How to breed feeder crickets without also breeding mites?

[Wayfarin]

(Warning: This thread may be too long and boring to read and may be easier to ignore. But please don't.)

Hey, folks!
It's me again.

I may have already mentioned in some of my other posts that I have quite a few pets. Among them is our bearded dragon lizard.
We call her "Beardie" even though we know she's a female. I mean, she still has a beard.

She's a rather picky eater, but we know she relishes crickets (especially when we feed them to her on tongs).

Where we used to live, we have a Petco only a short drive from our house (that's where we got her, although I would not buy another dragon from there).
There were plenty of crickets there that we could buy for her whenever she wanted some.
Now, however, our local pet store is much further away.

Because of this, I would like to start our own cricket farm.
I think it would be fun, as I'm intrigued by insects, even if they are just feeders.
However, there is one thing I am not looking forward to, and that is the possibility of mites.

I've had lots of terrible experiences with mites. I know, they are probably not that harmful, as they usually seem to be grain mites, or something similar, rather than parasites.
(They are sort of microscopic, and sort of not. I can only see them when the light hits them just right.)
But I'm not fond of them. I would like them better if they could not climb smooth surfaces, like the crickets.
But whenever mites take over any ventilated bin, they seem to find their way outside of it, too.
The same is true of my second enemy. The dipterans. Better known as flies.


I would really like to breed some feeder insects without having to worry about uncalled-for invertebrates that I didn't summon.
I would not mind beetles in my cricket farm, however, because I've heard that some are actually sort of good at keeping mold, mites, and flies at bay.
I've heard that dermestid beetles and buffalo beetles are both good for this, especially their larvae.

But I doubt that "cleaner" beetles alone could stop infestations.

One method of mite prevention that sounds promising to me is keeping the cricket habitat really dry.
I know that cleaner beetles can survive lower humidity levels, and I know that crickets can survive lower humidity at least than mites.
I've heard from at least one source that crickets can be kept at 40-50% humidity.
Any cricket habitat with a humidity level lower than 50% sounds like it would be largely mite-free, since most mites need humidity levels of at least 55% or higher.
The only problem is the eggs and nymphs.

I've heard that cricket eggs and newly hatched pinheads need rather high humidity levels to thrive.
I also don't know if cleaner beetles need higher humidity levels to breed as well.

So, does anyone have any tips that would help me combat mites without killing the cricket eggs?
I've heard that some people separate the pinhead crickets to keep them in higher humidity levels. But how is one supposed to even do that? And will mites also infest the pinheads?

Could a cricket/dermestid beetle habitat be kept at a humidity lower than 50% without inhibiting the breeding of the desired insects?
And is there any way to efficiently combat the mites, aside from exposing them to almost absurdly hostile conditions?

Thanks for any input. God bless!

 

[viper69]

(especially when we feed them to her on tongs

where did you learn this stupid husbandry?

they don’t use tongs in the wild. I’ve owned BDs and they do not need to be spoon fed.

 

[Wayfarin]

where did you learn this stupid husbandry?

they don’t use tongs in the wild. I’ve owned BDs and they do not need to be spoon fed.

Our bearded dragon hates chasing crickets because they are so good at evading her.
After only a short time, she stops trying to catch them.
I'm open to suggestions concerning how to encourage dragons to be more active or zealous about hunting, but that's not what this thread is about.

 

[viper69]

Our bearded dragon hates chasing crickets because they are so good at evading her.
After only a short time, she stops trying to catch them.
I'm open to suggestions concerning how to encourage dragons to be more active or zealous about hunting, but that's not what this thread is about.

Temps? Size of setup? size of dragon?

Most of all animals will not willingly starve themselves, your dragon has trained you

You wouldn’t be the first human to be trained by an exotic animal

 

[l4nsky]

I've heard that some people separate the pinhead crickets to keep them in higher humidity levels. But how is one supposed to even do that?

So I can't really help you with the mites and I ABSOLUTELY hate crickets (wait until you smell a breeding colony that hasn't been cleaned in a few days) but I think I can expand on this concept a bit.

I think what you're referring to here is a form of "perpetual harvest". Basically, you keep the crickets dry and bare with a container of moistened sub for the female to climb into and deposit her eggs in. They take like 10 days or so to hatch, so the container is simply swapped every week or so for a fresh one and then placed in a warm dark area for the eggs to hatch and then voila, you now have a new cricket colony that is all roughly the same age. You can repeat this process in a perpetual cycle to have various colonies separated by size, from pinhead to breeder adult.

