Seperating different sized woodies..?

[Miss B]

I recently set up a woodie colony, and while they are heaps easier to maintain than crickets - they are still driving me nuts! I've got loads of baby beardies at the moment, so I need the tiniest woodies I can find. Seperating them is such a pain. Does anyone have any good tips?

I've tried a couple different methods. I got a plastic lunchbox and soldered a whole bunch of small holes in the side, then sat it in the bottom of the woodie tub with food inside. The idea is for the small woodies to go in via the small holes, and preventing the larger woodies from getting through. But there never seems to be enough small woodies venturing in.

Then I tried the 'sifting' method, by shaking the woodies through a bucket with small holes in the bottom. Problem is, the holes weren't really small enough and I still ended up spending an hour and a half picking out the smallest ones with a pair of feeding tweezers.

Surely there's a better way..?

[Reptile_Boy]

what size you need, drill that size into the botem of the bucket, make alot of the size need holes. then put scoops of beardies in and then just shake the bucket (put vasoline or fluon into the bucket to stop them comming out.) and then the woodies will fall out into a serperate tub then you just grab em and put them in.

[Miss B]

Yeah ... I think maybe I need to refine the bucket technique, just with smaller holes this time.

This is such a girl question, but do soldering irons come with different sized tips?

[Reptile_Boy]

dont know a 100% but you can get difrent tips not sutre on sizes .

[falconboy]

Originally Posted by Reptile_Boy

then put scoops of beardies in and then just shake the bucket .

I think you mean put scoops of woodies in. LOL



MissB, I've seen different shaped soldering iron tips, but not a great size difference. Drilling would be best.

[Reptile_Boy]

Originally Posted by falconboy

I think you mean put scoops of woodies in. LOL



MissB, I've seen different shaped soldering iron tips, but not a great size difference. Drilling would be best.

hahahaha lol thanks for corecting hahahahahahaha lol

[CodeRed]

pfft the bucket way is a pain and doesnt really work that well


get a rectangular chinese container and paint the inside with fluon. Tip a whole pill of mixed sized woodies into it, then just flick the bigger ones out. In a few minutes you will be left just the babies. Easy.

[JungleRob]

Good to see I'm not the only person getting frustrated by sorting roaches!

As for CodeRed's method, I'm not convinced. Woodies don't go from babies to adult in one go. what about all the medium sized ones that you don't need iether? More than a couple minutes sorting me thinks.

[Miss B]

Yeah I tried that method, I still get loads of 'smalls' that are a tad too big.

Takes me around an hour and a half every night to sort through them

[CodeRed]

keep practicing

I can sort out 100 or so babies in a couple of minutes. Normally I sort out a whole container full (1000 or so babies) on the weekends so I dont have to stuff around during the week.

[herptrader]

I have a *erie* of yogurt container* with different *ized hole* in the bottom... and *ome with none. The hole* were melted in with a *oldering iron. The *ide* of the container* are painted with fluon. I have a couple of lid* with fly wire in*ert* hot glue gunned into the top... the*e help keep the container* clean if you know what I mean.

We keep our roache* on toilet role* *o when I want roache* I pick out the combination of yogurt container *FR *ieve* to *iphon off the *ize I need and tip them into a yogurt container without hole* where they get du*ted before being *erved.

Thi* work* a treat. The rea*on for yogurt container* i* that they have *traight *ide* at a *light outward facing angle and when *tacked in*ide one another leave about a 20mm gap between the container for the *orted *FR'* to accumulate in.

[Reptile_Boy]

what flooring do you use miss b??

[Miss B]

No substrate at all. Just egg carton for them to hide in/under.