Is there an easier way to catch feeder crickets using forceps/tongs?

[TenebrisAvicularia]

I've been doing this for a year, so I thought that I would have mastered it by now. Female crickets aren't the problem, I just grab them by the ovipositor. Juvenile and male crickets are not so simple. I went to feed my smaller tarantula, but the cricket I was trying to take kept doing acrobatic flips away from me. Don't worry, the spider got his meal eventually. I've tried to just use a cup on crickets, it doesn't work for me. Is there some way to catch them without taking forever and some arthropod gymnastics to do it?

 

[IntermittentSygnal]

I use a small 2oz condiment cup in the cricket bin. Only long tweezers in the tarantula’s enclosure if I have to remove it.

 

[DaveM]

Hmmm.... how are you keeping your crickets? Do they have something like egg crate to climb on? I'm guessing most people would grab a piece of egg crate with crickets on it and tap the crickets into a cup. Or you could hold a cup on one side of the crickets and use a hand/cardboard/forceps to shepherd crickets into a cup. I like to use two tall cups, dumping between them, to portion out large numbers of feeders taken from their colony into serving sizes right for each spider. Why is a cup not working for you?
If you must use forceps, you can grab larger crickets across the thorax if you're gentle, wings for adult males, legs but they can come off... thinking more...
I guess the best advice I could give you is this: don't worry if you injure your crickets a little bit, because that's nothing compared to what is about to happen to them!

 

[TenebrisAvicularia]

I do use an egg crate. I think I might start keeping crickets in a larger tub, that's probably why I didn't do too well with the cup. I need a bit more room to maneuver... Or I'm just bad at it. The thorax grab is how I managed to catch that back flip-happy cricket, I luckily have a gentle hand. I'll try the cup method differently and see how it does next time.

 

[viper69]

no

 

[TenebrisAvicularia]

no

I'll always be chasing those speedy crickets, my reflexes forever tested...

 

[Brewser]

Chill
Lowering They're Temperature will slow them down.

The Catch Cup Method is Preferable imo

 

[l4nsky]

http://imgur.com/a/iZ4GQYI

It can be a bit more exciting with crickets sometimes, but if the bowl is deep enough they really cant jump out.

 

[Ultum4Spiderz]

I'll always be chasing those speedy crickets, my reflexes forever tested...

Crickets are always hard to catch, I use roaches because they are slow Dubias.

 

[IntermittentSygnal]

I pull out the crate, tap everyone into the bin and scoop them up against the wall as they will all scrunch into the corners when they have nowhere to hide. I only keep a dozen to two at a time though.

 

[Mike41793]

watch karate kid, Mr Miyagi teach you how to catch fly with chopsticks

 

[katamari]

IDK if this would work for your purposes, but for fruit flies and small crickets I use a homemade "spooter" (two sizes of tubing with a piece of pantyhose in between) and literally just suck them up like a straw

 

[goofyGoober99]

Egg crate and like 5 catch cups
Tap crickets into big catch cup, then divide into more catch cups as needed.
I'm never working with a large volume of crickets and I don't get them often so this has worked the best so far.

My reflexes are nowhere near good enough to nab them with tongs.

 

[sparticus]

I've actually gotten pretty good at grabbing them with the tongs from the catch cup, it just takes practice. Aim for right behind the head for best results. I squeeze a bit so they are slightly injured and I toss them in the spider enclosure. The crickets are a lot easier to accidentally kill than roaches, though.

 

[edgeofthefreak]

Fridge for 10 minutes, 20 for banded crickets, just due to the meth in their system (joke, obv). Male and sub adult crickets aren't nearly as eager to jump away when cold.
Set a timer though. Discovered that banded crickets can survive the night in the fridge, but I wouldn't do that on purpose XD

I only have 3 spiders, so fishing out 1-2 crickets from the 6 I just bought might get me an escape. THAT'S FOOD RUNNING AWAY, MAN

 

[Arthroverts]

Practice makes perfect; after enough time using tongs you'll get good enough to be reasonably accurate.

Of course, it's taken me eight years to get to the point of being "reasonably accurate..."

Thanks,

Arthroverts

 

[Introvertebrate]

Crickets aren’t as sneaky as lats. They walk around the inner perimeter of the bin. Just hold your catch cup along the edge, and they’ll walk right into it.