Catching insects for mantids ok?

mkman · May 29, 2008

Hey all, new here. Noticed a lot of people are culturing insects for their mantids.............is it ok to go outdoors and catch food for them like get a fly swatter and lightly stunning flies, getting earwigs, etc?

Thanks!

hibiscusmile · May 29, 2008

mkman said:
Hey all, new here. Noticed a lot of people are culturing insects for their mantids.............is it ok to go outdoors and catch food for them like get a fly swatter and lightly stunning flies, getting earwigs, etc?Thanks!

Sure it is Mkman! as long as you are pretty sure they do not or have not been sprayed with pesticides!

darkspeed · May 29, 2008

It all depends on your environment, and even then there is a risk involved. Until recently I lived in Texas, and there it is mostly cattle ranches, so very few pesticides were used in the area, but I just moved to Indiana, where corn and wheat farms are everywhere you look, so the chance that the wild bugs outside my window have come in contact with pesticides is much greater. Therefore I am very hesitant to consider wild insects as food for my mantids.

Mantids seem so ferocious due to their eating habits, but they are actually quite delicate and must be treated accordingly.

pak-40 · May 30, 2008

DARKSPEED said:
It all depends on your environment, and even then there is a risk involved. Until recently I lived in Texas, and there it is mostly cattle ranches, so very few pesticides were used in the area, but I just moved to Indiana, where corn and wheat farms are everywhere you look, so the chance that the wild bugs outside my window have come in contact with pesticides is much greater. Therefore I am very hesitant to consider wild insects as food for my mantids. Mantids seem so ferocious due to their eating habits, but they are actually quite delicate and must be treated accordingly.