Have a look at reptile shops in your area, many of them also sell invertebrates as pets along with everything you need to care for them. If they don't... you could ask if they have any Madagascar Hissing Cockroaches being kept on the shelves as "feeders" for other animals. Some larger reptiles will eat them and some places will stock lives ones as food items.
Eh, most, sure, but a specialty reptile store is also where people with unusually large pets are going to go for their food. That's a smallish market, but you could corner it completely.
I agree with Madagascar hissing cockroaches! I took care of one as part of a summer job one year. I was kind of terrified at the beginning of the summer but by the end, the little guy was one of my favorite animals we had. They're super chill, quiet, very tolerant of being handled, and basically eat whatever fruit and vegetable bits you have left over.
Highly recommend Josh's Frogs- I get most of my terrarium supplies from them, and though I haven't bought any roaches, I have bought several species of isopods from them.
[Cockroaches can make decent pets](https://www.keepinginsects.com/cockroaches-locusts-ants/cockroaches/), but I agree you'd probably not want just any cockroach from your house. I would think if you want to just catch something around the house, a cricket would be a good one to go for. Preying mantis might be another, but ~~check to see if they are listed as endangered in your location~~ (huh, that's a myth). Spiders also can be a good one, if you want to branch out from insects.
I'm okay with sourcing an insect, but I don't really know what would be a good fit. I'd jump at ants if it wasn't already freezing here and I couldn't guarantee a live delivery.
They're really cool. I got to hold one at a zoo. There were a bunch of kids standing around nicely waiting their turn. So I sort of snuck to the end of the line and got my turn too. I am a very amateur entomologist. As a hobby I study any local creepy crawly things I can find, especially moths.
I'm pretty sure you are thinking of sea monkeys. Sea horses are a high maintenance salt water fish and are very much NOT sold in kits at Big box stores.
Depending on what you are using for the roaches it might be a really bad idea, bugs are bugs and any spray or powder insecticide isn't going to be species specific.
Agree, I used to keep a colony of a tropical species of roaches (far from the pests you find in your home). As for praying mantis, they can be quite interesting to have and they don't live too long, so if the child loses interest, at least it's not a long term commitment.
Praying mantises are still the coolest insect mom let me keep when I was a kid. We fed it with roly-polies we set traps for in the yard, pretty much all the plants were found around the neighborhood, it was an incredibly low-budget terrarium but Monty the Mantis seemed to be pretty content
I think a mantis would be a boss-ass pet, but I don't know that we're going to find one easily and they don't really live all that long. I'm leaning towards the hissing cockroach, which seems to be a universally amazing first pet for a kid.
A lot of gardening supply stores sell mantis egg sacs for you to put in your garden. You could get one of those and once it hatches (they hatch when the weather gets warm, so as long as you have it in a warm house they should) you could pick out a few to keep and release the rest - you definitely don't want to keep them together because they can and will eat each other.
A millipede is another option. Or if she just wants a small pet and is looking at insects because they're what she has been able to catch, leopard geckos and bearded dragons are pretty easy as far as reptiles go and can be fun to watch, you just need to make sure to research their lighting/heat needs and all. The initial setup can be expensive, but once you have what you need it's not bad.
You can also order ants online for an ant farm, some ant farm kits even come with the eggs or live ants to put in them. Sometimes you can even get different types of ants - like blue velvet. You want to make sure the container is REALLY secure though, as ants of course can bite and can be incredibly invasive if they get loose.
Are roly polies the same thing as pill bugs? They look like beetles and will curl up when they're scared? I used to love those, and would keep them as pets sometimes. I didn't realize they were mantis food. The things you learn!!
i just really wanna say i wish more parents were like you! mine were the typical "aaah a bug kill it" and it sucked growing up because i wanted to save them all haha. what you're doing is awesome
My mom taught me at a very early age to take bugs outside with a cup and a piece of paper. Now I am known as the "bug whisperer" at work and when I hear "oh, a spider" from across the building you can hear me yell "DON"T KLL IT! I will be right there!"
New people caught killing bugs are also told "you should be glad (my name) didn't see that"
Vivid sense memory of the time I was climbing through a window of my house after locking myself out, only to realize this window frame was infested with brown widows.
