I heard about people using a shop vac to suck up insects, especially crickets, from the yard for fishing and other things (such as feeders for mantids of course). I manged to borrow a small 5 gallon ShopVac brand vacuum to try it myself finally after swearing it wouldn't hurt the vacuum and I would clean it. 
I sucked up about a dozen crickets with ease with it. I took off the top of the vacuum to see how many I got and didn't see any. After further looking they were there, but all dead and completely covered with dirt (many were just tiny nearly unrecognizable pieces). Turns out the crickets were flying around in the shop vac container with various debris such as dirt, rocks, or whatever was around the crickets - like a tornado.
So anyone who vacuums insects is forgetting to share a important detail or something there. I took apart the hose extension tubes and tried to lower the sucking force and provide a place for crickets to sit until I emptied the tube. I found a piece of poly/fiberglass screen mesh helped but most crickets didn't survive the trip from the front of the extension tube to the mesh - it acted like a razor screen and most were embedded in the mesh. Adding a sponge instead of the mesh simply lower the suction power to a point the crickets wouldn't be captured.
Feeling defeated I tried other things with similar results. The solution though was too simple to work so well, but it fixed the problem. I found cutting out a section of poly/fiberglass mesh about 4" wide by 8" long folded in half and placed on the end of the running vacuum was the solution. In the photos below you can see I just rubber band the mesh on the extension tube when not in use.
To use it with the vacuum On simply place it over the end of the extension tube and the vacuum holds it in place, and the larger size prevents it from being sucked in (3rd photo below). Then simply place the tube over a cricket (or whatever) and it will captured it and hold it onto the mesh securely. Depending on the vacuum strength I found it will also suck a small amount of dirt/grass/material from the area too. With one hand on the vacuum tube (with the mesh facing down) I take my other hand and grab the corner edge of the screen mesh and pull it down fast and off the tube. With a few tries to learn the technique, it is a fast way to knock off the insects from the mesh into a bucket waiting below, and nothing will get sucked into the vacuum itself. Then I just replace the mesh to the end again and find more.
I've since returned the shop vac and been experimenting with house vacuum cleaners, trying to get better results with them. The floor rolling brush cleaner is a issue, but with the hose attachment off, most will disable the rolling brush. Then I had a stoke of luck and got a free 10-amp Bissell house vacuum cleaner, Power Force Bagless model (their most popular and can be found about everywhere - 2nd hand stores/thrift and yard sales too).
I disassembled it and found the least amount of the vacuum it needed to work, cutting off a total of 7.5 pounds of unnecessary weight and the large size. I got it down to about 4 pounds, and improved suction from less material. I attached large belt loops and use a military surplus belt (which works great) to pack it around now. I've since modified it from using it to catch crickets, and feel like it's getting very useful. Not only does it catch crickets without harming them in the least (they even retain all their legs) it works equally as well for catching spiders, isopods, centipedes, millipedes, or anything else I come across. The only thing it won't do is catch flies as it will suck in leaves if I get close enough to try it, but most flies fly away before I get a chance.
Anything that does make it beyond the mesh is simply blown out the vacuum exhaust port, so no worries about hurting the motor either. I figure a few more trial runs and I'll put a DIY guide up for others to make one themselves. It really makes catching crickets from under rocks or in the grass a effortless event.
In the photo of the yellow bucket is the today's result from about 40 minutes of using my vacuum, there are about 60 crickets. My best so far was a few weeks ago when it was warmer, in about an hour I caught over 100. As you can see though I have to pick through and remove any insects and such I don't want - such as spiders, isopods, and grass and dirt; however, when using it in grass/field type areas there is little dirt/grass sucked up.
For removing the insects I want to keep from the bucket the best trick I learned is to use my aerial net and drape the end into the bucket. Crickets will latch onto the net and I pull it over to another clean empty bucket and knock them into it (the crickets stay on the net during the bucket switch, I haven't lost any yet). Then I can pour them direct into my cricket tank, or can put them into a small container to use my tweezers for direct feeding to mantids too.
