Outdoor Cricket Breeding Project

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RazzleFish

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Oct 28, 2009
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So about a three days ago I decided that I couldn't handle the breeding crickets in my house any more! The chirping finnaly drove me to the point of action and I decided that I must move the cricket cage. So I kept some juvies in the house for feeding and moved all the adults outside into a 10 gallon terrarium with a layer of plain topsoil and a few pieces carboard. Since I have also been breeding mealworms, I decided to throw a few handfuls in just to see if they would breed. I am happy that I don't have any chirping in the house anymore but I have encountered a problem. The day after I put them outside I noticed that there were a lot of ants crawling on and around the container and upon closer inspection I saw a two groups pull out a dead cricket (one that had been dead for awhile must have been dead when I bought it) and a dead mealworm (no clue if it was already dead). I didn't think anything of it I just assumed they would clear out any bugs that died. No big deal, right? WRONG! A few minutes ago I pulled out the cardboard because we have a storm comming and I disturbed the substrate just to see if any of the mealworms are still there and I was shocked (and disgusted) to find millions of ants!!!! I promply jumped back from the container, threw the lid back on and washed my hands.

So what I know about the ants is that they are Allegheny Mound Ants and there are millions around here. They annually enter our home and if there is a piece of food dropped on the sidewalk they are swarming it in a matter of minutes. I am not too worried about the adult crickets as they are so large and seem to be well protected (exoskeletons) but I don't know about the mealworms. While they do have very hard exoskeletons and fairly large mandables they are living right along side the millions of ants that are burrowing down into the substrate. If these are able to survive for the time being I know they won't make it past their molting and I know the ants will eat the eggs of both the crickets and the mealworms.

So now for questions:
Has anyone ever bred crickets and/or mealworms outside?
What do I do about the ants?
Do you think they are actually killing the crickets and mealworms or just eating the dead ones?
Should I scratch the entire project and move the adult crickets back inside and dump the ants and mealworms?
Will ants cause a problem if my frogs eat them?

Thanks for any help,
Razz
 

Vicious_Fish

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That's why I like my dubia roaches, I never run into these problems. :D


I've bred both before and to me they're just not worth the trouble. With that being said I've never tried outdoors before so I've never had to deal with ants. You could always put some ant traps near the tank or raise the tank onto a table so it's off the ground. If the ants continue to climb the table after the crickets you can always put vaseline around the top of the tank. That will stop ants from getting in.
 

RazzleFish

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Haha! If my little frogs could handle roaches I'd be all over it! However, I doubt even the largest of my fire belly toads could eat a roach.

Although I've never tried roaches and they do sound live a great alternative to crickets and I could always feed them the nymphs......

So about the vasaline, what should I do about the ants that are already in the tank? Would they just die or do they go back to their own colony at night or some other time? There is a storm coming so would they seek shelter in their colony then?
 

ConnerFish

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Of you had a large saucer or something sort of container you can put the tank in and fill with a little water this should stop the ants. I have had to do this with pet bowls that were outside before. The water kept the ants from getting into the food. I guess you could use a small kiddie pool with an inch or so of water in it.
 

RazzleFish

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Of you had a large saucer or something sort of container you can put the tank in and fill with a little water this should stop the ants. I have had to do this with pet bowls that were outside before. The water kept the ants from getting into the food. I guess you could use a small kiddie pool with an inch or so of water in it.
I've read about this and have tried it with dog bowls but it is a 10 gallon tank so I'd have to find a fairly large bowl and even then I've never seen rectangular sausers. Maybe a large cat litter pan? But again what do I do with the ants that are already in there?
 

Vicious_Fish

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Haha! If my little frogs could handle roaches I'd be all over it! However, I doubt even the largest of my fire belly toads could eat a roach.

Although I've never tried roaches and they do sound live a great alternative to crickets and I could always feed them the nymphs......

So about the vasaline, what should I do about the ants that are already in the tank? Would they just die or do they go back to their own colony at night or some other time? There is a storm coming so would they seek shelter in their colony then?

They really are a great investment since you will save lots of money because you won't have to buy small batches of over-priced feeders from pet stores. And you're right, your FBT's could definitely eat the nymphs. The adults, not so much. If you got a colony you could always sell the surplus adults or buy something that will eat them. :D If you're interested in a starter colony I could probably sell you one for cheap.

I believe ants in general return to the colony at night. In the evening you can put a layer of vaseline around the top of the tank while the ants are away.
 

RazzleFish

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They really are a great investment since you will save lots of money because you won't have to buy small batches of over-priced feeders from pet stores. And you're right, your FBT's could definitely eat the nymphs. The adults, not so much. If you got a colony you could always sell the surplus adults or buy something that will eat them. :D

I believe ants in general return to the colony at night. In the evening you can put a layer of vaseline around the top of the tank while the ants are away.
So so tempted...... Can't control urge to visit pet shop! Must buy roaches! Haha! I may have to try them and if I could get free food and a small income it's a win win!

I'll check the tank after this storm passes and see if there are still ants otherwise I'll check later tonight and put vaseline on the tank whenever the ants are gone.
 

RazzleFish

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The storm has passed but there are still quite a few ants left in the tank so I think I'll wait until nightfall to put the petroleum jelly on. How much should I apply? I'm tempted to smother the sides but I think that might be too much! :lipssealedsmilie:
 

Vicious_Fish

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Slap it on like you're making a peanut butter & jelly sandwich.
 

RazzleFish

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I take it you've never seen me make a PB&J...... Haha!

Anyway, I think it's more of a problem than I thought. It is now almost 11:00 pm and it seems like there are even more ants than before. I think they may be building a nest in my cage... Well Crap!

So now what? I think tomorrow I'll pull out the crickets and dump the substrate, rinse the tank and move it. I just don't know where to move it to.... I'd rather not bring it in the house so maybe the garage... If I put it there ants will be less likely to come across it through daily patrol and I can put some petroleum jelly on it and that should keep everything safe. Then I'll have to try again.
 
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