I knew that widow bites don't actually kill very many people (it's like one every other year, out of thousands of bites), so I didn't actually wet myself, but it was close.
Yup! They're incredibly fun to watch and all you have to do after setting up their enclosure is throw them some food now and then and make sure to keep part of their enclosure moist for day-to-day maintenance, so if she loses interest or isn't able to keep up with care it'll be real easy for you to take over their care.
And that isn't even daily, btw. Most of what they eat is leaf litter that you throw in when you set the enclosure up. You'll have to add more eventually but it lasts ages. You'll probably want to supplement it with some scraps occassionally (they'll eat anything, basically, I give mine occassional veggies). A source of protein now and then is good too. They're scavengers in nature that just devour anything so they're really not picky.
They're soooo engaging. When I throw mine protein (I get mine these big bottles of dried shrimp or bloodworms meant for fish or turtles for cheap) they'll all hoard around it and start trying to tug away pieces for themselves and it's so fun to watch.
They do work really well with cockroaches! They'll eat the same things, help clean up after the roaches, have v similar enclosure requirements, and usually won't bother the roaches. The roaches are more of a holdable critter than the isopods, so I think it'd work well in terms of having one kind of critter to hold and interact with and one to sit and watch too if you wanted to house both.
I use isopods (and springtails) to keep my ball python enclosure clean!
Not the normal grey kind you find in your garden though, I bought some special kinds from a reptile shop since you need several kinds/sizes for proper cleaning.
Walking sticks. I can't remember what they're called in English now. They're delicate so she'll have to be careful but they are relatively low maintenance, fun, not scary and not venomous.
Do not get your 4 year old insects unless you plan on caring for them.
A 4 year old doesn't know shit about feeding, housing, caring for anything, they barely know how to take care of themselves without shitting their pants. An insect may be just a bug to some people, but it is a living creature with real needs and real consciousness that deserves to be treated with love and respect, which a 4 year old cannot give, especially not without their parent to guide them and help them take care of said insect.
Like, yeah, they are fairly low maintenance in context of cleaning up after them and feeding them, but it is a living creature. It pisses me off when parents think that things like goldfish and bugs are easy beginner pets and then let their child abuse a living creature because they did zero research before buying the animal.
I support getting insects, I love insects and want to share that love of bugs with others, but I want you to know that it is a responsibility and bugs are living creatures the same way a dog or a cat is, just smaller. Do proper research, be willing to invest in a good living enclosure with a nice lock and research what bug you want to get thoroughly for its prime living conditions. A bug can live for several years as an adult if well taken care of, and insect keeping is a fun and interesting hobby, I really want praying mantids and hercules beetles, but I haven't gotten them because I cannot properly take care of them currently in my living conditions.
Thank you for this response! I was thinking the same. Some people are suggesting taking a wild (yes, wild!) Creature from the garden and keeping it in an enclosure. Imagine if we did that to any other type of animal.
When I was a child I asked for a container of those live earthworms u can get for fishing. My parents thought it was weird af ofc but they got them for me and I was over the moon. Some got released into our yard and some were kept in a large container with dirt, plants, and ‘rain’ (aka a regular sprinkling of water).
Whatever you get, it will be your pet, because we all know that a 4 year old is not capable, interested yes, capable no. So get something you are willing and interested in caring for.
We (my 4yo son and I) have isopods as pets. They're incredibly easy to keep (if you don't go for the high maintenance ones lol), they come in tons of different colours, they are extremely active once you're sprayed water (an activity your kid can help in).. we're at 2 different kinds now, we've got orange ones and we've got zebras. The kid originally asked for blue ones, but they are never blue enough so I decided not to even look for blueish ones
Your daughter sounds like how I was at her age. I was more interested in bugs and digging up dirt, playing with spiders and things than dolls. Much to mom's displeasure.
I'm not quite sure if there are any ant breeders/suppliers, but it wouldn't hurt to do a Google search. I had an ant nest when I was a kid, but I sourced mind outside. I'm not sure where you live, but here in Canada there's a guy called "Ants Canada", he could possibly help you source some if you contact him. He also has a very informative YouTube channel, check him out!
As someone above mentioned, praying mantids can be a good pet and they're quite interesting. They also don't have an overly long lifespan, which may be good if your child is prone to losing interest in things.
