# The perils of live crickets at work



## moothecow (Jun 4, 2011)

So, I was running low on bugs and decided to stop by the petstore at lunch (thankfully it's very close to my work) and pick up some mealworms and crickets for Misha. Live ones.

When I got back, I was running late to meet with my manager, so I just tossed the bag with the creepy crawlies under my desk and ran off to the meeting.

I get back to my desk five minutes ago, and am greeted by a very wide-eyed cubicle neighbour saying "Um... your desk is making _nature sounds_." :shock:

And that's when I notice there is indeed the very loud chirping of three dozen crickets coming from the bag under my desk. So loud that a good half dozen of the surrounding cubicles can hear them. And everyone is just looking at me quizzically. Like I'm a crazy person.

Long story short, I explained why I have crickets under my desk. The keyboard typing drowns out the sounds a bit, but otherwise we're all just trying to ignore the chirping ... It's kind of nice, in a weird way. Like I'm working on my computer in the middle of a field. :lol:


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## LarryT (May 12, 2009)

:lol: Good story brought a smile to my face!


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## SaltAndExtraPepper (Mar 4, 2011)

Ahahahahahahaha I laughed so hard!! :lol: Especially at


> "_nature sounds_" :shock:


Too funny!! Thanks for sharing  It does seem like it'd be sort of soothing/relaxing :lol:


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## hanhan27 (May 12, 2011)

Nature sounds :lol: :lol: Oh boy, that story got me laughing. I bet your co-workers think you're pretty interesting, lol!


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## MissC (Nov 15, 2010)

I can go one better...sorta...

We now order crickets in 'bulk' and get 500 at a time. They arrive in a cardboard box :shock: 

Yesterday, I brought our crate o'crickets home and placed them on the stool in the kitchen, awaiting their chief gut-loader to get home from work (I am not touching the things for any money). About an hour later, I walked back in the apartment after taking out the garbage, and something skittered away from me. What the heck?? I leaned down to look and sure enough...a cricket. I quickly trapped it under a bowl. I turned around to take a step...another cricket... :shock: and another...so...the box went outside....and the cricket trapping went on all afternoon.

When Jamie got home a few hours later, there were almost a dozen bowls of every color and size dotting the kitchen and bathroom floors, the box of crickets was wrapped in a garbage bag outside (they had been escaping and hanging out on my step) and I was on the couch, refusing to set foot past the livingroom.

I got my revenge later, when we turned Sumo loose on the escapees but still... :roll:


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## MomLady (Aug 14, 2010)

Ahh, the joy of live crickets. 
I have had the little buggers chew a hole in the plastic bag and escape. 
 
I have had my husband ask me to PLEASE feed the ones that are chirping to Nara. Yeah, right, just try to figure out which one it is.
 

But watching Nara chase them and nom them up is priceless. 

The things we do for our hedgies! :lol:


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## Rainy (Jul 27, 2011)

:lol: "nature sounds!"

Only another hedgie parent could understand. 

If I had a bunch of escapee crickets in my home......I would have left! I can handle a few crickets at a time, but one jumped out of my hand and I screamed! I can just see crickets mating in my home and becoming over-run with the little buggers!


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## moothecow (Jun 4, 2011)

Ahahaha, Miss C. The cricket army advancing as you retreat, one bowl at a time, to the safety of the couch. :lol: 

Here is a questions: how DO you get the crickets out of the box? I places an order for some live feeders, and realized what when the box arrives, I'm not sure what to do with it... how do I get the crickets out? I was going to freeze them all, but depending on how big the box in, I doubt the whole thing would fit in my freezer.


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## hanhan27 (May 12, 2011)

moothecow said:


> Ahahaha, Miss C. The cricket army advancing as you retreat, one bowl at a time, to the safety of the couch. :lol:
> 
> Here is a questions: how DO you get the crickets out of the box? I places an order for some live feeders, and realized what when the box arrives, I'm not sure what to do with it... how do I get the crickets out? I was going to freeze them all, but depending on how big the box in, I doubt the whole thing would fit in my freezer.


Here's my thought. If you are a very brave person, you can do what pet stores and stuff do. Cut up egg cartons and/or TP/paper towel roles and put them in the box with the crickets. Get a bread bag or a zip-loc back ready before you take some out. Pick up a chunk of egg carton and drop the whole thing in the bag. 

Of course, this is coming from someone who screams when anything with more than 4 legs moves, ever, even a little bit. So my advice isn't based on any experience, just... what I would personally do if I had a gun held to my head and was told to remove some crickets. :roll:


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## PJM (May 7, 2010)

Hubby actually bought an "annoyatron". It's a little device that has a magnet & the ability to make about 10 different annoying noises. Crickets being one of them. I hid it in my boss' office for a week with the cricket noise on. 

So not to run the battery out, when he would leave for the day, I would go into his office & turn it off. 

One day, he forgot something & had to come back into the office. He caught me coming out of his office. He said "What are you doing in my office?" Even though I'm in his office all the time. I'm such a bad liar that I just started to giggle. So I showed it to him & had to confess. I will never live that down. 

I swear, it bothered me more than it did him. I was so nervous that entire week! :roll:


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## Rainy (Jul 27, 2011)

Oh, PJM, you're a stinker! If that was my office there is no way I could do any work. I would just think about all the crickets reproducing and taking over my office. I can handle crickets a few at a time, but when they outnumber me by 10 or so, I get squeemish! :roll:


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## MissC (Nov 15, 2010)

moothecow said:


> Ahahaha, Miss C. The cricket army advancing as you retreat, one bowl at a time, to the safety of the couch. :lol:
> 
> Here is a questions: how DO you get the crickets out of the box? I places an order for some live feeders, and realized what when the box arrives, I'm not sure what to do with it... how do I get the crickets out? I was going to freeze them all, but depending on how big the box in, I doubt the whole thing would fit in my freezer.


I complicate the system further by gutloading them first for two days, so you also have to get veggies IN the box before you get the crickets out.

I have a perfect system: I make Jamie do it. In the bathtub. With the shower curtain closed. And the bathroom door shut. Judging by the noise and expletives, 500 crickets apparently aren't easy to move but I think J cuts a hole in one end and shakes most of them into a three gallon pail then rounds up the stragglers. If I did it on my own I would squish a few carrots in the box, then put the whole thing in the freezer. Thus box was only about three inches high and maybe just over a foot square.

I can make him available to you free of charge but you have to pay shipping.


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