Cricket bin setup and colony care: the complete guide

Published October 27, 2026 · The Cricket Depot, San Antonio, Texas · Keeping crickets

Most cricket problems are bin problems. When crickets die by the dozen, smell bad or vanish into a pile in one corner, the cause is usually the container: not enough air, too much moisture, too little space, or food and waste left to rot. Fix the setup and most of those problems go away.

This guide covers everything from choosing a container to a monthly deep clean, plus the basics of keeping an egg-laying container if you want your crickets to breed. For a shorter version, see our seven-step care guide and how to keep crickets alive. For breeding in depth, our cricket breeding guide picks up where this article leaves off.

Choosing a container

The ideal cricket container is smooth on the inside, easy to clean, well ventilated and sized for the number of crickets you keep.

• Plastic storage totes are the most popular choice. Smooth walls make it hard for crickets to climb out, and they are cheap and easy to wash. Clear or light-colored totes let you check on crickets without opening the lid.
• Purpose-made cricket keepers are handy for smaller numbers and quick feeding. Many have tubes you can shake crickets out of. We sell a medium keeper and an XL keeper (sold as having room for 500+ crickets) on our shop page.
• Glass tanks work but are heavy, and a glass lid traps humidity unless you replace it with mesh.
• Avoid cardboard boxes for long-term use (they absorb moisture and waste), and fabric or wooden containers that are hard to clean.

How big?

Bigger is usually better, especially in height, because standing egg crate uses vertical space. Size the container to give crickets room to spread out with no piling in corners. If you are storing a large order, several medium bins are easier to manage than one huge one; see buying crickets in bulk for storage tips at scale.

Ventilation: the most important detail

Crickets breathe, eat, drink and produce waste, which all add moisture and ammonia to the air in a closed box. Ventilation lets that escape. Too little and the bin turns humid, smelly and deadly.

1. Cut large openings in the lid, leaving a frame of plastic around the edge for strength. Many keepers remove most of the lid's center.
2. Cover them with fine metal mesh (aluminum window screen or similar). Fine mesh stops small crickets escaping. Crickets can chew through some soft fabric or plastic screens.
3. Secure the mesh with hot glue or strong tape, sealing all edges.
4. Optional side vents near the top of the walls improve cross-flow. Keep them high so crickets cannot reach them easily from the floor.

If your bin smells of ammonia shortly after cleaning, or you see condensation on the walls, add more ventilation.

Temperature and heat

For holding feeder crickets, a comfortable range is roughly 75–85°F. Within that range crickets stay active and eat well. Warmer conditions speed up growth and breeding; house crickets develop fastest in the high 80s °F, which is why our size chart ages are given for 86–90°F. Cooler conditions slow growth, which can be handy if you want crickets to stay a certain size longer.

• Heat source: in a cool room, many keepers use a reptile heat mat attached to the outside of one side or part of the bottom of the bin, ideally on a thermostat. Heating only part of the bin lets crickets choose.
• Check with a thermometer placed inside the bin rather than guessing.
• Avoid: direct sun, which can overheat a plastic bin quickly; heat lamps aimed into a closed bin; and unheated garages in winter.
• Never leave crickets in a closed car. In San Antonio heat they can die in minutes.

Humidity and moisture

Crickets need moisture to drink, but a damp bin is one of the fastest routes to mold, odor and die-offs. The goal is a dry bin with moisture available in specific spots.

• Keep the floor dry. No wet substrate, no spilled water.
• Provide water in safe forms: water gel or crystals, a damp sponge (rinsed often), or slices of potato, carrot or orange. Crickets, especially small ones, drown easily in open water.
• Watch for condensation. Droplets on walls or lid mean the bin is too humid. Improve airflow and remove some wet food.

Moderate humidity helps nymphs molt; very dry air for long periods can make it harder. In practice, a well-ventilated bin with water gel and a little fresh produce strikes a good balance for most homes.

Substrate-free vs. substrate

For holding feeders, we recommend a bare floor. It is easy to clean, you can see dead crickets and frass (cricket droppings) at a glance, and there is nothing to hold moisture.

Some keepers use a thin layer of a dry material such as wheat bran or rolled oats as a floor covering that doubles as food. It can work, but it needs changing regularly because it mixes with frass, and it can hide problems. Avoid soil, sand or damp coconut fiber on the floor of a holding bin: if adults have access to moist material, they will lay eggs in it, and damp substrate quickly grows mold.