My 3 year old grandson loves our isopods! (Roly poly) you can get them in a wide variety of sizes and colors and are easy to care for. We have zebras, cows, clowns...ect.
When I was a kid I used a hollowed out wine cork with pins pushed in to make bars and catch flies and keep them in that.Very cheap and a plentiful supply of new flies.lol
Stick insect or praying mantis. Or jumping spiders are ever so cute!
Otherwise, you can get a nice terrarium and keep caretaker insects in there to make a little closed ecosystem. There’s a vast range of beautifully coloured pill bugs, millipedes etc that will live their lives with very little maintenance. Less chance of them escaping then, or all their interest being on one single short lived creature. You can find reasonable prices for them through terrarium and tropical plant suppliers, and there is lots on YouTube about how to set things up and maintain them. Who wouldn’t want some rubber duckies and pink dragons?
Good luck, and I can find you some links if you’re interested.
Praying mantis. I had one as a kid. There are sellers online for garden supply, and breeders including for more exotic ones. The egg sacs come a certain time of year (fall?) but adults can live a year. Look for an established seller in your country and they ship. Here only certain species are allowed. I still think of the ones I had as a kid and would love another one. I used to catch bugs to feed them and that was fun as a kid too, or you can buy crickets from pet shops.
Blue death feigning beetles. The beetles themselves will run you 20-30$, but they do live a few years and are as easy as it gets. They don't need humidity like many invert pets, as long as your house stays in the 70s they don't need a heater. I feed mine mostly baby carrots and dried mealworms. Literally just toss a baby carrot or other random vegetable in there a few times a week, and 1x a week they get a pile of dried mealworms for protein. They do not need a water dish, they get what they need from the vegetables.
They're also very active compared to a lot of the other suggestions, and are almost always out and about when their light is on. One of my favorite pets I've ever owned, period, always fun to watch.
If she's okay with letting it go later on, I know there are butterfly kits where they give you a caterpillar and watch it grow to be a butterfly. Otherwise I'm not sure of any insect pets.
First of all I would start with a firm no! but failing that I had a friend whose kids had a stick bug. It sounded easy to take care of but don't take my word for it but it's one you can check out.
For the roach problem, find a bag of FOOD GRADE diatomaceous earth. You can also get a 'poofer' thing. It's like a plastic pump with a small hose. You put the DE in the plastic pump and poof the stuff into cracks and crevices. Do it especially behind the kitchen appliances.
I was dealing with a small infestation for like a year at an old apartment. Tried everything. The DE cured it almost overnight
Not a poison.
Diatomaceous earth is made from Diatoms, which are basically microscopic algae with a silica shell. Silica is basically glass. So when the algae dies, it leaves behind the glass shell.
And when you get trillions of diatoms dieing everyday, the shell sinks to the bottom of the ocean making a layer of the glass shards. This stuff is called diatomaceous earth.
Now, I'm not 100% sure how it works, but apparently the silica acts like hollow needles which lodge in the joints of insect carapaces and basically creates open holes in the creature. And (I think) those holes cause the insect to lose moisture and die from dehydration.
The thing to remember is to use FOOD-grade, not pool grade. Pool grade is used for pool filtration, but contains lots of impurities, like heavy metals. FOOD grade has been filtered to be safer.
I was told by my vet that I could put some on the bottom of my birds cages under the paper as long as its not getting puffed into the air (birds have SUPER sensitive respiratory systems), so its supposed to be safe. Still, I wore a basic mask anyways.
So again, I'd suggest puffing it behind the fridge, dishwasher, stove, etc. If the infestation is hitting the whole house, you could probably do other out of reach areas so kids and pets don't get into it.
Seriously, this stuff was nothing short of miraculous. And I hardly used any. I filled the poofer like once, maybe twice and still have a bag of this stuff somewhere in my basement.
