Crickets eating cricket diet.
There is a growing problem with domestic brown cricket (Acheta domestica), and unfortunately, many pet owners use these as feeders. There is a virus that started in Europe, spread to Canada and is now in the US — and it is killing crickets. The virus is species specific to the domestic variety of cricket.
Some feeder cricket companies have actually been completely wiped out from this problem. The Lucky Lure Cricket Company in Florida filed for bankruptcy. Others are trying to fight it with preventative measures.
According to Clay Ghann, owner of Ghann’s Cricket Farm, “Numerous growers in the USA and Canada have been experiencing production problems, and overall supply has shrunk considerably. At present we do NOT have a significant widespread problem like many other growers are experiencing, and we will do everything we can to prevent that.”
If you feed your pets crickets, you should look into other feeder insects that might also work for you in case crickets are not available.
Vendors at the All Maryland Reptile Shows, located at the Havre de Grace Community Center, 100 Lagaret Lane in Havre de Grace every month, are feeling the pinch. Max Pet Supply, an insect vendor at the show, will have an assortment of alternative insects at the July show and will get as many crickets as they can.
Superworms, mealworms, butter worms, Phoenix worms, waxworms, silkworms and tomato/tobacco hornworms are all other options for insectivores. Note: tomato and tobacco hornworms cannot be used from the wild. They must be fed an artificial diet or they will kill your pet.
Some people “field catch” insects in the summer to feed their animals. There are some dangers in doing that too. Lightening bugs are all over the place this time of year. They can kill reptiles if they are used as feeders. Wild crickets, however, can be good food as long as there are no chemicals, pesticides, etc. in your yard or your neighbor’s yard. Insects don’t know whose yard has chemicals and you cannot assume that bugs in your yard stay in your yard. Be careful!
Look for healthy alternatives for your pets because cricket feeders are going to be hard to find and will probably get very expensive in the next few months.
Comments
I live in Florida and it's extremely rare, if ever, that I see a wild field cricket - whereas they used be in abundance. I used to catch a female and she would lay eggs and I'd get tons of them which I cultured and grew to ensure the crickets were safe to use for my pets. But now I can't find any ANYWHERE.
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