So I do something similar with my lateralis, but I don't keep them separate. Once the nymphs are no longer really pinheads, I'll just add them back to the main colony. When I do the colonies weekly cleaning, I'll pull the ootheca and put them in the hatching tub and rinse/repeat for a large supply of pinhead lats. Just went through 260 or so this week and it's soo convenient.

 

[Wayfarin]

Temps? Size of setup? size of dragon?

Most of all animals will not willingly starve themselves, your dragon has trained you

You wouldn’t be the first human to be trained by an exotic animal

She's a small or average female. I think she's something close to 18" long.

Her glass tank something like 40-55 gallons. I don't really know because we got it used, and it did not specify the size in gallons.
She is in a smaller rubbermaid bin now because we moved to a different house this year. It's not a permanent enclosure.
(She does have her UV lamp, but there is no temperature monitor in the temporary bin.)
It's no more than 20 gallons, and is not the best exercising tank. She will be moved into her real home after we move the boxes out of her glass tank.
Maybe she will become more active if we move her back "home" and stop spoiling her with the tweezers.
I know that reptiles are more active with more space, and her temporary husbandry is not large enough for a dragon to actually live in.
She is more active in the 40-55 gallon tank than in the rubbermaid bin.

I'm not worried about her eating, though. We mostly just feed her with tongs to make sure she eats.
She can catch crickets without aid from us, but it takes quite a while.

 

[Wayfarin]

So I can't really help you with the mites and I ABSOLUTELY hate crickets (wait until you smell a breeding colony that hasn't been cleaned in a few days) but I think I can expand on this concept a bit.

I think what you're referring to here is a form of "perpetual harvest". Basically, you keep the crickets dry and bare with a container of moistened sub for the female to climb into and deposit her eggs in. They take like 10 days or so to hatch, so the container is simply swapped every week or so for a fresh one and then placed in a warm dark area for the eggs to hatch and then voila, you now have a new cricket colony that is all roughly the same age. You can repeat this process in a perpetual cycle to have various colonies separated by size, from pinhead to breeder adult.

So I do something similar with my lateralis, but I don't keep them separate. Once the nymphs are no longer really pinheads, I'll just add them back to the main colony. When I do the colonies weekly cleaning, I'll pull the ootheca and put them in the hatching tub and rinse/repeat for a large supply of pinhead lats. Just went through 260 or so this week and it's soo convenient.

I've heard that cricket nymphs only need humidity for a week after hatching.
Then I suppose they can be added back to rather dry adult colony.

Maybe I could just incubate the eggs in a sealed container to maintain humidity without allowing for mites?
But if the nymphs only need humidity for a week, then maybe I could maintain them for a short enough time to keep mites at bay.

Also, I don't think that crickets smell that much when the humidity is around 40% or so. I also believe that cleaner beetles help with the smell.
And if mites need 55% humidity to thrive, which people claim they do, they would be pretty miserable at 40% humidity.

Has anyone gotten mites in dry enclosures with a humidity of under 40%?
(They are only visible to the naked eye with a lot of concentration and a flashlight that hits them just right. It's easiest to see them if the room is dark.)

 

[viper69]

She's a small or average female. I think she's something close to 18" long.

Her glass tank something like 40-55 gallons. I don't really know because we got it used, and it did not specify the size in gallons.
She is in a smaller rubbermaid bin now because we moved to a different house this year. It's not a permanent enclosure.
(She does have her UV lamp, but there is no temperature monitor in the temporary bin.)
It's no more than 20 gallons, and is not the best exercising tank. She will be moved into her real home after we move the boxes out of her glass tank.
Maybe she will become more active if we move her back "home" and stop spoiling her with the tweezers.
I know that reptiles are more active with more space, and her temporary husbandry is not large enough for a dragon to actually live in.
She is more active in the 40-55 gallon tank than in the rubbermaid bin.

I'm not worried about her eating, though. We mostly just feed her with tongs to make sure she eats.
She can catch crickets without aid from us, but it takes quite a while.

Larger set up would help- I wouldn’t be worried about how long it takes them to eat though. They won’t starve. Mine had varying amounts of time for eating. Are you feeding yours only crickets?

I think a lot of pet owners get worried about not eating fast enough- fast enough for who?

 

[l4nsky]

I've heard that cricket nymphs only need humidity for a week after hatching.
Then I suppose they can be added back to rather dry adult colony.