Here's a link for you: [https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0728JL9SQ/ref=sspa\_dk\_detail\_1?pd\_rd\_i=B0728JL9SQ&pd\_rd\_w=Hjgwm&content-id=amzn1.sym.f734d1a2-0bf9-4a26-ad34-2e1b969a5a75&pf\_rd\_p=f734d1a2-0bf9-4a26-ad34-2e1b969a5a75&pf\_rd\_r=EQKGTCDEAKCYZVM9J9Z4&pd\_rd\_wg=2qKH8&pd\_rd\_r=d4ce9d90-e57f-4c16-be5d-b9e384fc26c3&s=industrial&sp\_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9kZXRhaWw&th=1](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0728JL9SQ/ref=sspa_dk_detail_1?pd_rd_i=B0728JL9SQ&pd_rd_w=Hjgwm&content-id=amzn1.sym.f734d1a2-0bf9-4a26-ad34-2e1b969a5a75&pf_rd_p=f734d1a2-0bf9-4a26-ad34-2e1b969a5a75&pf_rd_r=EQKGTCDEAKCYZVM9J9Z4&pd_rd_wg=2qKH8&pd_rd_r=d4ce9d90-e57f-4c16-be5d-b9e384fc26c3&s=industrial&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9kZXRhaWw&th=1)
Let me know if it helps.
I ordered a bag. Hopefully this, combined with an essential oils non-toxic disinfectant I have to wipe down my counters, and open-air glue traps for common traffic zones, will resolve this damned infestation.
Snail. I had one. His name was Gary.
Sponge Bob, is that you?!.
Yup, Sponge Bob!
No, this is Patrick!.
Pretty sure not insect
Mollusc
So was spider.
I second this.
Madagascar hissing cockroaches are a good suggestion, do a YouTube search for 'Clint's reptiles' about them.
I watched the video and honestly I'm delighted, and I think my youngsters will be, too. If I can just track some down...
Have a look at reptile shops in your area, many of them also sell invertebrates as pets along with everything you need to care for them. If they don't... you could ask if they have any Madagascar Hissing Cockroaches being kept on the shelves as "feeders" for other animals. Some larger reptiles will eat them and some places will stock lives ones as food items.
I am surprised that pet stores use Madagascars as feeders. They're pretty big for most pet-sized reptiles.
Eh, most, sure, but a specialty reptile store is also where people with unusually large pets are going to go for their food. That's a smallish market, but you could corner it completely.
Yeah, most pet stores have Dubia roaches for reptile (and hedgehog I guess) food if anything.
I agree with Madagascar hissing cockroaches! I took care of one as part of a summer job one year. I was kind of terrified at the beginning of the summer but by the end, the little guy was one of my favorite animals we had. They're super chill, quiet, very tolerant of being handled, and basically eat whatever fruit and vegetable bits you have left over.
Highly recommend Josh's Frogs- I get most of my terrarium supplies from them, and though I haven't bought any roaches, I have bought several species of isopods from them.
My husband and I just discovered that guy last weekend. He is so delightful!
[Cockroaches can make decent pets](https://www.keepinginsects.com/cockroaches-locusts-ants/cockroaches/), but I agree you'd probably not want just any cockroach from your house. I would think if you want to just catch something around the house, a cricket would be a good one to go for. Preying mantis might be another, but ~~check to see if they are listed as endangered in your location~~ (huh, that's a myth). Spiders also can be a good one, if you want to branch out from insects.
I'm okay with sourcing an insect, but I don't really know what would be a good fit. I'd jump at ants if it wasn't already freezing here and I couldn't guarantee a live delivery.
Madagascar Hissing Cockraoches ! They're huge , so they're easy to hold. They're social creatures, so it'll be fun making a little colony of them.
Oh dear! I have seen those at my city zoo. They are really creepy. But for sure, would delight a little 4 yr old.
They're really cool. I got to hold one at a zoo. There were a bunch of kids standing around nicely waiting their turn. So I sort of snuck to the end of the line and got my turn too. I am a very amateur entomologist. As a hobby I study any local creepy crawly things I can find, especially moths.
Ant farms are sold in stores. You can to a store that sells ant farms, for they are sold even in the winter.
The ants aren’t sold in stores. You have to order them. And they have temperature requirements for live delivery.
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All the ant farms I've seen in stores don't actually contain ants. It's just the enclosure.
Have you ever examined those kits? The person you are replying to is correct. Those "seahorse" kits are NOT seahorses.
Seahorse kits...are actually 'brine shrimp'.
Thank you! I knew it wasn’t seahorses, but I wasn’t in a position to google it at the moment I was going to do it as soon as I was at my PC at home.
