# Eating bugs



## outskirts

I've never tried eating insects, or any other bugs before. But I've been reading about it,
"Entomophagy" - the study of insects as food, and I have to admit... I am kinda finding the
idea appealing. It seems pretty practical. Anyone on here have any experience with this or
have considered exploring such a food source?


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## Aurelius

This one time a buddy of mine bit into a chocolate covered cherry candy and after a few chews he looked down and there were maggots crawling all through it. After puking he went back to the liquor store where he got it and they were nice enough to exchange it for an expired slim jim.


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## outskirts

Aurelius said:


> This one time a buddy of mine bit into a chocolate covered cherry candy and after a few chews he looked down and there were maggots crawling all through it. After puking he went back to the liquor store where he got it and they were nice enough to exchange it for an expired slim jim.


Now that is foul! There's just something about maggots that... there's just no way I could eat them. There's just something about the way they squirm that just ain't right. Besides they are the unclean larvae of a very unclean insect. Mealy Worms and wax worms which are actually grubs I think I could handle OK. I've been thinking more along the lines of grasshoppers/crickets/locusts though.


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## Deleted member 2626

yeah maggots eat carrion and trash so don't eat them. i'ven eaten quite a few grubs, bite off their heads and swallow whole. it's easier. Then, this late summer was squatting this state park in RI and ants got into this bread this guy gave us. So we spread on the peanut butter and ate ant and peanut butter snadwiches. haha. you can eat almost any bug. i think slugs would be kind of the best for protein and calories,


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## Doobie_D

Learned the hard way that banana slugs 1. Taste nothing like bananas and 2. make your tonuge numb..

But yeah.. I read awhile ago that for a survival tip you should always keep a piece of chocolate or chocolate bar in your pack for emergency food situations. Unwrap chocolate... leave out... watch as ants swarm it... get stuck... stick chocolate ants in your gullet. Protein fer dayzzzzz


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## Melvin

I used to work for a place that packaged live crickets for pet food suppliers, ya know people with snakes and lizards and stuff. It was kind of an initiation to eat a cricket there on your first day. I ate a few just to convince a few of the new hires to go through with it and it wasn't too bad really. Just be sure not to eat the big ones with the wings. The wings are tough and get stuck in your teeth or the back of your throat.


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## outskirts

Well I managed to catch enough crickets to be worth while. And a few locusts too.
I've read that you should give them a quick boil in water for 2 minutes to kill any parasites they may have, then pluck off the wings, legs and antennas, then you can roast them and even grind them into a flour. 
I think for my first go of it I'm gonna make potato, zucchini, cricket skewers with the veggies and crickets I have on hand. I still have to find a way to catch more crickets and more efficiently. I'm gonna try a few homemade traps.
I might as well, the fields here are full of them chirping this time of year.


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## outskirts

http://www.wikihow.com/Catch-Crickets

There are many different species of crickets, but the most common ones are the field cricket, a dark brown color, and the house cricket, a light brown or tan color. Whether you want to catch crickets for fishing bait, use them to feed your reptiles or just remove the pests from your home, this guide offers you several easy, inexpensive ways to do so.

EditSteps[/paste:font]
EditTips[/paste:font]

Common nesting sites for crickets include wood piles, building foundations, compost heaps, inside walls and almost any place where there is water available.
Crickets will hibernate or die off in cold weather.
EditThings You'll Need[/paste:font]

Granulated sugar
Breadcrumbs
Newspaper
2 liter soft drink bottle
Duct tape
Garden hose
Cardboard tubes
Loaf of unsliced bread
Rubber bands or toothpicks

EditRelated wikiHows[/paste:font]

How to Keep Crickets Alive
EditSources and Citations[/paste:font]

http://www.fieldandstream.com/forums/fishing/catching-crickets
*Article Info*
Categories: Grasshoppers and Crickets

Recent edits by: BR, Indi.joy, Carolyn Barratt


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*Catch Crickets with Sugar, Bread and Newspaper*
1
*Mix equal amounts of granulated sugar and plain breadcrumbs together*.


2
*Sprinkle this mixture on the ground where you have seen crickets congregating*. Do this at dusk, since crickets are nocturnal.


3
*Cover with a single layer of newspaper*.


4
*Return in the morning before the dew dries with a container to hold the crickets and carefully lift the newspaper, using your hands or a scoop to lift the crickets into the container*. A paper bag or a lidded box will safely hold your crickets for a few hours. If you want to keep them longer, place them in a lidded glass jar with a layer of sand or dirt on the bottom and some leaves and twigs so they have somewhere to hide.

*Catch Crickets with a Soft Drink Bottle*
1
*Cut the top 1/3 from a 2 liter soda bottle*.


