Oh no! Baby crickets everywhere!

[Tyrannosaur]

I was going to clean out my T. Blondi's water dish today and when I took it out I saw a small white crickets in there. Much smaller than the pinheads I get for my slings. I then noticed more and more! I started to scoop them out with a spoon and I just cant get them all. They are everywhere, not just in the damp part around the dish.

I heard that the will go to the water dish and drown, but there are none in it because the ground around the dish is damp, and I can't really dry out the whole cage. I think it will be impossible to scoop them all up, and my blondi is already getting into a pre-molt it looks like, he nearly has his hide blocked off. Will having a few live and maybe get bigger be ok?

btw how many babys do the crickets have?

 

[Arachnomaniak]

You could clean out the entire cage which would be one of the only sure-fire way to get rid of them all. Crickets of that size dehydrate very quickly so you could remove the water dish and any moist soild and in theory they will all die. If you have a spider that's going into a molt, extra crickets could cause unnecessary stress during the process... Even if you remove any moist parts (being a T. blondi I assume that would be difficult being a higher humidity species!) you still will end up with hundreds of little dead bodies which will warrant a cage cleaning at some point anyway to prevent mold etc.
Crickets can have a LOT of babies at a time so it would definitely be a chore chasing them all around with a spoon!
Anyone else have any creative ideas?

 

[Tyrannosaur]

Well the substrate (peat moss) on top is dry, and some are around up there, but a few cm under that its all damp, all the way to the bottom (about 6in).

I have a hot little lamp, and I am going to put it through the whole in the top and have it near the damp part of the sustrate, and take out the water dish and hopefully cook them out!

I am NOT looking forward to cleaning his cage out later because of this. He has gotten REALLY aggresive since his last molt :evil:

 

[Hedorah99]

Let the tank dry out a little bit. The remaining babies will go to the water dish and drown.

 

[Nitibus]

Well the substrate (peat moss) on top is dry, and some are around up there, but a few cm under that its all damp, all the way to the bottom (about 6in).

I have a hot little lamp, and I am going to put it through the whole in the top and have it near the damp part of the sustrate, and take out the water dish and hopefully cook them out!

:

You'll dry out your T too with the heat lamp, and maybe kill it. Just let it dry out naturally. How big is the T ? What speices is it ? When did it moult last ?

 

[forhorsmn]

Each female cricket can lay up to 100 eggs. I try to make sure the crickets I feed my T's are male. Thats the only way to make sure this doesn't happen. Good luck fetting all the crickets out and I hope the molt goes well.

 

[Arachnophiliac]

I was going to clean out my T. Blondi's water dish today and when I took it out I saw a small white crickets in there. Much smaller than the pinheads I get for my slings. I then noticed more and more! I started to scoop them out with a spoon and I just cant get them all. They are everywhere, not just in the damp part around the dish.

I heard that the will go to the water dish and drown, but there are none in it because the ground around the dish is damp, and I can't really dry out the whole cage. I think it will be impossible to scoop them all up, and my blondi is already getting into a pre-molt it looks like, he nearly has his hide blocked off. Will having a few live and maybe get bigger be ok?

btw how many babys do the crickets have?

A few small crickets will be no bother to a healthy tarantula, especially when it has a hide and is blocking it off. If you can't get all of the crickets out, you can try putting a chunk of egg crate at the opposite end of the cage and putting a few tropical fish flakes (cat kibble will also do nicely) on top. This will give the crickets an alternative to hiding out with the blondi and you can easily collect them this way too. Cheers,
Bruce

 

[SugrSean]

All good suggestions, but you guys are missing the obvious answer: 100 new slings should be able to clear up that cricket problem in no time

 

[Taceas]

Are you sure they're crickets?

From your description they almost sound like springtails to me. Mostly harmless little bugs that thrive in damp organic matter that can quickly build up to plague levels.

They're whitish-silverish, smaller than pinhead crickets, and hop really well.

The treatment is roughly the same for pinheads, let the substrate dry out thoroughly. Although since springtails can be hard to drown, as they're water repellent and float well...you can take out the water bowl for a few days to further dessicate the substrate if you want. If the spider is well fed and fat, it should survive a few days without water with little problem.

 

[Drachenjager]

Each female cricket can lay up to 100 eggs. I try to make sure the crickets I feed my T's are male. Thats the only way to make sure this doesn't happen. Good luck fetting all the crickets out and I hope the molt goes well.

no its not. Cut off the ovipositor and they wont lay eggs .

 

[Arachnophiliac]

Are you sure they're crickets?

From your description they almost sound like springtails to me. Mostly harmless little bugs that thrive in damp organic matter that can quickly build up to plague levels.

They're whitish-silverish, smaller than pinhead crickets, and hop really well.

The treatment is roughly the same for pinheads, let the substrate dry out thoroughly. Although since springtails can be hard to drown, as they're water repellent and float well...you can take out the water bowl for a few days to further dessicate the substrate if you want. If the spider is well fed and fat, it should survive a few days without water with little problem.

If they are springtails, I'd suggest leaving them be. Springtails are a good sign of healthy soil and I encourage them to proliferate in as many of my cages as possible. I have never had any problems with them, and find their presence a HUGE benefit to soil quality. The easiest distinguishing feature would be the long antennae on the baby crickets. Cheers,
Bruce

 

[forhorsmn]

no its not. Cut off the ovipositor and they wont lay eggs .

;P Yeah you're right. Sometimes I forget the obvious.;P