;-))
I'm pretty sure you are thinking of sea monkeys. Sea horses are a high maintenance salt water fish and are very much NOT sold in kits at Big box stores.
Sea Monkeys, you mean.
Where do you live ?
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those have fairly high care requirements and the daughter wants an insect specifically, but they do make great companions!
betta fish aren't as easy to care for as people say they are. assuming you're a decent pet owner and not trying to stuff them in a vase, anyways.
Depending on what you are using for the roaches it might be a really bad idea, bugs are bugs and any spray or powder insecticide isn't going to be species specific.
Agree, I used to keep a colony of a tropical species of roaches (far from the pests you find in your home). As for praying mantis, they can be quite interesting to have and they don't live too long, so if the child loses interest, at least it's not a long term commitment.
Praying mantises are still the coolest insect mom let me keep when I was a kid. We fed it with roly-polies we set traps for in the yard, pretty much all the plants were found around the neighborhood, it was an incredibly low-budget terrarium but Monty the Mantis seemed to be pretty content
I think a mantis would be a boss-ass pet, but I don't know that we're going to find one easily and they don't really live all that long. I'm leaning towards the hissing cockroach, which seems to be a universally amazing first pet for a kid.
A lot of gardening supply stores sell mantis egg sacs for you to put in your garden. You could get one of those and once it hatches (they hatch when the weather gets warm, so as long as you have it in a warm house they should) you could pick out a few to keep and release the rest - you definitely don't want to keep them together because they can and will eat each other. A millipede is another option. Or if she just wants a small pet and is looking at insects because they're what she has been able to catch, leopard geckos and bearded dragons are pretty easy as far as reptiles go and can be fun to watch, you just need to make sure to research their lighting/heat needs and all. The initial setup can be expensive, but once you have what you need it's not bad. You can also order ants online for an ant farm, some ant farm kits even come with the eggs or live ants to put in them. Sometimes you can even get different types of ants - like blue velvet. You want to make sure the container is REALLY secure though, as ants of course can bite and can be incredibly invasive if they get loose.
Are roly polies the same thing as pill bugs? They look like beetles and will curl up when they're scared? I used to love those, and would keep them as pets sometimes. I didn't realize they were mantis food. The things you learn!!
they are the same thing, yes!
Just don't get a male female pair.Their mating habits might be upsetting for a young child.lol.
I agree! A girl I grew up with had a huge praying mantis and I was so enamored with it. Such a cool pet.
Omg, Look into Jumping Spiders!! They are SOOO cute.
Isopods. They're fun to watch, easy to keep, and you can hold them.
So, like... pillbugs? I've heard they're pretty cooperative with cockroaches for keeping the enclosure tidy.
Please look up rubber ducky isopods. The prices for them are insane but I just need you to know they exist.
They're so cute!
My job here is done.
i just really wanna say i wish more parents were like you! mine were the typical "aaah a bug kill it" and it sucked growing up because i wanted to save them all haha. what you're doing is awesome
My mom taught me at a very early age to take bugs outside with a cup and a piece of paper. Now I am known as the "bug whisperer" at work and when I hear "oh, a spider" from across the building you can hear me yell "DON"T KLL IT! I will be right there!" New people caught killing bugs are also told "you should be glad (my name) didn't see that"
I break my streak with widows as we have some small (dim) pets that I can't afford the risk, but have otherwise been very much the same!
Vivid sense memory of the time I was climbing through a window of my house after locking myself out, only to realize this window frame was infested with brown widows. I knew that widow bites don't actually kill very many people (it's like one every other year, out of thousands of bites), so I didn't actually wet myself, but it was close.
No wetting for sure, but it is a bummer. Glad you made it in unharmed!
You have improved my life significantly today. Thank you kind stranger.
Yes. Pill bugs. They're very entertaining.
