Pinhead cricket infestation...help please

[Alboy84]

Hi people,

I need a little help please. I've just recently been trying eco-earth (coco coir) in one of my T enclosures as a tester. I am more prone to using vermiculite because it has the least possibility for problems like mold or mites. Anyway, I have had that substrate in my LP's for about a month now and pinhead crickets are starting to appear on the surface and in the water dish. The substrate is not moist but can become so around the water dish (where I have to say, I've noticed female crickets digging and sticking their backside in...although then I stupidly thought nothing of it). My questions are:

How can I prevent these female crickets laying eggs? (as my LP does not always catch her cricks first time when I put them in)

How do you guy's prevent such a thing happening with the species which require humid enclosures with relatively damp substrate?

What are the implications of having pinhead crickets on the ground? And would it be better if I changed the substrate again...possibly going back to vermiculite - as I've never had a problem with it. I'm assuming loads of dead baby crickets would invite mites the same way as bolus' would.

Any advice would be appreciated! Thanks.

 

[BrynWilliams]

Firstly, micro crickets although are not a real hassle for the T, will eventually die off and you might end up with a mould/mite issue

Stopping the females depositing in the soil is a tough one, i've heard of people clipping off the ovipositor that sticks out the back of the female. The other option is to feed off juveniles or the males in that enclosure that is potentially offering good cricket reproduction conditions

If you can fit the enclosure in the microwave, take your T out and nuke it for a couple minutes, the micros and eggs will be fried - a possible quick solution to the current problem. If you can't, a substrate changeout might be needed

Hope this helps

 

[xhexdx]

They'll die off on their own. It's really not a big deal, in my opinion.

 

[RJ2]

Firstly, micro crickets although are not a real hassle for the T, will eventually die off and you might end up with a mould/mite issue

Stopping the females depositing in the soil is a tough one, i've heard of people clipping off the ovipositor that sticks out the back of the female. The other option is to feed off juveniles or the males in that enclosure that is potentially offering good cricket reproduction conditions

If you can fit the enclosure in the microwave, take your T out and nuke it for a couple minutes, the micros and eggs will be fried - a possible quick solution to the current problem. If you can't, a substrate changeout might be needed

Hope this helps

if it is a planted enclosure, do a dry ice bomb. (TAKE OUT YOUR ANIMALS) place some dry ice in a warm bowl of water cover the tank dosent have to be air tight, it will help your plants and kill anything else in there. I did this in a U.Phantasticus terrarium i had because my cleaner insects got WAY out of control. worked really well and my plants seriously benefited from the co2 blast.

 

[BrynWilliams]

I had NEVER thought about this option, what a great idea. I'll have a go at this at some point, might try post up a vid if i do (will be very theatrical with the smoke )

if it is a planted enclosure, do a dry ice bomb. it will help your plants and kill anything else in there. I did this in a U.Phantasticus terrarium i had because my cleaner insects got WAY out of control. worked really well and my plants seriously benefited from the co2 blast.

 

[Edd Eskimo]

Yeah...There no real problem towards your T. I had some pin heads that just died off with a few lingering survivors...

 

[lunashimmer]

I have a really dumb question: why do the pinhead crickets die off on their own? Why don't/can't they survive to adulthood?

 

[Hobo]

I have a really dumb question: why do the pinhead crickets die off on their own? Why don't/can't they survive to adulthood?

Because we're assuming you'd all be smart enough not to feed and water them until they grow into adulthood inside your spider enclosures

 

[dopamine]

yeah but crickets have a funny way of surviving for a while if they are ignored once in the spider tank... at least mine do.

 

[xhexdx]

Just put a water dish in there that's at the same level as the substrate. They'll commit crickicide in the dish.

Yes, I just made that up.

 

[joshuai]

Just put a water dish in there that's at the same level as the substrate. They'll commit crickicide in the dish.

Yes, I just made that up.

+1 that is what i did when i used crix! works good!

 

[lunashimmer]

Because we're assuming you'd all be smart enough not to feed and water them until they grow into adulthood inside your spider enclosures

But they'd get at least water from the T's water dish, right? And as far as food, maybe they'd eat spider poop? :barf:

I'm sorry if I'm being dense on this. I'm just trying to understand! :?

(And I really hope this never happens to me as I think the cricks are just one step away from nasty ol' roaches. I have a roach phobia. Yuck.)

They'll commit crickicide in the dish.

Yes, I just made that up.

Haha, crickicide! Love it, xhexdx!!

 

[Mack&Cass]

We catch the crickets and then grow them up so we can use them as feeders. Or we use them for our microslings. We actually used our MF E. pachypus' enclosure as a little cricket laying bin for a while when our Cyriocosmus were all the size of a speck of sand. Worked like a charm.

As for not being able to survive, they would get water from the Ts dish, but I don't think that the T poop would be nutritional enough to keep them alive. It may keep them alive for a little, but I can't see it being enough for them to grow to adulthood on. I love tweezer feeding, and something like an Lp should have no problem taking food from the tweezers.

