# House crickets and the house cricket virus



## Blaptica (Jun 26, 2008)

Most of you probably don't know that around 2000-2002 house crickets were very badly affected by a virus that killed alot of them across Europe. That is probably the main reason why silent crickets were more commonly available. 

But professional breeders I suspect would generally prefer to sell house crickets because they are easier to breed and more productive. BUT this virus makes it difficult to rely on house crickets because you can get sudden die offs from this colony leaving you with none to sell !

It appears that the crickets are not so badly affected to this virus as they were in the past. So some breeders are starting to breed more of them. 

Anybody here breed them (house crickets) and have any experience of the virus and the problems it causes ? Anybody breeding ones that don't seem to ever get sick ? I have been breeding them on and off since 2002 and still seem to be having sudden mass die offs that I am sure are the virus. Before 2000 I bred them and they never had these problems they do now.


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## Blaptica (Jun 26, 2008)

wouldn't it be amazing if somebody could create hybrid house crickets that were immune to the virus ? Just a fantasy of course.


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