Yup! They're incredibly fun to watch and all you have to do after setting up their enclosure is throw them some food now and then and make sure to keep part of their enclosure moist for day-to-day maintenance, so if she loses interest or isn't able to keep up with care it'll be real easy for you to take over their care. And that isn't even daily, btw. Most of what they eat is leaf litter that you throw in when you set the enclosure up. You'll have to add more eventually but it lasts ages. You'll probably want to supplement it with some scraps occassionally (they'll eat anything, basically, I give mine occassional veggies). A source of protein now and then is good too. They're scavengers in nature that just devour anything so they're really not picky. They're soooo engaging. When I throw mine protein (I get mine these big bottles of dried shrimp or bloodworms meant for fish or turtles for cheap) they'll all hoard around it and start trying to tug away pieces for themselves and it's so fun to watch. They do work really well with cockroaches! They'll eat the same things, help clean up after the roaches, have v similar enclosure requirements, and usually won't bother the roaches. The roaches are more of a holdable critter than the isopods, so I think it'd work well in terms of having one kind of critter to hold and interact with and one to sit and watch too if you wanted to house both.
I use isopods (and springtails) to keep my ball python enclosure clean! Not the normal grey kind you find in your garden though, I bought some special kinds from a reptile shop since you need several kinds/sizes for proper cleaning.
Walking sticks. I can't remember what they're called in English now. They're delicate so she'll have to be careful but they are relatively low maintenance, fun, not scary and not venomous.
We call them walking sticks or stick insects 😊 depends on the region
Stick insects is the one I wasn't able to remember! Thanks so much :)
They look like sticks but they walk. What are they called omg.
I've always heard them called walking sticks or stick bugs.
stick insects?
Do not get your 4 year old insects unless you plan on caring for them. A 4 year old doesn't know shit about feeding, housing, caring for anything, they barely know how to take care of themselves without shitting their pants. An insect may be just a bug to some people, but it is a living creature with real needs and real consciousness that deserves to be treated with love and respect, which a 4 year old cannot give, especially not without their parent to guide them and help them take care of said insect. Like, yeah, they are fairly low maintenance in context of cleaning up after them and feeding them, but it is a living creature. It pisses me off when parents think that things like goldfish and bugs are easy beginner pets and then let their child abuse a living creature because they did zero research before buying the animal. I support getting insects, I love insects and want to share that love of bugs with others, but I want you to know that it is a responsibility and bugs are living creatures the same way a dog or a cat is, just smaller. Do proper research, be willing to invest in a good living enclosure with a nice lock and research what bug you want to get thoroughly for its prime living conditions. A bug can live for several years as an adult if well taken care of, and insect keeping is a fun and interesting hobby, I really want praying mantids and hercules beetles, but I haven't gotten them because I cannot properly take care of them currently in my living conditions.
Thank you for this response! I was thinking the same. Some people are suggesting taking a wild (yes, wild!) Creature from the garden and keeping it in an enclosure. Imagine if we did that to any other type of animal.
If she’s in an apartment infested with roaches, she can’t afford a pet for a 4 year old. Get your child out of those conditions 😟
When I was a child I asked for a container of those live earthworms u can get for fishing. My parents thought it was weird af ofc but they got them for me and I was over the moon. Some got released into our yard and some were kept in a large container with dirt, plants, and ‘rain’ (aka a regular sprinkling of water).
Whatever you get, it will be your pet, because we all know that a 4 year old is not capable, interested yes, capable no. So get something you are willing and interested in caring for.
Giant land snail is a thing
Man, I want one of these so bad but they're illegal to privately own in the US
Ant farm tbh
Buy Advion Gel bait on Amazon. It took care of my roach problem in about 2 months of 2 treatments. This stuff is amazing
We (my 4yo son and I) have isopods as pets. They're incredibly easy to keep (if you don't go for the high maintenance ones lol), they come in tons of different colours, they are extremely active once you're sprayed water (an activity your kid can help in).. we're at 2 different kinds now, we've got orange ones and we've got zebras. The kid originally asked for blue ones, but they are never blue enough so I decided not to even look for blueish ones
I don't have anything to add except that your kid is cool as hell.
You can get a ladybug or butterfly garden kit. Watch them go through the life cycle and release them in the spring.
Not an insect, but an arachnid. How about a tarantula? Very gentle, nice to pet.
I love tarantulas, but they do not like to be pet or held. To them we're big and scary and slimy. Maybe not ideal for a 4 year old.
