Reducing odor of crickets?

[BeardieBaby]

Does anyone have any suggestions on how to reduce the awful smell that crickets have? I clean their cricket keeper on a daily basis and change their food every single day and I also take out the dead ones, but somehow they still have that awful odor to them that sometimes I can smell right away when I come in the apartment which is NOT good. Thanks!

 

[gilliesexotics]

Hi, the only option i can offer as advice is to clean the bin daily

They stink no matter what though.

 

[Scottio]

I'm not entirely sure how they manage to smell. Sometimes I get them and they are fine, others its awful! all you can do is clean! Make sure you do a full clean after each new batch of crickets are put in. Use a deep reptile cleaner, seems to work the best!

 

[BeardieBaby]

Thank you guys for your advice! I notice the same thing, that sometimes they smell worse than other times. It's odd. But yes, I will continue to do daily cleanings and clean the food everyday, I guess that's all I can do. I am sure you can imagine how embarrassing it is though to have company over and have that smell going on.

 

[Scottio]

Just thought, You could try keeping them in a storage box inside the keeper. This may at least contain the smell. I know it's an awful smell and does feel a bit embarrassing!

 

[Germ]

I used to use a cat litter product, that is pressed wood\sawdust pellets as a thin layer of substrate. This worked wonders at absorbing the better part of the odor. Something similar to this ...

 

[BeardieBaby]

Oh awesome, thanks so much for all your advice! And Germ, I think they sell that brand of cat litter in stores near me, so I am psyched to know I can buy something that will get rid of the odor! I just have some questions about it.....how much exactly do I put for a layer? And, what if the crickets eat the substrate and then my beardie eats the crickets? Would that hurt my beardie?

 

[Germ]

They don't eat the wood . I always just used a one pellet thick layer, the pellets are appoximately 1/4" in diameter & 3/4"-1" long. Making sure all dead crix are removed will also reduce the odor significantly, if you don't, there is very little that will remove or cover up that smell.

 

[BeardieBaby]

Ok, awesome, thanks Germ! I actually went to Target yesterday looking for it, and I saw that brand, but for some reason I thought it was more like sawdust, not actual pellets, so I didn't get it lol. Haven't been able to get online until now to check back at your picture and post to double check, but now I see you DID say pellets so the next time I go there I will definitely get it!