How to Catch Wild Crickets

A wild cricket is a superb bait to use when fishing and it's also good food for exotic pets, such as turtles, lizards and other reptiles. Crickets can take up residence in your home and hide around refrigerators, stoves and fireplaces, or they can be found outside in fields, wooded areas and pastures. Catching wild crickets requires little skill but lots of patience and timing.

Things You'll Need

  • Breadcrumbs
  • Sugar
  • Newspaper
  • Empty Paper Towel Tube
  • Butterfly Net
  • Paper Bag
  • Cardboard Box
  • Two Jar Tops
  • Cotton Ball
  • Fish Food
  • Small Sticks
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Instructions

    • 1

      Catch crickets that are in your house by moving the refrigerator, stove, and other large appliances and looking behind them. Use a butterfly net or empty paper towel tube to scoop up the crickets and then place the crickets in a paper bag. Take them outside and set them free. If you wish to keep the wild crickets to be used as food for your exotic pet, put the crickets into the exotic pet's habitat right away.

    • 2

      Catch crickets outdoors. Crickets love to hide and nest in woodpiles and bushes and they also like the cover of vegetation that surrounds the perimeter of homes. The best time to check for wild crickets is in the early morning. Spray the area with a bit of water from the hose and see if wild crickets hop out. The other way to tell if wild crickets are near is to listen for their chirps.

    • 3

      Prepare your trap. Collect breadcrumbs and sugar along with a sheet of newspaper. At dusk, go to your chosen location and sprinkle the breadcrumbs onto the ground. Top that off with sprinkled sugar. Unfold the newspaper and place it on top of the breadcrumb mixture.

    • 4

      Leave and come back the following morning. It is important to check your trap while it is still early, probably at sunrise. Carefully lift the newspaper. Underneath you will find wild crickets. Use the butterfly net, or paper towel tube, to catch them. If you are quick, you can use your hands.

    • 5

      Put the crickets into a paper bag. If you are going to use them immediately, as fish bait or food, you can transport them in the paper bag. If you are keeping the wild crickets only for a short time, put them into a cardboard box.

    • 6

      Keep the crickets. Purchase a cricket habitat from a pet store or make your own to put them in. Pierce tiny holes in the cardboard box to allow fresh air to move inside. Use old jar tops for water and food dishes. Each day, place a water soaked cotton ball inside the habitat so that your wild crickets can drink. Use fish food to feed your wild crickets. Place the fish food in a jar top. Gather small sticks and put them inside the habitat for your wild crickets to perch on.