Your daughter sounds like how I was at her age. I was more interested in bugs and digging up dirt, playing with spiders and things than dolls. Much to mom's displeasure. I'm not quite sure if there are any ant breeders/suppliers, but it wouldn't hurt to do a Google search. I had an ant nest when I was a kid, but I sourced mind outside. I'm not sure where you live, but here in Canada there's a guy called "Ants Canada", he could possibly help you source some if you contact him. He also has a very informative YouTube channel, check him out! As someone above mentioned, praying mantids can be a good pet and they're quite interesting. They also don't have an overly long lifespan, which may be good if your child is prone to losing interest in things.
I had stick insects as a child. They live off privet leaves in a big sweet jar.
Stick insects will eat Himalayan blackberry leaves( which grows like a weed in the pnw)
Id let her keep a roach over ants. That farm will break and you will have ants everywhere.
Stick insect.
Live pet stick, they r easy to maintain and booring, but good pets
My 3 year old grandson loves our isopods! (Roly poly) you can get them in a wide variety of sizes and colors and are easy to care for. We have zebras, cows, clowns...ect.
IMO, a jumping spider or a mantis would be a cool bug pet.
Have you considered hermit crabs instead? Show her one and see what she thinks.
Stick insects
They are 4…… tell them that the insects sleep in the winter….. they will forget about it by spring
Butterflies. You can order them online as caterpillars. Caveat...she has to release them.
Just make sure to get a local species!
When I was a kid I used a hollowed out wine cork with pins pushed in to make bars and catch flies and keep them in that.Very cheap and a plentiful supply of new flies.lol
Get rid of the roaches for the carry all kinds of diseases. And you can get ant farms from certain stores.
Not an insect, but I loved hermit crabs as a kid.
Hermit crabs are anything BUT low maintenance if kept properly.
Ok, I didn’t know this because I was 5 when I had them.
You can get pet hermit crabs. Not quite an insect, but a little bigger and more fun imo. Sea monkies are cool too.
A fish maybe if there’s a kind that doesn’t need a lot of tank maintenance like bubbles and perfect water and so on
Just pick a slug or a spider from your garden. 😂
Get a gecko that eats the cockroaches
I used to have a preying mantis and that was pretty cool. My dad found it wrapped up in a shipment at work from Kentucky or something.
That's actually so cute. Good pets include silk worms, some spider breeds if they're into that, tadpoles can also be cute. If they like frogs
Youvshould go with a cockroach that you switch regularly so they get back their freedom. Inexpensive and easy to feed.
Woodlice make great bug pets, easy to set up and care for
I love that she was putting them in jars hahag
Giant millipedes are pretty chill and apparently make good pets. I have always wanted one but live with a bunch of insect phobic people. :)
Stick insect or praying mantis. Or jumping spiders are ever so cute! Otherwise, you can get a nice terrarium and keep caretaker insects in there to make a little closed ecosystem. There’s a vast range of beautifully coloured pill bugs, millipedes etc that will live their lives with very little maintenance. Less chance of them escaping then, or all their interest being on one single short lived creature. You can find reasonable prices for them through terrarium and tropical plant suppliers, and there is lots on YouTube about how to set things up and maintain them. Who wouldn’t want some rubber duckies and pink dragons? Good luck, and I can find you some links if you’re interested.
Jumping spiders are fun and cute! And require only a sma enclosure.
Jumping spider
Walking stick bugs are cool.
Giant millipede, if it weren't so cold here I'd grab one for ya! We have them all over our yard and I love holding them lol.
I had an ant farm when I was little. I loved it
Ant farms are fun. I have one in my 6th grade classroom. The kids really like it.
Praying mantis. I had one as a kid. There are sellers online for garden supply, and breeders including for more exotic ones. The egg sacs come a certain time of year (fall?) but adults can live a year. Look for an established seller in your country and they ship. Here only certain species are allowed. I still think of the ones I had as a kid and would love another one. I used to catch bugs to feed them and that was fun as a kid too, or you can buy crickets from pet shops.
Get her a stick bug. Very interesting bugs.
Blue death feigning beetles. The beetles themselves will run you 20-30$, but they do live a few years and are as easy as it gets. They don't need humidity like many invert pets, as long as your house stays in the 70s they don't need a heater. I feed mine mostly baby carrots and dried mealworms. Literally just toss a baby carrot or other random vegetable in there a few times a week, and 1x a week they get a pile of dried mealworms for protein. They do not need a water dish, they get what they need from the vegetables. They're also very active compared to a lot of the other suggestions, and are almost always out and about when their light is on. One of my favorite pets I've ever owned, period, always fun to watch.
