If you've ever owned
a pet reptile or frog, then you know that the cost of crickets
can add up. However, what you may not realize is that it's easy
to start your own cricket farm and hang out a shingle offering
crickets for sale. This is a way of making money which can even
be done from home rather than needing to do it in a large outdoor
farm like environment. Here's what you need to know:
Offering crickets for sale is generally going to be a side
thing where you make some extra cash rather than something where
you earn a full time living. That's because creating a commercial
level cricket farm which will earn a full time living for you
requires a much larger commitment than many people would be willing
to engage in - you'd need to be raising millions of crickets
to make a living since they tend to sell for around 10 cents
each and the food they eat isn't free (though it is quite cheap).
On the other hand, if you simply want to raise crickets at
home (say in the basement) and offer crickets for sale to local
pet owners, the job is pretty easy. You just need to have an
aquarium for them to live in along with the appropriate feed
(corn meal is popular, though there are also specialized cricket
food products for sale from pet food shops). Then, you need to
ensure that you've got a mix of both male and female crickets.
Be sure however that you don't sell the female crickets as they
tend to be more valuable since they are the ones that lay eggs
and produce new crickets for sale to eager pet owners.
Here's a short video on breeding
crickets...
How Much Can You Make?
As noted above, crickets aren't very expensive to raise, however
they also aren't very expensive to purchase. Most pet owners
will spend around $10-$20 per month to buy crickets for their
pets. However, if you are able to supply 100 pet owners, this
could become a full time business.
Ways to Make More | Related Opportunities
| Tips
Remember that crickets are worth more when they are younger.
Most frogs and other reptiles which eat crickets don't like mature
crickets since they are large and hard to catch. This means that
when offering crickets for sale it's important to keep the stock
young and to get them out the door quickly. Crickets typically
live anywhere from 8-20 weeks so it's best to sell crickets which
are in the two week old range.
Remember that crickets are quite noisy, so you probably don't
want to raise crickets for sale in an apartment building. However,
if you live on a farm or even have a large basement, you can
generally do fine raising these insects. Keep in mind that they
do jump however and that you absolutely do not want to end up
with crickets jumping out of the aquarium and ending up all over
your home. Otherwise, you'll never get any peace and quiet.
Qualifications / Requirements
Remember that crickets are worth more when they are younger.
Most frogs and other reptiles which eat crickets don't like mature
crickets since they are large and hard to catch. This means that
when offering crickets for sale it's important to keep the stock
young and to get them out the door quickly. Crickets typically
live anywhere from 8-20 weeks so it's best to sell crickets which
are in the two week old range.
Remember that crickets are quite noisy, so you probably don't
want to raise crickets for sale in an apartment building. However,
if you live on a farm or even have a large basement, you can
generally do fine raising these insects. Keep in mind that they
do jump however and that you absolutely do not want to end up
with crickets jumping out of the aquarium and ending up all over
your home. Otherwise, you'll never get any peace and quiet.
First Steps
Start by preparing an aquarium where your crickets will live.
A 10 gallon aquarium will be fine to start, though you may need
to expand that depending on how big your business grows. Make
sure there is fresh water and food for the crickets. You can
also use broken up egg crates to provide places for them to hide
(they often like their privacy). Then, when your crickets are
ready, just hang out a sign saying crickets for sale.
Resources
Check out these helpful resources to learn more about offering
crickets for sale:
If you've ever owned
a pet reptile or frog, then you know that the cost of crickets
can add up. However, what you may not realize is that it's easy
to start your own cricket farm and hang out a shingle offering
crickets for sale. This is a way of making money which can even
be done from home rather than needing to do it in a large outdoor
farm like environment. Here's what you need to know: