge colony back in california, when i cleaned it i would only clean out half of my bin, dont know if its true or not but ive read on countless websites that the babies actually eat the old shed and poo. and i dont ever remember my tub actually smelling ever.

i was wondering if a clean up crew was worth it for my cricket tubs now... crickets STINK!

 

[pigglett79]

My bin isn't smelly or anything, just lots of poo and skins.

 

[JimO]

I've never raised roaches, and I'm assuming that by clean up crew you're referring to isopods and springtails. I do culture several species of each that I seed my dart frog enclosures with and I do know that they need moisture. In fact, some species need it just short of saturated to thrive. If the roach colony is dry, the isos and springs won't survive very long.

 

[djfishygillz]

Cleaning

When I clean my dubias I will just take out the egg crate (where 90 percent of them are) then pick through the skin/poo ect for a bit and get most of them. Once I call it quits I will put it all in a plastic bag so there is no chance of the babies staying around to infest my house/garage/trash.

 

[shaunaroxanne]

Clean-up crews have to poop too, right? Who cleans up their poop?

 

[nightanole]

Clean-up crews have to poop too, right? Who cleans up their poop?

Bacteria and plants, which then get eaten by...

I like my clean up crews in the roach bins. They eat the mold, sheds, and hollow out the dead. I just have lesser meal worms, not pill bugs or carpet beetles.

I havent found anything that can keep up with a cricket tank. And crickets just smell period. Put 12 in a bag, come back in an hour, smell bag...

On the same note, my dubia love horn worm poop...