Maybe I could just incubate the eggs in a sealed container to maintain humidity without allowing for mites?
But if the nymphs only need humidity for a week, then maybe I could maintain them for a short enough time to keep mites at bay.

Also, I don't think that crickets smell that much when the humidity is around 40% or so. I also believe that cleaner beetles help with the smell.
And if mites need 55% humidity to thrive, which people claim they do, they would be pretty miserable at 40% humidity.

Has anyone gotten mites in dry enclosures with a humidity of under 40%?
(They are only visible to the naked eye with a lot of concentration and a flashlight that hits them just right. It's easiest to see them if the room is dark.)

If I may ask, why the huge concern with mites? If you haven't yet, I suggest you read this thread (All you need to know about mites) by AB's resident Lady of the mites, @boina. IIRC, this is close to her field of study as a biologist, but I could be wrong.

 

[Wayfarin]

Larger set up would help- I wouldn’t be worried about how long it takes them to eat though. They won’t starve. Mine had varying amounts of time for eating. Are you feeding yours only crickets?

I think a lot of pet owners get worried about not eating fast enough- fast enough for who?

She's not eating only crickets. She eats superworms, fruits, and vegetables.
She probably is eating too many superworms, and I have heard that bearded dragons often become so obsessed with them that they protest other foods, even crickets. I forgot to mention that.
She's never tried roaches yet.

 

[Wayfarin]

If I may ask, why the huge concern with mites? If you haven't yet, I suggest you read this thread (All you need to know about mites) by AB's resident Lady of the mites, @boina. IIRC, this is close to her field of study as a biologist, but I could be wrong.

I'm just frustrated because mites have infested many of my projects.
I'm pretty sure they are something similar to grain mites, and I don't want them in our house because I know they are attracted to human and pet foods.
And like dust mites, these mites will probably cause nasty allergies during our very dry winters if they are abundant in the summer.

 

[i like reptiles]

(Warning: This thread may be too long and boring to read and may be easier to ignore. But please don't.)

Hey, folks!
It's me again.

I may have already mentioned in some of my other posts that I have quite a few pets. Among them is our bearded dragon lizard.
We call her "Beardie" even though we know she's a female. I mean, she still has a beard.

She's a rather picky eater, but we know she relishes crickets (especially when we feed them to her on tongs).

Where we used to live, we have a Petco only a short drive from our house (that's where we got her, although I would not buy another dragon from there).
There were plenty of crickets there that we could buy for her whenever she wanted some.
Now, however, our local pet store is much further away.

Because of this, I would like to start our own cricket farm.
I think it would be fun, as I'm intrigued by insects, even if they are just feeders.
However, there is one thing I am not looking forward to, and that is the possibility of mites.

I've had lots of terrible experiences with mites. I know, they are probably not that harmful, as they usually seem to be grain mites, or something similar, rather than parasites.
(They are sort of microscopic, and sort of not. I can only see them when the light hits them just right.)
But I'm not fond of them. I would like them better if they could not climb smooth surfaces, like the crickets.
But whenever mites take over any ventilated bin, they seem to find their way outside of it, too.
The same is true of my second enemy. The dipterans. Better known as flies.


I would really like to breed some feeder insects without having to worry about uncalled-for invertebrates that I didn't summon.
I would not mind beetles in my cricket farm, however, because I've heard that some are actually sort of good at keeping mold, mites, and flies at bay.
I've heard that dermestid beetles and buffalo beetles are both good for this, especially their larvae.

But I doubt that "cleaner" beetles alone could stop infestations.

One method of mite prevention that sounds promising to me is keeping the cricket habitat really dry.
I know that cleaner beetles can survive lower humidity levels, and I know that crickets can survive lower humidity at least than mites.
I've heard from at least one source that crickets can be kept at 40-50% humidity.
Any cricket habitat with a humidity level lower than 50% sounds like it would be largely mite-free, since most mites need humidity levels of at least 55% or higher.
The only problem is the eggs and nymphs.

I've heard that cricket eggs and newly hatched pinheads need rather high humidity levels to thrive.
I also don't know if cleaner beetles need higher humidity levels to breed as well.

So, does anyone have any tips that would help me combat mites without killing the cricket eggs?
I've heard that some people separate the pinhead crickets to keep them in higher humidity levels. But how is one supposed to even do that? And will mites also infest the pinheads?