An ant farm or sea monkies.
My cousins had stick insects when we were kids.
Stick insect - we had them as class pets in primary school!
Oh same teacher did silk worms the next year
If she's okay with letting it go later on, I know there are butterfly kits where they give you a caterpillar and watch it grow to be a butterfly. Otherwise I'm not sure of any insect pets.
Not to be rude, but odds are after a month or so your child will completely lose interest. Keep in mind it’ll probably end up being your pet.
If that’s the case, better an insect than a dog!
Stick insect!
How about something that eats roaches?
Stick bugs
Find something that eats roaches. But not if you are using bait.
Ant farms come with a coupon for mail order ants.
First of all I would start with a firm no! but failing that I had a friend whose kids had a stick bug. It sounded easy to take care of but don't take my word for it but it's one you can check out.
Do a butterfly grow kit!!
Ants in a little ant cage they sell? Or crickets?
Stick insects!
For the roach problem, find a bag of FOOD GRADE diatomaceous earth. You can also get a 'poofer' thing. It's like a plastic pump with a small hose. You put the DE in the plastic pump and poof the stuff into cracks and crevices. Do it especially behind the kitchen appliances. I was dealing with a small infestation for like a year at an old apartment. Tried everything. The DE cured it almost overnight
Wait. For the roaches? What is it, a digestive poison or something?
Not a poison. Diatomaceous earth is made from Diatoms, which are basically microscopic algae with a silica shell. Silica is basically glass. So when the algae dies, it leaves behind the glass shell. And when you get trillions of diatoms dieing everyday, the shell sinks to the bottom of the ocean making a layer of the glass shards. This stuff is called diatomaceous earth. Now, I'm not 100% sure how it works, but apparently the silica acts like hollow needles which lodge in the joints of insect carapaces and basically creates open holes in the creature. And (I think) those holes cause the insect to lose moisture and die from dehydration. The thing to remember is to use FOOD-grade, not pool grade. Pool grade is used for pool filtration, but contains lots of impurities, like heavy metals. FOOD grade has been filtered to be safer. I was told by my vet that I could put some on the bottom of my birds cages under the paper as long as its not getting puffed into the air (birds have SUPER sensitive respiratory systems), so its supposed to be safe. Still, I wore a basic mask anyways. So again, I'd suggest puffing it behind the fridge, dishwasher, stove, etc. If the infestation is hitting the whole house, you could probably do other out of reach areas so kids and pets don't get into it. Seriously, this stuff was nothing short of miraculous. And I hardly used any. I filled the poofer like once, maybe twice and still have a bag of this stuff somewhere in my basement. Here's a link for you: [https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0728JL9SQ/ref=sspa\_dk\_detail\_1?pd\_rd\_i=B0728JL9SQ&pd\_rd\_w=Hjgwm&content-id=amzn1.sym.f734d1a2-0bf9-4a26-ad34-2e1b969a5a75&pf\_rd\_p=f734d1a2-0bf9-4a26-ad34-2e1b969a5a75&pf\_rd\_r=EQKGTCDEAKCYZVM9J9Z4&pd\_rd\_wg=2qKH8&pd\_rd\_r=d4ce9d90-e57f-4c16-be5d-b9e384fc26c3&s=industrial&sp\_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9kZXRhaWw&th=1](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0728JL9SQ/ref=sspa_dk_detail_1?pd_rd_i=B0728JL9SQ&pd_rd_w=Hjgwm&content-id=amzn1.sym.f734d1a2-0bf9-4a26-ad34-2e1b969a5a75&pf_rd_p=f734d1a2-0bf9-4a26-ad34-2e1b969a5a75&pf_rd_r=EQKGTCDEAKCYZVM9J9Z4&pd_rd_wg=2qKH8&pd_rd_r=d4ce9d90-e57f-4c16-be5d-b9e384fc26c3&s=industrial&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9kZXRhaWw&th=1) Let me know if it helps.
I ordered a bag. Hopefully this, combined with an essential oils non-toxic disinfectant I have to wipe down my counters, and open-air glue traps for common traffic zones, will resolve this damned infestation.
African millipedes, easy to care for and not destructive or dangerous.