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Need some help beetle guys

Discussion in 'Skulls and Skeletons' started by Kurt27, Dec 19, 2012.

  1. Dec 19, 2012 #1
    Kurt27

    Kurt27 Member

    192
    1
    pennsylvania
    Ive been doing this for close to 6 years now and still using the same freezer for my beetle enclosure. Well over the yrs between the brains that i didnt get all out or the skulls i didnt let dry enough, my bedding is pretty damp and gooey in spots. The smell of ammonia is aweful when i open it and my big colony is starting to slow down. My question is.....How do i wrangle up the beetles that i have to transfer them and clean my tank out fully and start over?? Anyone done this and had success without loosing tons of bugs???
     
  3. Dec 19, 2012 #2
    rednkhuntertd

    rednkhuntertd New Member

    15
    0
    Kurt,
    I actually saw this a while back, but never tried it.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IlkJY_KKBJ4

    Hope it helps
     

  5. Dec 20, 2012 #3
    skullclnr

    skullclnr Active Member

    1,852
    17
    Colorado
    Just take a little tub and a bucket put them both in your bug box. put some meat in the little tub and sink it down into the bedding so the top is flush with the top of the bedding. bugs will fall into the tub to get at the meat, check it three times a day and dump the bugs into the bucket. Do this for a few days. Make sure there is some bedding and food in the bucket to keep them happy. After a few days, accept the loss, pull the bucket and tub out and get the rest of the bedding out and clean the tank. Your going to loose bugs, but they come back fast! Wear a mask of something over your face.
     
  6. Dec 21, 2012 #4
    kermmie30

    kermmie30 New Member

    25
    0
    That You-Tube video was great. Check that out and if you have the ability to make a device like that, use it. If not, then you can use a large coffee can cut out on the bottom, a screen and a plastic tub. Just make sure the screen is large enough so the adults can get through. Use a stick or piece of wood for the adults to crawl down onto. Then, do it again using a finer screen so that you capture all the larve and eggs in another container and you have a new colony! It works well. It works well to have a skull or piece of fresh meat in the first container (elevated) so that the adults will gravitate toward it and save you a lot of time. You want it elevated so the skull is not sitting down in your larve and eggs that have dropped down.