How do you keep your cricket bin clean?

[caseysteadman]

So I am moving this week, and with my move comes some awesome increases in space, and I am considering going for the 1000 cricket purchase. As Drogo only eats about 15 (small) cricks a day, I'm going to definitely have to clean out the bin where these crickets will be residing. So, my question to you is how do you go about the process of making sure that the crickets bin isn't a nasty infestation of cricket nastiness? And how on earth do you get the gutloads in and out without having 1000 crickets escaping?

 

[Solid Snake]

I keep all food stuffs that are provided for them on plastic lids like the kind that come from butter, and sour cream containers.

I cut a section of the edge piece off, so they can get in, and out easily.

The lids are easily removed and washed.

When it comes time to clean the bin, I move the crickets into a fresh bin, with fresh re-packs. Then I clean the bin, and it is ready for the next cleaning.

Lots of fresh air, and hydration goes a long way towards keeping crickets alive, and their bin clean.

I use orange slices for their "water source", and either use tubs with no lid, or tubs with at least half the surface area of the tub covered in mesh.

Ive also had good results with using cardboard boxes.

You can use clear packing tape around the inside of the top of the box to keep them from climbing out, and just chuck it when dirty.

 

[chameleonkev]

Do they not cew threw a carboard box?

 

[Solid Snake]

Do they not cew threw a carboard box?

They certainly could, but I have only seen crickets eat cardboard as an extreme last resort.

As long as fresh food is provided, and plenty of surface area created inside the box(what the egg crates are for) it should never occur to them to chew through the ground.

Not so often that they get very far anyhow.

 

[caseysteadman]

How often do you clean out the bin?

 

[Rottsko]

i keep crickets in a big plastic tote w/ holes cut out and screens hot glued to them. the lid also has a hole cut out and w/ screen hot glued to it. i keep my egg crated vertical so they're poop fall to the floor and i clean the bin every couple of days.

i use a WIDE drywall putty knife and scrape all the dead crickets and waste to the middle of the bin. then i sweep the waste onto the spatula and throw it away. takes about a couple of minutes and my cham room doesn't stink. the bug burger smells more than the crickets.

 

[Swayne8998]

i keep crickets in a big plastic tote w/ holes cut out and screens hot glued to them. the lid also has a hole cut out and w/ screen hot glued to it. i keep my egg crated vertical so they're poop fall to the floor and i clean the bin every couple of days.

i use a WIDE drywall putty knife and scrape all the dead crickets and waste to the middle of the bin. then i sweep the waste onto the spatula and throw it away. takes about a couple of minutes and my cham room doesn't stink. the bug burger smells more than the crickets.

Haha I know what you mean. When I open my roach tub, all I smell is the strong smell of citrus from the oranges.

As for how often to clean, that depends on how many cricks you have. If it looks like you wouldn't want your cham eating it, clean the tub

 

[JonRich]

I keep my Cricket bin clean by NOT keeping crickets.! lol ;-)

GO TEAM DUBIA!!

 

[Rottsko]

I keep my Cricket bin clean by NOT keeping crickets.! lol ;-)

GO TEAM DUBIA!!

Wish I was that lucky. My chams aren't very interested in dubias but I have a colony of them anyway. they'll eat them and again but they're picky little buggers.

 

[caseysteadman]

I keep my Cricket bin clean by NOT keeping crickets.! lol ;-)

GO TEAM DUBIA!!

Haha I really, really want to try dubias. But I'm waiting for the right moment to run in by the two very girly girls I am moving in with. Not sure how okay they're going to be with roaches in the house...