Raising crickets can be an eco-friendly way to produce nutritious animal feed or supplements. But is setting up a cricket farm actually worth the investment of time and resources needed? In this comprehensive guide, we explore the pros and cons to help you decide.
If you’re short on time, here’s a quick answer: Breeding crickets can be a worthwhile endeavor due to the low start-up costs, demand for crickets as feeders and food, and ability to do it year-round at home.
However, it does require consistent daily work and comes with some challenges around keeping the crickets healthy. Overall, for the right hobbyist or small farmer, breeding crickets can be a fulfilling and potentially profitable activity.
The Benefits and Opportunities of Breeding Crickets
Low Start-Up Costs
One of the best things about breeding crickets is that it requires very little upfront investment to get started. You don’t need a lot of expensive equipment or facilities. Basic plastic bins or containers, egg crates, and substrate like coconut fiber are all you need to house your colony.
Feed made from grain byproducts can be purchased very cheaply as well. So with just a couple hundred dollars, you can be on your way to sustaining a thriving cricket farm.
High Demand as Animal Feed and Human Food
Crickets are growing in popularity as nutritious feed for exotic pets like lizards, frogs, spiders, snakes, and birds. Many chain pet stores and individual pet owners are seeking out farms that can provide quality, sustainably-raised feeder insects.
Additionally, as the benefits of edible insects for humans are being realized, the market for crickets as human food is expanding exponentially. Research shows that crickets contain impressive amounts of protein, vitamins, minerals, and gut-healthy chitin, while requiring far fewer resources to farm than traditional livestock.
Self-Sustaining Breeding
One female cricket can lay 1,000-1,500 eggs in her lifetime! This means that starting out with even a small founding colony, you can quickly scale up production. A standard 10 gallon tank, for example, can house 1,000 adult crickets.
If half are female, in just a month or two you could have 500,000 new babies! Crickets are also very hardy, disease-resistant, and don’t require complex care like temperature regulation beyond room temperature.
This makes the farming process very low maintenance once the breeding colony is established.
Year-Round Source of Income
Crickets can be bred continuously to provide income year-round. The cricket lifecycle from egg to adult is about 6-8 weeks. By staggering breeding cycles, you can ensure a constant production. And because crickets thrive at average household temperatures between 75-85°F, expensive climate control infrastructure is not necessary.
The extra income from selling crickets to pet food suppliers and edible insect outlets can be quite lucrative. Some farms generate over $100k annually through online wholesale and direct-to-consumer sales channels.
Challenges and Difficulties of Cricket Farming
Labor Intensive Daily Care
Raising crickets requires a lot of daily effort and attention to detail. Crickets are very sensitive to environmental changes, so their habitat needs constant monitoring and adjustments. Here are some labor intensive cricket care tasks:
- Daily cleaning of cages, containers, and surfaces to prevent disease outbreaks
- Feeding the crickets a nutritious diet of vegetables, grains, etc. at least once a day
- Providing water – crickets need moisture for hydration and shedding
- Maintaining ideal temperature and humidity levels in the cricket housing
- Regular inspection of crickets to remove dead ones and isolate sick ones
- Harvesting crickets at the right age before they reach adulthood
As you can see, raising healthy crickets takes a lot of time, effort, and proper management each day. It’s not a simple set-and-forget operation. Proper staffing is crucial to keep up with cricket care tasks.
Ensuring Proper Cleanliness and Environment
Maintaining a clean and ideal environment is critical for cricket growth and health. Here are some key factors:
- Cages and surfaces must be cleaned daily to prevent dangerous bacteria/fungus buildup
- Removed manure, dead crickets, and uneaten food regularly to prevent disease spread
- Provide proper temperature of 75-90°F for tropical crickets
- Humidity levels around 40-60% are ideal for cricket development
- Ensure crickets have hiding spots like egg cartons for shelter
- Give crickets 12 hours of light per day to maintain normal behavior
Even slight deviations from optimal conditions can stress crickets and make them susceptible to disease. Maintaining proper cleanliness and environment requires vigilance and quickly fixing any issues.
Preventing Disease Outbreaks
Disease is a constant threat that can wipe out entire cricket colonies. Here are some tips to prevent outbreaks:
- Isolate and remove sick crickets immediately to prevent spreading
- Quarantine new cricket shipments for 1-2 weeks before adding to colony
- Disinfect cages and tools like tweezers regularly
- Avoid overcrowding to reduce disease transmission
- Inspect daily for signs like dead crickets, reduced feeding, odd movements
- Keep detailed records of any issues noticed in each container
- Cull old egg cartons and replace with clean ones weekly
Quick action at the first signs of disease gives the best chance of containment. It’s crucial to have protocols planned for isolating and managing outbreaks.
