Things You'll Need:
- Plastic storage boxes
- Utility knife
- Aluminum mosquito screening
- Duct tape or hot glue
- Plastic container
- Soil
- Jar lids
- Cotton balls or sponges
- Egg carton or plastic plants
- Heating pads
- Crickets
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Step 1
Cut 6-inch-square holes on the ends of two large plastic storage containers, using a utility knife. A good size for the containers are 15-by-20 inch plastic totes, about the size of a 10 gallon aquarium. Prepare two containers to separate the adult crickets from the young crickets. Cover the holes with aluminum mosquito screening to avoid escapes. Use duct tape or hot glue to secure the screening.
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Step 2
Fill a small plastic container with damp soil. Make sure the soil is more than 2 inches deep, as crickets lay their eggs 1 inch below the soil.
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Step 3
Use two jar lids for each storage container; one is for the food and the other is for water. Use cat food or biscuits dipped in milk as the food. To avoid small crickets drowning, put a wet sponge or cotton balls on the lid with water.
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Step 4
Put the jar lids and rearing container inside the large plastic containers. Add an egg carton placed upside down or a plastic plant so the crickets can have more places to crawl around.
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Step 5
Set the heating pads on low and put the plastic containers on top of them. Keep the temperature above 75 degrees F.
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Step 6
Put 50 crickets in the rearing container and allow them to breed. It usually takes two to three weeks for them to lay eggs. Always monitor their food, temperature and the dampness of the soil to ensure higher survival rates.
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Step 7
Transfer the rearing dish to the other plastic container. Separating the young crickets from the old ones is necessary. Replace the rearing dish with another one with fresh soil to get a steady supply of eggs.