2
*Invert the top, and place it inside the bottle with the pour spout pointing to the bottom*. Seal the edges with duct tape


3
*Sprinkle sugar into the bottom through the spout, and place the bottle on its side in a spot where you have seen crickets*. The crickets will crawl through the spout to reach the sugar but a surprising number of them will be unable to find the hole to get back out.


4
*Return in the early morning to collect your crickets*.

*Catch Crickets with Duct Tape*
1
*Place a strip of duct tape, sticky side up, on the floor along the baseboards or on windowsills in rooms where you suspect crickets are hiding*. They will be caught in the glue as they try to walk across, making it easy for you to pick up and dispose of them. A more expensive option would be to use the sticky traps or "motels" made for catching roaches.


1
*Spray a fine mist from your hose on the stone or concrete foundation of your home*. Crickets will be attracted to the water and come out to drink. This method of catching crickets will also work in a rock garden.


1
*Place a small amount of food in a cardboard tube, such as the ones that come with paper towels or bathroom tissue*.


2
*Place the tubes in areas where you suspect crickets might be hiding, and return early the next morning to collect crickets*.

*Catch Crickets with a Loaf of Bread*
1
*Slice a long loaf of bread in half lengthwise, and hollow out the 2 sides*.


2
*Mix some of the bread you removed with granulated sugar, and place the mixture in the bottom hollowed-out section*.


3
*Replace the top, and hold the loaf together with rubber bands or toothpicks*.


4
*Slice off the ends of the bread, exposing the hollowed-out section, and place it in cricket territory*. In the morning, you should have a full loaf of crickets.


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## DrRabbit

Cicadas are good eating too, they taste almost like peanut butter.


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## travelin

good stuff to know. thanks.


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## deleted user

I always figured in a collapse scenario I would be eating bugs, I couldn't see why not unless their poisonous. 

I once drank a roach and its egg sack by accented in my soda a few years back. Can't say I really cared.


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## dharma bum

Wouldn't all of those steps for catching crickets also attract a LOT of ants as well as other insects? Guess you'd have a three-course meal then...

(Great information, by the way)


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## EphemeralStick

DrRabbit said:


> Cicadas are good eating too, they taste almost like peanut butter.


I always thought they kinda had a almond-like taste with a crunchy/gooey texture myself. I was always warned not to eat them though considering that they may be covered in various pesticides and lawn fertilizers or other harsh chemicals that you don't wanna consume. Also if you have a shell-fish allergy i believe its possible to have a similar allergic reaction from eating them. Just my two cents I suppose.


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## outskirts

My first ever insect meal went surprisingly well last night. It was the only thing that went well since last night's downpour ended my fire and seeped into my tent.

Anyway, what I did with the crickets & locusts, about 2 dozen of them, was to first drop them into my canteen cup which was half full of boiling water and a nice dash of Old Bay seasoning. I let them simmer in that for 2 minutes then removed them from the water and set them on a wooden board. From there I removed the wings, legs, heads and the long things in their ass ends(sex organs, probably) < OK, I know the jokes are on their way, lol.
It was actually not hard to do, just some quick little plucks to each cricket. Most had molted and their shells were quite soft. What was left from each cricket was a body segment about the size of a pistachio nut minus it's shell.
The whole operation kinda reminded me off cleaning Blue claw crabs, but much smaller. I think the Old Bay and the locusts turning red helped me make that palatable food association. I ended up cooking them in my mini skillet with a little zucchini sliced thin. No other seasonings added.
So how do they taste? The crickets did not taste bad at all. Their taste is kind of like a mild flavored seafood but with a pronounced kind of earthy and gamey aftertaste. The texture reminded me of shrimp or crab.
The locusts were not worth the trouble, good thing I had only a few of them. They lacked taste and were to crunchy for my liking, they were like crunching on flavorless shrimp shells. I had a few crickets who had not molted and they were not that crunchy. Maybe the bigger locusts, which I lacked a net to catch would have been better.

I think I'll continue to experiment with these bug meals, at least so when the time comes that they are the only option, it will be second nature to me just the same as eating squirrels or anything else.

I think I will steer clear of the earthworms though, for a few reasons.
The soil badly needs them, and they ingest all kinds of bad things dumped into our soils.
Cicadas I think I will also forgo, 17 years is a long time to accumulate environmental toxins!
Crickets on the other hand have a short life span thus less time to accumulate environmental toxins.


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## deleted user

Just thought of this lol


<object type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="425" height="350" data="http://i.adultswim.com/adultswim/adultswimtv/tools/swf/viralplayer.swf" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" FlashVars="id=8a25c3921788d9d5011789462b940066" allowFullScreen="true" width="425" height="350"></embed></object>


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## outskirts

stukovthetuna said:


> Just thought of this lol
> 
> 
> <object type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="425" height="350" data="http://i.adultswim.com/adultswim/adultswimtv/tools/swf/viralplayer.swf" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" FlashVars="id=8a25c3921788d9d5011789462b940066" allowFullScreen="true" width="425" height="350"></embed></object>


I can't get it to play! I'm sure its funny as hell though.