Egg crate and hides

Crickets like to climb and hide, and they need surface area to spread out. Egg crate (cardboard egg flats or cartons) is the classic choice:

• Stand flats on end, vertically, rather than laying them flat. This multiplies the usable surface and lets frass fall to the floor.
• Fill the space without packing it so tightly that air cannot move.
• Replace egg crate when it gets damp, soiled or starts to break down.
• Feeding tip: lift a piece of egg crate and tap it over a cup or bag to collect crickets without chasing them.

We sell egg-crate hides in packs of 10 if you do not have a supply. Paper towel tubes are another option.

Food and water gel

Dry food

Keep a dry food available all the time in a shallow dish: a commercial cricket feed or gut-load, rolled oats, wheat bran or a plain unmedicated chick starter. Constant access to food reduces cannibalism and helps crickets grow evenly.

Fresh food

Add small portions of vegetables such as carrot, sweet potato, squash or dark leafy greens for moisture and nutrition. Give only what is eaten in about a day and remove leftovers before they go soft. Our guide to gut-loading crickets lists good and poor foods.

Water gel

Water gel or crystals give crickets a drink without drowning risk. Prepare them according to the package directions, put them in a shallow dish, and replace them when they dry out or get dirty. In a big bin, use two or three dishes so crickets do not crowd around one.

Cleaning schedule and odor control

A cricket bin will always have some smell, but a strong, sharp, ammonia smell means something is wrong. Most odor comes from three sources: dead crickets, rotting food and built-up frass in humid conditions.

Daily

• Remove dead crickets.
• Remove old or soft produce.
• Top up dry food and water gel.
• Quick check of temperature and for condensation.

Weekly

• Tip out or vacuum accumulated frass from the floor (move crickets to a spare bin first if needed).
• Replace soiled or damp egg crate.
• Wash food and water dishes.

Between batches (or monthly for ongoing bins)

• Empty the bin completely.
• Wash with hot water and a mild, unscented soap, rinse very well and let it dry fully. Avoid strong chemical cleaners and residues; crickets are sensitive to them.
• Check the mesh for holes and the lid for gaps.

If losses suddenly jump despite good cleaning, work through our why crickets die troubleshooting guide.

Egg-laying medium and hatching basics

If you want your colony to breed, adults need somewhere to lay eggs. Here is the short version; the full process is in our breeding guide.

1. Laying container: a shallow plastic container filled with a moist, soft medium such as coconut fiber or clean topsoil without additives, kept damp but not wet. Many keepers cover it with mesh so adults can lay through it but cannot dig the eggs up.
2. Give adults access for a few days. Females push their ovipositor into the medium to lay eggs.
3. Move it to a separate hatching bin so adults cannot eat the eggs or hatchlings. Keep it warm and keep the medium moist.
4. Hatching: in warm conditions, eggs typically hatch in roughly one to two weeks; cooler conditions take longer. Pinheads need fine food and safe moisture straight away.

Our cricket life cycle article explains what happens at each stage after hatching.

Putting it together: a 30-minute setup

If you are starting from scratch, here is one straightforward order of work. It assumes a plastic tote and supplies you can get at a hardware or pet store.

1. Wash and dry the tote with hot water and mild, unscented soap. Rinse well.
2. Cut the lid vents with a utility knife or hot knife, leaving a sturdy rim. Work slowly and keep fingers clear.
3. Glue fine metal mesh over the openings and let the glue cure fully, ideally overnight, so fumes have time to clear before crickets go in.
4. Place the bin somewhere stable, away from direct sun, drafts, pets and kids. Add a heat mat to part of one side if the room runs cool.
5. Put a thermometer inside and let the bin settle for a few hours to see where the temperature lands.
6. Stand egg crate on end across most of the floor, leaving a clear strip for food and water dishes.
7. Add a dish of dry food and one or two dishes of prepared water gel.
8. Add crickets and close the lid. Check the next morning for odor, condensation and any escape routes.

Label the bin with the cricket size and the date they arrived. It sounds fussy, but when you have more than one bin, or when crickets start growing into the next size, it saves a lot of guesswork at feeding time. A simple note of how many you started with also helps you judge whether losses are normal.

Weekly and monthly checklist

Copy this into your phone or tape it to the bin.

Quick troubleshooting

• Strong ammonia smell: more ventilation, remove dead crickets and wet food, clear frass.
• Crickets piled in corners: too crowded or too cool. Add egg crate, split the bin, check temperature.
• Mold on food or egg crate: too damp. Remove it, cut back wet food, improve airflow.
• Crickets escaping: gaps around the lid or mesh, or crickets climbing a rough or soiled wall. Seal gaps and keep walls clean.
• Lots of pale crickets: usually normal molting. Make sure there is space and food.
• Sudden die-off: see why crickets die.

Frequently asked questions