Microcrickets - how to catch them?

[Steve Coe]

I silly question I'm sure...

but how do you catch microcrickets?

Every time I open the lid a few jump out and threaten to infest my house...

i know you can get cricket keepers for larger crickets, but what about the tiny ones?

[James Box]

i wouldn't worry terribly about infestation...they'll probably die off or be killed by house spiders!

i tend to grab them with my fingers gently now...but if you open the box over a larger one you can at least stop them escaping properly...

[Colin D Wilson]

People put them in the fridge till they slow down a little, some put them into a salt shaker and sprinkle them into the spiders tubs.
I've used a straw in the past to let one crawl into it then tap it into the tub.

I have gone back to using squat maggots, either dead or alive to feed slings.

[Peter Lacey]

I do all my feeding equipped with a large mixing bowl, small pot for catching and a tub in case I get escapees. Open the cricket tub over the mixing bowl and shake out a good quantity. Then I scoop up a cricket or 2 and drop them into the sling pots.
If you have a T enclosure where micro crickets are hatching, dry the bleeders out!

[Chris Golen]

I just grab them with tweezers.
It takes some practice cause these guys are quick

[Gem Lee]

I open up a small corner of the box and tap a couple into the tub, I feed all my tines in a tray to catch any escapee crickets. Also, not sure if it helps but I find the blacks easier to deal with than the browns

[Jas Lambert]

Used to use a plastic drinking straw through a hole in the container, wont take long for a couple to run up inside, take out straw, recover hole and blow the contents out into the viv.

Only way I could get my other half to feed if I was away!

[Steve Coe]

Thanks for the reply folks.... I like the straw idea... I'm on it tonight...

[Peter Lacey]

You could try using a piece of stocking over one end of the straw and suck the micro's up.

[Leanne King-Smith]

Yes, I've always used straws. It's the only way I can get any at all, lol.

[Nick L]

Use a ‘pooter’! The best diagram that I could Google quickly was http://www.fao.org/docrep/009/p5178e/P5178E09.htm -- scroll down a bit to Fig. 8.2 A.

I use one bought from here:- http://www.watdon.co.uk/the-naturali...g/Pooters.html item “E713 Pocket pooter - glass”. You can ‘catch’ upto size 2 crickets with this one. [If you buy this one get some extra tubes at the same time; makes sorting a lot easier.] Watkins & Doncaster are a bit pricey (you could probably make one far cheaper; but I’m lazy!) but quality and service is very good.

[colin haris]

I read a similar thread to this a couple of weeks ago on one of the forums (may well have been this one?) and someone recommended using a salt shaker to dispense macro crickets which I thought was genius! I’ll definitely use this method with any new sling arrivals!

Colin

[Phil Rea]

I read a similar thread to this a couple of weeks ago on one of the forums (may well have been this one?) and someone recommended using a salt shaker to dispense macro crickets which I thought was genius! I’ll definitely use this method with any new sling arrivals!

Colin

Colin D Wilson mentioned it post 3 of this very thread - here

[colin haris]

Oh yes! How did I miss that? Oh well I should have known a fellow Colin would be the genius behind such an idea!

colin

[Matthew Potts]

i normally put my finger on top of one gently then slide it up the bit of egg carton till i can get my thumb on it as well. seems to work for me