To capture other insects or spiders from the bucket - I pour the remaining dirt into my aerial net and shift it a bit, and the insects and such climb the net and can be picked or knocked off into a container. Some others will need tweezers to be used to grasp them from the dirt.
I sucked up about a dozen crickets with ease with it. I took off the top of the vacuum to see how many I got and didn't see any. After further looking they were there, but all dead and completely covered with dirt (many were just tiny nearly unrecognizable pieces). Turns out the crickets were flying around in the shop vac container with various debris such as dirt, rocks, or whatever was around the crickets - like a tornado.
So anyone who vacuums insects is forgetting to share a important detail or something there. I took apart the hose extension tubes and tried to lower the sucking force and provide a place for crickets to sit until I emptied the tube. I found a piece of poly/fiberglass screen mesh helped but most crickets didn't survive the trip from the front of the extension tube to the mesh - it acted like a razor screen and most were embedded in the mesh. Adding a sponge instead of the mesh simply lower the suction power to a point the crickets wouldn't be captured.
Feeling defeated I tried other things with similar results. The solution though was too simple to work so well, but it fixed the problem. I found cutting out a section of poly/fiberglass mesh about 4" wide by 8" long folded in half and placed on the end of the running vacuum was the solution. In the photos below you can see I just rubber band the mesh on the extension tube when not in use.
To use it with the vacuum On simply place it over the end of the extension tube and the vacuum holds it in place, and the larger size prevents it from being sucked in (3rd photo below). Then simply place the tube over a cricket (or whatever) and it will captured it and hold it onto the mesh securely. Depending on the vacuum strength I found it will also suck a small amount of dirt/grass/material from the area too. With one hand on the vacuum tube (with the mesh facing down) I take my other hand and grab the corner edge of the screen mesh and pull it down fast and off the tube. With a few tries to learn the technique, it is a fast way to knock off the insects from the mesh into a bucket waiting below, and nothing will get sucked into the vacuum itself. Then I just replace the mesh to the end again and find more.
I've since returned the shop vac and been experimenting with house vacuum cleaners, trying to get better results with them. The floor rolling brush cleaner is a issue, but with the hose attachment off, most will disable the rolling brush. Then I had a stoke of luck and got a free 10-amp Bissell house vacuum cleaner, Power Force Bagless model (their most popular and can be found about everywhere - 2nd hand stores/thrift and yard sales too).
I disassembled it and found the least amount of the vacuum it needed to work, cutting off a total of 7.5 pounds of unnecessary weight and the large size. I got it down to about 4 pounds, and improved suction from less material. I attached large belt loops and use a military surplus belt (which works great) to pack it around now. I've since modified it from using it to catch crickets, and feel like it's getting very useful. Not only does it catch crickets without harming them in the least (they even retain all their legs) it works equally as well for catching spiders, isopods, centipedes, millipedes, or anything else I come across. The only thing it won't do is catch flies as it will suck in leaves if I get close enough to try it, but most flies fly away before I get a chance.
Anything that does make it beyond the mesh is simply blown out the vacuum exhaust port, so no worries about hurting the motor either. I figure a few more trial runs and I'll put a DIY guide up for others to make one themselves. It really makes catching crickets from under rocks or in the grass a effortless event.
In the photo of the yellow bucket is the today's result from about 40 minutes of using my vacuum, there are about 60 crickets. My best so far was a few weeks ago when it was warmer, in about an hour I caught over 100. As you can see though I have to pick through and remove any insects and such I don't want - such as spiders, isopods, and grass and dirt; however, when using it in grass/field type areas there is little dirt/grass sucked up.
For removing the insects I want to keep from the bucket the best trick I learned is to use my aerial net and drape the end into the bucket. Crickets will latch onto the net and I pull it over to another clean empty bucket and knock them into it (the crickets stay on the net during the bucket switch, I haven't lost any yet). Then I can pour them direct into my cricket tank, or can put them into a small container to use my tweezers for direct feeding to mantids too.
To capture other insects or spiders from the bucket - I pour the remaining dirt into my aerial net and shift it a bit, and the insects and such climb the net and can be picked or knocked off into a container. Some others will need tweezers to be used to grasp them from the dirt.
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