Could a cricket/dermestid beetle habitat be kept at a humidity lower than 50% without inhibiting the breeding of the desired insects?
And is there any way to efficiently combat the mites, aside from exposing them to almost absurdly hostile conditions?

Thanks for any input. God bless!

Predatory mites bro, will be mites, won't harm crickets (to my knowledge) will murder grain mites (but also springtails) and for the flies use some mosquito bit/pellets

 

[Dry Desert]

I'm just frustrated because mites have infested many of my projects.
I'm pretty sure they are something similar to grain mites, and I don't want them in our house because I know they are attracted to human and pet foods.
And like dust mites, these mites will probably cause nasty allergies during our very dry winters if they are abundant in the summer.

As long as you feed crickets you'll have mites.
99% of the time the mites come in with the crickets.
Stick with roaches, mealworms and wax worms.
Don't worry that the pet shop is not close, order them online as and when, makes for a much happier life.
Crickets are the lazy person's feeders because every shop sells them and all pets eat them.
As mentioned previously, just wait until you have several dead ones or the bins not be cleaned regularly.
You want have to worry about mites, the stench will make you want to move house.
Have you not smelt a water dish when several crickets have fallen in overnight.
If you are going to breed anything stick to roaches.

 

[viper69]

She's not eating only crickets. She eats superworms, fruits, and vegetables.
She probably is eating too many superworms, and I have heard that bearded dragons often become so obsessed with them that they protest other foods, even crickets. I forgot to mention that.
She's never tried roaches yet.

Glad she’s getting her veggies that’s essential!
Well supers are loaded with energy in the form of fat- so rich food type

 

[viper69]

Crickets are the lazy person's feeders because every shop sells them and all pets eat them.

How come crickets are the only prey that are for "lazy people"? One can get other prey items from a store and feed them to Ts too. Puzzled by the comment

 

[Introvertebrate]

Crickets are the lazy person's feeders.

What if you're too lazy to leave the house?

 

[l4nsky]

Predatory mites bro, will be mites, won't harm crickets (to my knowledge) will murder grain mites (but also springtails) and for the flies use some mosquito bit/pellets

This is an option if you don't do bioactive enclosures. When I first started out back in 2017 or so, I had a S. dehaani with a mite infestation (grain mite, not parasitic). I used predatory mites for treatment, because at the time, the only real information on their use was from horticulturist and they stated once the predatory mites consumed the pest mites, they would turn on each other, becoming cannibalistic, and the population would basically self exterminate. In an outdoor or semi-outdoor situation, I can absolutely see this happening, especially with seasonal changes and wind having an effect. Technically, that's not bad advice, but the problems arise when the situation is indoor. Even though they're called predatory mites, they will scavenge to a certain degree like springtails, though not as efficiently. The eggs are also extremely light and hardy, so they will basically infiltrate every enclosure or potted plant in your house at some point. IME, they'll become cyclical in nature, but if they don't have a ready food supply like mites or springtails, they will slowly dwindle away. It's been about 5 years and I'm starting to see springtails in some of my enclosures again (and grain mites in my feeder roach colonies). I honestly thought I would never see springtails in my enclosures again. While I don't regret the initial choice I made as it did rid my S. dehaani of the hitchhikers, I'm probably not going to use predatory mites again in the future. Being proactive in keeping the feeders clean and removing uneaten prey remains (centipedes are VERY messy animals) is a better solution than reactively using predatory mites IMHO. Ben Franklin put it best: An ounce of prevention is worth more than a pound of cure.

 

[Dry Desert]

What if you're too lazy to leave the house?

You probably buy online, don't you.

 

[Wayfarin]

As long as you feed crickets you'll have mites.
99% of the time the mites come in with the crickets.
Stick with roaches, mealworms and wax worms.
Don't worry that the pet shop is not close, order them online as and when, makes for a much happier life.
Crickets are the lazy person's feeders because every shop sells them and all pets eat them.
As mentioned previously, just wait until you have several dead ones or the bins not be cleaned regularly.
You want have to worry about mites, the stench will make you want to move house.
Have you not smelt a water dish when several crickets have fallen in overnight.
If you are going to breed anything stick to roaches.

Why exactly would Dubia roaches not also attract mites?
Also, I'm pretty sure that crickets only smell in warm temperatures and high humidity.

 

[i like reptiles]

Why exactly would Dubia roaches not also attract mites?
Also, I'm pretty sure that crickets only smell in warm temperatures and high humidity.

They don't need soil or moisture