Equipment Comparison: Watering Systems
Watering systems have historically used a couple of different base principles to work: osmosis/wicking, moistened substrates, and covered flowing water systems. When designing or implementing watering systems, keep the following in mind:
- Crickets drown: As noted in earlier drafts, crickets are stupid and will drown themselves if possible. This is particularly true of pinheads. Barriers, walkways, and screens can all assist when there’s open water.
- Physics operates differently at cricket scale: Especially at pinhead size, osmotic action, surface tension, and water viscosity take on whole new dangers. A pinhead touching a drop of water will be sucked into the drop and drown.
- Water needs to be pure, but not too pure: Reverse osmosis and distilled water are too pure on their own for crickets. Differential testing at Big Cricket Farms with the help of Jakob Lewin (now founder of BuggingDenmark) confirmed a small amount of salt (or even Gatorade) result in crickets drinking more water and growing faster. Anecdotal reports from OG cricket farmers have mentioned microdosing Vitamin A in the water to aid proper wing development in adults. More differential testing is needed to determine appropriate levels of electrolytic solutions for optimal growth.
- Standing water becomes filthy. Crickets will poop anywhere, including water dishes. Particularly for standing water systems, serratia marascens (a chitinase-producing, omnipresent bacteria responsible for “redbelly”) may also grow. Sick crickets may vomit into the watering systems, spreading disease.
- Crickets will infiltrate flowing water systems if possible: Flowing water systems need multiple redundant ways to notice if any portion of the system is overflowing, as it is inevitable that some crickets will work their way into the system at some point and jam up a valve.
- Water outside of the watering system is very dangerous. And smelly. Wet frass stinks unbearably and allows for rapid proliferation of microbes and molds. Avoiding spills is mission-critical.
Chart: Watering Systems- What (Sort Of) Works
Type | Chicken Waterer &
Plastic Ring or Makeup Sponge |
Foam Pad |
Description | Standard chicken industry waterer with a standing surface for the crickets. Water is continuously refreshed from the reservoir. | A foam pad or wad of wetted paper towel. |
Time between refills | 1 day for small reservoirs, 2-3 days for medium, 3-5 days for large** | 4-6 hours w/o reservoir |
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Variations | Instead of foam, people often use:
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Link | Donut | Armstrong Cricket Farms |
Type | Packed substrates (coconut coir, peat moss, etc) | Figure 8 PVC wicking systems |
Description | Substrates packed in ½ PVC pipes, laying trays, or other similar container. To refill, add water to substrate and mix as necessary. | Common in Thailand. ~3” PVC with a slot cut in the top, assembled into a figure-8 shape. Cotton strip rope is used to wick water from the reservoir inside the pipes to the crickets. Best for large cricket containers |
Time to Refill | Varies, typically daily. | Weekly |
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Link |
Type | Screen-covered flowing water systems | Wet Feed |
Description | Using corrugated plastic, u-shaped PVC pipe sections, etc, covered in loose screen. Channel/pipes are gently flooded, allowing crickets to walk on screen to drink. Pump (often Raspberry Pi and micropump) on one end and drop valve on the other refill and drain at periodic rates. |
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Time to Refill | Once per cycle | Daily |
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Disadvantages |
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Picture | Source: Entomo Farms |
Source: Cricket Smart Farm |
Variations | ||
Link |
Type | Misting banana leaves |
Description | Common in Thailand and rural farms. Banana leaves (or other water-resistant substrate) sprayed with a spray bottle. |
Time to Refill | Every few hours |
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Disadvantages |
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Variations | |
Link |
Contraindicated Methods
- Water gels: Although commonly used in reptile feed, the FDA has historically expressed alarm at people eating insects watered with gels. Additionally, if the gels dry back into crystalline or semi-crystalline form, crickets may eat these diminished crystals, only to have them swell back up when the cricket drinks again.
Chart: What Could Use More Testing
Type | Description | Add’l Questions |
Microgreens | Live-grown microgreens | Is microbio contamination a concern? |
Agar/Gelatin Systems | As above | |
Misting Systems | Light spray, similar to grocery store produce misting systems, onto a clean substrate below | Wetting frass |
Infrared Misting Systems | Still proprietary to one farm | Unknown |
Aeroponic Misting System | Using aeroponic misters to create very fine mists to aid direct absorption of water through spiracles | Entirely untested |
Watering System Design Considerations: Questions to ask yourself while designing a watering system
- Reservoir capacity: how long can the system go without needing to be refilled?
- Standing water systems typically range from overnight to 3 days (recommended), 6 days (realistic if you don’t have enough time in your day). The same standing water system that lasts a week for pinheads lasts a day for ¾” crickets.
- Flowing water systems will typically need parts serviced before exhausting their water supply.
- How long does it take to service? How often do components need to be replaced?
- Ideally, maintaining watering systems should be a minimal part of your day. In too many farms, it ends up being the bulk of the labor.
- How long will the water (or substrate) stay clean enough to drink from?
- How easy are the components to clean? How long does it take to clean them, and how long to dry?
- How expensive is the system?
- Where does the watering system fit into your existing operations?