# Termites (again!?!!?)



## Mantellaprince20 (Aug 25, 2004)

Hey, I was just wondering who is having success keeping/rearing/breeding termites and what species you are working with. I am in the process of identifying my species with my entomology professor. I have had my colony going for over a year right now, and they are producing tons of offspring. One thing I am not sure most people have tried for feeding is damp cardboard. Mine go crazy for it . Also, say if you were to offer termites for sale, what would people be willing to pay for these little buggers (of course shipping is pretty much out, i'm not one to encourage the spread of invasive pest species). Thanks all,

ed parker


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## lethal dart (Mar 1, 2006)

dont have any my self but i have a good link Culturing termites - Arachnoboards


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## ofblong (Sep 11, 2008)

lol I could have picked thousands out of the ground couple years ago when I tore down my shed.


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## Julio (Oct 8, 2007)

they take a long time to get established and being that they are termites, not many people want to take the risk of bringing them into their home.


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## FrognWy (Apr 5, 2008)

i'd take some termites, my landlord has been very lacking in his duties as a landlord...

Oh wait, did i think that outloud?


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## EDs Fly Meat (Apr 29, 2004)

"they take a long time to get established and being that they are termites"
That they do. I have a colony that I have been keeping going for about 2 years now. I feed them newpaper, cardboard, cork, aspen and cedarwood. They are a local dampwood that is prevalent to the NW. I feed them out probably once evety 3-4 months or so. My tincs love em.


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## Julio (Oct 8, 2007)

can you post some pics of your setup??


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## EDs Fly Meat (Apr 29, 2004)

I will see what I can do. Here are a few from my old photobucket account.















This second photo always makes me chuckle becuase the image of the tinc on the other side of the glass was actually a neighboring tinc who going nuts trying to get the termite from the other tank.


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## Rain_Frog (Apr 27, 2004)

Harvesting them from outside will give you a plentiful supply. I've been harvesting them from an old board.

My fear though, how far should a termite trap be from a house? I've heard that subterranean termites are found everywhere in the lawn. I'm not sure if it really matters, because I read that termite monitoring systems say no more than 1.5" from a house.


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## Julio (Oct 8, 2007)

unfortunately there are those of us that live in a major city where woodlands are not plentiful


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## DizzyD (Sep 19, 2006)

Not to mention some of us would be risking the apts of our neighbors. A few of my friends who live in the building and I were talking about what my frogs eat, and the topic of termites did come up. Well, lets just say I have no intention of paying for repairs if there ever is a "jailbreak" in the culture. So I will have to wait till I make it to suburbia. Anyway, congrats to those who are successful, and good luck to those who are trying. I just hope everyone's responsible with them.


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## TDK (Oct 6, 2007)

I just setup a system, like lethal dart has shown, this weekend. I used a larger dark blue tupperware type container that I could stack 3 smaller containers one on top of the other inside and this way would simulate darkness in the container and I could store them anywhere including a room with lights on all day. I took a fourth, smaller container, drilled holes in it so that the water could pass through from the water moat and siliconed it to the bottom of the large container to hold it in place and keep the other 3 containers centered. I placed 2 small sections of board in the container with the holes so the last one with termites wouldn't get stuck inside. I "seeded" them and the termites are all busy inside but the question is: How long will it take to cycle them to where they are breeding and can be harvested? Based on 3 containers and 72 degrees what might I expect ? I also use old wood and keep a colony going outside but Winter is coming here in North Carolina and this source will be gone until Spring.


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