Frequent Questions

 What's the smallest number of crickets I can buy?
The short answer: 100 crickets, in the Can-of-Ghann's Crickets-in-a-Can product.  BUT... it's ONLY shipped via the Postal Service, and is NOT GUARANTEED!  A better option is our recently introduced 250 count boxes.  See our Live Crickets store for pricing.
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What the best size live crickets to buy?
As a general guideline for sizing your pets meal, the insect should be about 1/2 of the width of your pets head, (or equal to the distance between the animal's eyes), but most herps can actually eat a cricket a little larger than you'd think.  The 5/8" crickets are probably our biggest seller, with 1/2" coming in a close second, (then 1/4", and then 3/4"). The really small sizes (1/8", 1/16", and pinheads) are great for baby chameleons, beardies, geckos, tarantulas, etc.

For fishing you normally want the biggest live cricket as you can get to really make those fish go crazy! Buy full grown crickets.
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What's the best type of container to keep live crickets in?
The plastic tote boxes readily available at most home improvement stores work great.  If you want something smaller, check out our Lee's Cricket Keeper - it's perfect for 500 1/2" crickets (can hold more if the crickets are smaller).  Glass aquariums are OK... but not the best choice.  Glass is a poor conductor of heat which means it tends to stay cool to the touch. This can make it difficult to maintain the proper temperature for the crickets, ESPECIALLY for crickets 1/4" & smaller.  Expect a higher death rate when crickets are kept in a glass tank.
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How big should the container be?
Your box should be sized to provide adequate space for your crickets to spread out comfortably.  They do not like to be too crowded. Overcrowding is the # 2 cause of excessive death rate in crickets.  (The # 1 cause is buying poor quality crickets from one of our competitors!).  As long as the crickets don't have to stay stacked on top of each other they will be fine.  Each cricket needs to be able to stand directly on some surface other than another cricket!

The packing materials from our shipping boxes (egg flats) stood up along the inside walls of your holding box will provide excellent crawling & hiding space.  If your box is short enough that the flats come too close to the top (within 3 or 4 inches) just tear them in half.  You can also rough up the inside walls of the holding box with sandpaper to provide more crawling space (this also provides an easy way for you to collect the crickets by scraping them off the walls with one of our Live Cricket Counters!).
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What's the best temperature for live crickets?
80º F is a good all around temperature for live crickets.  However, if you are able to keep different sizes at different temperatures it can help them live longer.  Generally, smaller crickets do better at warmer temperatures.  Pinheads do best at about 85º to 90º F, 1/2" - 3/4" crickets will do fine from 80º to 85º F, and adults will keep best at 75º to 80º F. But again, you should find that they all do OK at 80º F.
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How do I feed and water my live crickets?
Live crickets do best when fed a diet similar to what they were raised on.  We now offer our exclusive Ghann's Cricket Chow formula developed by our founder, Aubrey S. Ghann many years ago, and also a High Calcium Chow based on the same formula.  We have tried many "modern" formulas over the years, but have yet to come across any that grows crickets as strong and healthy as our original formula.  Feed "free choice" (keep some chow in plate at all times & let crickets eat as they desire).  Be sure they can get to the food easily!  If you don't see crickets actively on the food source, maybe they can't reach it.  If necessary provide some type of "ladder" for them to climb up to the food - wrap a piece of paper towel around outside bottom of plate or food tray so they can climb up to food easily.  It's also not a bad idea to supplement your crickets' grain diet with some fruit occasionally.  A quarter of an orange or apple every few days is just the trick.

Water should be also be available to them at all times!  One of our watering kits works great (be sure to wash (with dish washing soap) and thoroughly rinse all parts of the kit before initial use, and about twice a week thereafter.  Be sure crickets can get to the water (remember the paper towel around the base trick?).  Be sure the sponge completely fills the trough & leaves no standing water - crickets will get caught in it & can easily drown (they aren't very smart!).
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How long will my crickets live?
The short answer: it depends.  Many factors come into play here.  First and foremost is the quality of the crickets (yes, there can be a BIG difference from one producer to the next).  Second is the age of the crickets when you get them (larger crickets are nearer the end of their natural life cycle).  Temperature, nutrition, and cleanliness of the holding environment are also big factors.

The complete life cycle of Acheta domesticus (the best species for pet food and the one produced by most growers) is approximately 8 to 10 weeks under ideal conditions.  This does NOT mean that all crickets will live that long.  Crickets experience some degree of physical stress during the production, loading and shipping processes, which does shorten their life expectancy.  The amount of stress depends upon the care taken to produce, package and transport them.  At Ghann's we "baby our bugs!" which is one of the reasons Ghann's crickets are so hearty.

Adult live crickets are approximately 4.5 weeks old when we ship them.  If they are cared for properly as outlined above they should live about a week after you receive them.  3/4" crickets are about a half week younger than adults (4 weeks old) when shipped, so they should live about a half week longer (1.5 weeks) after you receive them.  5/8" are about a half week younger than 3/4", and so on down through the sizes.  Note: This life expectancy information is just a guideline and is NOT a guarantee. The conditions mentioned above will have a GREAT deal of influence on how long your crickets live.
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Can I use insecticides around my crickets?
NO!  Avoid any type of insecticides - sprays, "no-pest strips", anything that might give off fumes, even if not in same room. Live crickets are very susceptible to insecticides!
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Do you ship every day?
We ship Monday through Thursday via DHL.  DHL does not deliver on Saturday unless you pay an additional Saturday Delivery Fee (typically an additional $45.00 to $60.00).  None of the carriers will deliver on Sundays.  If you have an URGENT need, we will be glad to ship on Friday if you pay the additional required fees for Saturday delivery.  For more detailed info see Shipping Info page.
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Do you carry GIANT mealworms?
No.  We used to, but not any more.  Large mealworms are much cheaper than giants to produce, and most people prefer them over giants due to the better price.  All sizes currently offered are listed on our Worms page.
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Why do some items disappear from your store periodically?
We may occasionally sell out of certain items such as Superworms or Phoenix Worms.  When that happens we temporarily remove them from our online store.  The item will reappear as soon as we have it back in stock, so please check back often!

Do you have a catalog?
Are you kidding?  Who reads paper catalogs anymore?!  No, we don't.  Our web site is the best place to find the latest information and special pricing on all our products and services.
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Have another question?
Have a question that isn't addressed here?  Use our Contact Form to ask.  We'll do our best to respond promptly, and if your question is good we'll add it to this page.