Expert: Walter Hintz - 11/6/2009

Question
QUESTION: My son doing a project on if crickets like salt or pepper and what it does to them i need help trying to figure this out cant find any thing about it. Besides i know they like salt from one page that i found. Please help me if you can.

ANSWER: Hi Sabrina;
You probably cannot find out anything about crickets and salt and pepper because it is most likely nobody has ever investigated it.  Your son will just have to set up an experiment in order to find out the answer.  What has he planned so far? What grade level is this? This is a difficult project because he must be able to tell if the cricket is consuming salt or pepper.  My suggestion is to buy some cricket food at a pet store and then add salt or pepper to it.  Look for a product called Flukers Cricket Quencher.  Give me more information about the project

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: He is in 6th grade you know i don't think he has a plan on what to do so far. At first it was will a cricket die if it eats salt or pepper. I just don't know how or why he wants to do this about crickets. I dont know where to start to help him out. Thank you for helping me out with this.

Answer
Hello again;
A cricket would not eat grains of salt or pepper. They may eat salted foods but if it is too salty they would leave it.  Your son may try to feed crickets food with added salt. In other words offer food with salt or pepper and food without it.  Insects taste foods before eating it so a cricket would not eat foods so salty that it would die from it.  
 First of all try out some foods that crickets will eat.  Dried bread , dried dog food and cornmeal is good.  Then he can try adding salt.