You could also tweezer feed. That way, if your T doesn't take the cricket, you can just remove it and place it back in the cricket bin. Then the female cricket doesn't have all this nice soil around to lay her eggs in.

Cass

 

[lunashimmer]

As for not being able to survive, they would get water from the Ts dish, but I don't think that the T poop would be nutritional enough to keep them alive. It may keep them alive for a little, but I can't see it being enough for them to grow to adulthood on. I love tweezer feeding, and something like an Lp should have no problem taking food from the tweezers.

You could also tweezer feed. That way, if your T doesn't take the cricket, you can just remove it and place it back in the cricket bin. Then the female cricket doesn't have all this nice soil around to lay her eggs in.

Cass

Thanks for the info, Cass!

One more REALLY dumb q: How do you tweezer feed? Does it work with any size T? What about aggressive Ts? (Ok, that was more like 3 REALLY dumb q's. )

 

[xhexdx]

Well, they're not agressive, they're defensive. That's another story for another time, though.

You pretty much hold the cricket in the tweezers, then hold it in front of the spider. The spider will take the cricket from the tweezers. Some are gentle, some are not. It's kind of an art, in my opinion. Works well though.

 

[Kirsten]

I cut the ovipositor off as close to the butt as possible, and drop in the cricket. I thought that was what everyone else did?

 

[lunashimmer]

Well, they're not agressive, they're defensive. That's another story for another time, though.

Right. I should've said defensive.

pretty much hold the cricket in the tweezers, then hold it in front of the spider. The spider will take the cricket from the tweezers. Some are gentle, some are not. It's kind of an art, in my opinion. Works well though.

OMG, this sounds like it would be so much fun! I'm gonna try this with my Rosea. Since she's shown some defensive tendencies, I wonder how she'll react to a tasty meal given right to her? Awesome! I shall let you all know how it goes!!! I don't know how the H.liv will react to it...but I'll try it with him/her, too. Whee!!!

 

[BatGirl]

Some Tarantula's ARE aggressive

Right. I should've said defensive.

The rest of the story for "another time":

No, you are correct with the use of the term aggressive. Hostile is considered agressive... while docile is not considered agressive but rather more retreating, defensive.

Webster's includes 'hostile' in it's definition of aggression, and "The Tarantula Keeper's Guide" on page 101 (2nd Ed) uses hostile, intractable, malevolent, etc. when describing certain tarantulas... that's aggression!

...I'm gonna try this with my Rosea. Since she's shown some defensive tendencies...

In the case of the Chilean rose hair, the term 'assertively curious' is more accurate, as once mine got HUGE it did become more actively interested in things than before, but I've never experienced mine ever getting "aggressive" (well, compaired to my Burmese cobalt blue, heh, heh)

.But back to the topic:

Whenever I feed female crickets to my tarantuls, I ALWAYS snipp their ovipositor off to the quick - funny watching them trying to 'plant' eggs w/o one. Also, get some tree frogs, feed the female crickets to them and the male crickets to the Tarantula's. If the male cricket get noisy (only males make that freakin' irritating sound), just pull one of their legs off - they make the noise with their little stubby wings they grow at full maturity by rubbing these stubby wings against their legs - but it seems to require BOTH legs, heh, heh. And NO, they do not rub their legs together. Of course the cricket eggs do require moisture - so make sure the substrate stays dry (to avoid the 'babys') yet maintain elevated humidity with a water bowl (also helps destroy any eggs that hatch) and occasional misting.

 

[Fran]

Yes and no.

We would have to supose that a tarantula would be showing aggression intentionally as oposite of unintentionaly,which is doubted that thats the case.
The tarantula show an aggressive action when provoked , not for the heck of it , and it reacts instinctively.
The act of bitting is an aggressive act, but you cant call the animal aggressive.

 

[jayefbe]

The rest of the story for "another time":

No, you are correct with the use of the term aggressive. Hostile is considered agressive... while docile is not considered agressive but rather more retreating, defensive.

Webster's includes 'hostile' in it's definition of aggression, and "The Tarantula Keeper's Guide" on page 101 (2nd Ed) uses hostile, intractable, malevolent, etc. when describing certain tarantulas... that's aggression!

Huh. Interesting. But in jayefbe's post in this very thread (get ready for it...a meta-joke!!!), he says that all tarantulas are "flamboyantly joyful and loving creatures".

Every tarantula is a flamboyantly joyful and loving creature.

That directly contradicts your information. Hmm :? I'm looking forward to you whipping out your dictionaries of circular logic and figuring out this conundrum.

In the case of the Chilean rose hair, the term 'assertively curious' is more accurate, as once mine got HUGE it did become more actively interested in things than before, but I've never experienced mine ever getting "aggressive" (well, compaired to my Burmese cobalt blue, heh, heh)

Oh and thank you for defining in such a precise way the attitude of every Grammastola rosea in existence based upon your limited sample size of one.