Finding Buyers and Building Connections
Before starting a cricket farm, important groundwork is needed to determine your target buyers and build business relationships. Here are key steps:
- Research potential buyers like pet stores, zoos, wildlife rehab centers, etc. and contact them
- Figure out buyer preferences for cricket size, packaging, delivery method
- Get any licenses or insurance required to sell commercially
- Offer samples to potential buyers to get feedback
- Start with small shipments to prove reliability and quality
- Build long-term trusted business partnerships over time
Putting in relationship building efforts before committing to large-scale production is wise. Finding eager buyers ensures your cricket business will thrive.
Breeding Cricket Species for Maximum Production
Common House Cricket or Acheta domesticus
The common house cricket (Acheta domesticus) is one of the most popular and readily available feeder insects for reptiles, amphibians, arachnids, and insectivorous pets. Here are some key things to know about breeding house crickets:
- House crickets have a life cycle of 6-8 weeks from egg to adult at optimal temperatures (75-85°F). They can be bred year-round indoors.
- Use plastic containers or bins as breeding enclosures. Line with egg crates for hiding spots and provide dry substrate, water gel or fruits/veggies for moisture.
- Feed crickets a high quality dry gutload diet to maximize nutrition. Supplement with fruits/veggies.
- Introduce egg laying trays lined with sand or coconut fiber to collect eggs. Females lay about 1,000 eggs over 3-4 weeks.
- Incubate eggs at 80-90°F. Eggs hatch in 1-2 weeks. House hatchlings separately until they molt into larger nymphs.
- Raise nymphs at 75-80°F on gutload diet. Monitor humidity levels to prevent mold.
- Separate adults by sex before final molt to prevent fighting and egg cannibalism. Ideal sex ratio is 70% female, 30% male.
With ideal setup and care, a pair of house crickets can produce over 10,000 offspring in a 3 month period. Staggered breeding containers allow for continuous production to feed voracious reptile appetites.
Banded Cricket or Gryllodes sigillatus
Banded crickets (Gryllodes sigillatus) are another excellent feeder insect option. Here’s an overview of breeding banded crickets:
- Banded crickets have a shorter 4-5 week life cycle at 80-85°F.
- They need higher humidity than house crickets – maintain levels around 70%.
- Egg laying containers should have moist peat or coconut fiber substrate. Adults will bury eggs in the substrate.
- Harvest eggs by sieving substrate. Eggs hatch in 18-20 days at 80°F.
- Nymphs molt 6-7 times before reaching adult size in 4-5 weeks.
- Separate sexes before final molt. Ideal ratios are 2 females to 1 male.
Banded crickets are prolific breeders but more sensitive to environmental conditions than house crickets. Careful monitoring of temperature and humidity is needed to maximize production.
Field Cricket or Gryllus species
Field crickets like Gryllus assimilis and Gryllus firmus are also used as feeders. Here are breeding tips for field crickets:
- Field crickets prefer cooler temperatures around 70-75°F and high humidity around 65-70%.
- Provide at least 8 inches of loose substrate for females to lay eggs in tunnels.
- Eggs hatch in 14-21 days. Nymphs look like smaller adults (no larval stage).
- Development from egg to adult takes 6-9 weeks depending on temperature.
- Separate sexes before final molt. Ideal ratios are 2-3 females per male.
- Females lay about 100-150 eggs and live 4-8 weeks as adults.
Field crickets have lower reproduction rates than house and banded crickets. But their loud chirping can be a plus for pets requiring live auditory stimulation to induce feeding reflexes.
Setting Up Your Cricket Breeding Operation
Housing and Rearing Containers for Your Cricket Colony
When setting up housing for your cricket colony, plastic storage bins or large aquariums work great. The containers should have smooth sides that are at least 12-16 inches high to prevent crickets from escaping.
Be sure to provide plenty of egg crates, cardboard, or other materials inside for hiding spots and surfaces to climb on. Allow at least 1-2 square feet of space per 100 crickets. Proper ventilation is also crucial – drill or poke small holes in the lid or sides of the container.
Just be sure the holes are not large enough for crickets to squeeze through!
Providing Proper Temperature, Humidity and Ventilation
Crickets thrive in warm conditions between 75-85°F. Use under tank heating pads, heat lamps, or space heaters to maintain optimal temperatures if needed. Humidity should be kept in the 35-45% range. Ventilation is also key – stagnant air can allow dangerous gases like ammonia to accumulate from cricket waste.
Position your cricket bins to allow air flow, mist the habitat daily, and place mesh screens over the ventilation holes to prevent escapees.
Optimal Lighting Conditions
Crickets do best with 12-14 hours of light per day. Use simple fluorescent or LED lighting on timers to regulate their light exposure. Avoid intense, direct light which may overheat crickets. Dim lighting is also recommended, as brighter light can stress crickets and inhibit breeding.
Place egg crates, cardboard, or other hides in shaded areas so crickets can get respite from the light.
Water and Feeding Considerations
Provide moisture by misting the habitat daily and supplying wet sponges or cotton balls. Also offer water in shallow dishes, taking care to avoid drowning. Feed high quality gutloads like chicken feed, grains, or commercial diets designed for crickets. Supply fresh fruits and veggies too.