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## outskirts

I so have to meet this girl!!!


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## deleted user

> I can't get it to play! I'm sure its funny as hell though.


It sure was, it was dr steve brule with a rule about eating ants .::grumpy::


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## eskimo

outskirts said:


> Now that is foul! There's just something about maggots that... there's just no way I could eat them. There's just something about the way they squirm that just ain't right. Besides they are the unclean larvae of a very unclean insect. Mealy Worms and wax worms which are actually grubs I think I could handle OK. I've been thinking more along the lines of grasshoppers/crickets/locusts though.


Yeah fuck man eating maggots sounds like hell


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## Odin

Germ theory sure is a riot folks.... :O  Shake da hand... OH snap...

"by the way I just dropped in in to this thread... so excuse any eccentricity... I mean well... :9 folks... "

Edit... yup drunkk


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## Deleted member 2626

I've eaten a good bit of insects ants, never spiders but grubs bite off the pincher head, I ate a live minnow one time swallowed it whole. Probably a bad death for that little guy my friends at the time laughed mwha


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## lry

When I was younger I was all into the Bushcraft scene. I had gotten a few survival skills books and would camp every weekend. All the books said how great insects were in a survival situation so I was curious. I gathered a handful of grubs and crickets from under a downed tree. Took me a good 30 minutes to work up the nerve to eat them. 

Eventually I gut up and sliced the head off a grub and popped it in my mouth. Started chewing and noticed the texture and consistency was like nothing I've ate before. At first I thought I was going to spit it out because it seemed like my body just didn't want that shit inside of me. But I was able to finish chewing and get it down. The cricket was a bit easier, the initial shock factor was gone. I pulled off his legs and down the hatch. I ended up putting the grubs back and just eating the last of the crickets. 

I imagine for a survival situation it would be no problem now, but don't see myself doing it for any other reason.


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## Deleted member 2626

Yeah the grubs are rubbery the outer skin is weird. I believe some tossed into a stew or soup wouldn't be too bad. Collect ants with a straw and stir fry or add to soup


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## codycodnyk

I know this is an old thread, but ive been looking into it a lot lately. Ive eaten fried mealworms and crickets, theyre pretty tasteless and really just crunchy. But id say theyre a great survival food, since theyre abundant and easy to catch and high in protein. Ive read that caterpillars are a bad idea unless you know what type they are since many can be poisonous. A lot of people cant even hunt with a modern rifle or shotgun, let alone a bow and arrow or a bushcraft weapon, and even trapping takes some skill as dar as placement, camoflauge and design go, not to mention that field dressing, butchering and preserving meat is becomimg a lost skill. But anyone can lift some rocks or pieces of wood and collect bugs. You can take a bottle, cut the top part off and put it into bottom half of the bottle to act as a funnel, and put it into the ground. Bugs fall in but arent smarrtenough to get out. Get some of those and youd have a source of daily protein. 
The one tip I have as far as preparing them is to hold them without food for 24-48 hours to purge the poop out of them. I fried some mealworms I got at a petstore without doing that. It took me a couple batches to realize the black gunk all over the frying pan and stuck onto them was feces.


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## outskirts

I just got back from a trip to Red River Gorge in Kentucky... and holy shit was the place crawling with cicadas and katydids. They kept landing into our campfire, so I took the burned cans from my companions meals and roasted both in the can on the coals. I got them nice and crispy while rolling them around the coals with a stick. Then we just took them out of the can, pulled off the wings, legs, and heads, and ate them. They were good as a snack with our bourbon, but needed maybe some salt and garlic powder. They both tasted very different. The cicadas tasted like dry, bland, chicken nuggets. The katydids surprisingly tasted like roasted peas. Both were very crunchy and not bad at all. I recommend seasoning them and you are good to go. This is the time of year for both, so catch some and chow down. You could probably trap a lot of them by utilizing a flashlight and a mosquito net. Or just be vigilant around your campfire as we were.


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## Kal

Grasshoppers have a lot of protein cook them first.


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## Mankini

Ah yes muthafukkaz but can you catch fly with chopstick?


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## AlwaysLost

outskirts said:


> Well I managed to catch enough crickets to be worth while. And a few locusts too.
> I've read that you should give them a quick boil in water for 2 minutes to kill any parasites they may have, then pluck off the wings, legs and antennas, then you can roast them and even grind them into a flour.
> I think for my first go of it I'm gonna make potato, zucchini, cricket skewers with the veggies and crickets I have on hand. I still have to find a way to catch more crickets and more efficiently. I'm gonna try a few homemade traps.
> I might as well, the fields here are full of them chirping this time of year.


Yes definitely always cook your bugs. Grasshoppers are delicious but a lot of them are carriers for tapeworm which won't help our hunger issued.


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