Feed adults daily and juveniles 2-3 times per day. Remove any uneaten food to prevent molding.
Following these housing, temperature, lighting, ventilation, hydration, and feeding best practices will give your crickets the ideal conditions to thrive and breed successfully!
Steps for Breeding and Harvesting Crickets
Allowing Crickets to Mature and Mate
Crickets need to reach adulthood before they can reproduce. Adult crickets are identified by the development of wings and fully formed reproductive organs. Allow crickets to mature for 4-8 weeks after hatching depending on the species and climate.
Keep temperatures around 80-90°F to encourage faster growth.
Once adults, introduce both male and females into the breeding enclosure and provide hiding spots. The male crickets will attract the females by making chirping noises. Mating usually occurs at night and can last over an hour. Females lay eggs within a few days after mating.
Egg Laying and Incubation Basics
Crickets prefer to deposit eggs in moist, dark environments with temperatures around 80°F. An incubation substrate like vermiculite or coconut fiber works well. Expect females to lay 15-20 eggs per day and over 1,000 eggs in her lifetime.
Cover incubation containers with vented lids to retain moisture.
The incubation period ranges from 12-14 days. Avoid disturbing the eggs during this time. Monitor moisture levels to ensure the substrate remains damp but not soaked. Low temperatures can delay hatching while high heat kills the embryos. Newly hatched nymphs look like tiny pale crickets.
Raising Nymphs to Adulthood
House nymphs in well-ventilated enclosures and provide egg cartons for hiding and climbing. Feed them a nutritious diet of greens, fruits, grains, and fish food. Supply moisture via slices of potatoes, cucumbers, or moist substrate.
Cannibalism can be an issue if nymphs become overcrowded or lack food.
Nymphs grow through a series of molts, shedding their exoskeleton as they get bigger. Molting happens frequently at first, then slows as they near adulthood around 6-10 weeks. Maintain warm temperatures around 80°F and avoid handling nymphs during delicate molting periods.
Harvesting and Storing Adult Crickets
Crickets can be harvested once they reach 1 inch size. Use evening red lights to collect adults when they are less active. Place them directly into cooler temperatures around 45-55°F to slow metabolism and movement. Count harvested crickets based on intended use to avoid waste.
Store adult crickets in ventilated containers lined with egg cartons at 45-55°F for 2-6 weeks. Avoid overcrowding and continue to provide food and hydration. Monitor for dead crickets and remove promptly to avoid parasite outbreaks.
Allow crickets to return to room temperature before feeding other pets to prevent shock.
Economic Potential of Breeding Crickets
Weighing Your Upfront and Ongoing Costs
Starting a cricket farm requires some initial investments, but the ongoing costs are relatively low. You’ll need enclosures, heating lamps, egg crates for habitat, and food and water supplies. Expect to spend $2,000-$5,000 upfront for a basic setup.
Once up and running, you’ll spend around $500/month on cricket food, electricity, and other recurring costs.
The good news is crickets are inexpensive to feed. They eat household scraps, grains, fruits and vegetables. You can reduce costs by growing some of their food yourself.automatic waterers also help lower labor requirements.
Comparing to Other Specialty Farming Ventures
Compared to other exotic livestock like rabbits, chickens or quail, crickets require less space, food and maintenance. For example, studies show crickets can produce 2 lbs of protein per square foot of space, versus 0.5 lbs for chickens.
The lower overhead makes cricket farming attractive for small-scale or urban operations.
Tap Into Growing Pet and Human Food Markets
The demand for cricket flour and other cricket-based products is rapidly rising. Once considered a niche market, edible insects are now going mainstream. According to Markets and Markets, the global edible insects market is projected to reach $1.3 billion by 2023.
Crickets are natural sources of protein, vitamins, minerals and gut-healthy chitin. As consumers seek sustainable and healthy alternatives to traditional meat, the opportunities expand. The pet food sector also presents a huge opportunity.
Consider Selling Wholesale, Farmers Markets or Online
Popular outlets for selling your cricket harvest include:
- Wholesale to processors making cricket powder or pet food
- Farmers markets, where you can sell direct to consumers
- Online via your own e-commerce site
Value-added cricket products like snacks, protein bars and flours offer higher margins. But they require more processing and marketing efforts. Selling raw crickets or wholesale may be easier for beginners.
Conclusion
Breeding crickets poses some challenges but also offers exciting opportunities. With focus on keeping crickets healthy and productive, the low start-up costs, valuable market opportunities, and potential for year-round supplemental income can make cricket farming a rewarding venture for the right individual.
Use this guide to make an informed decision on if cricket breeding is worth it for you.
If you are willing to put in the daily effort needed and can make the vital business connections for selling your crickets, it can be well worth it. Get started with a small-scale colony to test the waters before committing to larger-scale cricket farming.
