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by Tony Gomez

8 months ago

Raising Butterflies Blog

An Easier Way to Clean Up Messy Monarch Caterpillar Cages? ๐Ÿ›๐Ÿ’ฉ๐Ÿ’ฉ๐Ÿ’ฉ


2 Fast, Effective Ideas to Clean Caterpillar Cages without getting your Hands Dirty! Raise Theย Migration

8 months ago

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By Tony Gomez

Easy Caterpillar Cage Cleaning- Raise The Migration

by Tony Gomez

8 months ago

Caterpillar Cage Cleaning Tips

How To Clean the Monarch Caterpillar Cage to Prevent Monarch Diseases- Raise the Migration

Cleaning caterpillar cages isnโ€™t the reason most of us started raising monarch butterflies, but itโ€™s really not so bad compared to cleaning up after our four-legged ๐Ÿถ๐Ÿฑ (and feathered ๐Ÿ”) friends.

First off, the frass (poop) doesnโ€™t smell too foul since your caterpillars are strict milkwetarians. Second, with a simple raising accessory, you can avoid direct-contact with frass, while saving precious time.

I clean our cages twice a day (morning and evening) but you can probably get away with once a day if youโ€™re raising on potted plants or elevated cuttings. The goal is to avoid having your monarch caterpillars crawling around in (potentially) bacteria-filled waste.

If you let frass pile up in your cage, donโ€™t be surprised if your monarchs succumb to diseases. We have not suffered a monarch disease outbreak in 30 years. I believe, without a doubt, that keeping the caterpillar habitat clean has a lot to do with this unlikely streak of good fortune.

Keyboard Vacuum for Caterpillar Cage Cleaning

Cleaning Mesh Caterpillar Cages

  • Wash your hands with water and thoroughly dry before handling monarchs or raising supplies
  • Remove any caterpillars from the cage floor by picking them up with a milkweed leaf or a small soft-bristle paint brush
  • Blow off or use fingers to push down leaves so frass/poop thatโ€™s sitting on them falls to the cage floor
  • Place cuttings containers and leaves (with monarch caterpillars) on boot trays while cleaning
  • Cleanย any size cageย with a keyboard vacuum cleaner to clean caterpillar frass ๐Ÿ’ฉ๐Ÿ’ฉ
  • Remove 14" poo poo platter on the cage floor to empty frass from your baby cube or Tall baby (no platter? just use keyboard vacuum)
  • Remove 22.5" poo poo platter from yourย BIG Cubeย orย monarch TOWERย (no platter? just use keyboard vacuum)
  • Toss the frass out in your garbage. Do not use as garden fertilizer in case bacteria and other disease-causing pathogens are present
  • Wipe down the cage floor with a wet paper towel or rinse out your platter
  • Dry the cage/platter with another dry paper towel
  • Place ๐Ÿ’ฉ ๐Ÿ’ฉ platter back in cage (if you have one)
  • Refill cuttings containers or floral tubes with water if necessary
  • Spray the cuttings/plants lightly with water (to hydrate your ๐Ÿ›๐Ÿ›) while sitting on the food tray
  • Put your cuttings/plants back in the cage
  • Wash hands thoroughly and dry



Get your Keyboard Vacuum Cleaner Here

Get your Poo Poo Platter Here ย (make sure to order the RIGHT SIZE for your cage floor)


Cleaning Plastic Food Containers

The small food container hatcheries on the raising supply list are even easier to clean:

  • Wash your hands with water and thoroughly dry before handling monarchs or raising supplies
  • Prepare a second food container (or multiple containers if needed) lined with a fresh dry paper towel
  • Place cuttings containers on boot trays while cleaning: one for used containers, one for new
  • Lightly blow leaves or use fingers to push off frass/poop so it falls to the paper towel in the used container
  • Transfer ๐Ÿ’ฉless leaves with caterpillars into new container
  • Spray water above new containers (just a couple light spritzes to hydrate caterpillars)
  • Seal your containers
  • Dump out your frass/old leaves into a waste basket. Do not use as garden fertilizer in case bacteria and disease are present.
  • Rinse old containers with soapy water, rinse, dry
  • Wash hands thoroughly and dry

Tip 1: Donโ€™t wipe down your cage while thereโ€™s frass on the floor, or youโ€™ll smear it aroundโ€ฆalong with potential disease!

Tip 2: Thoroughly inspect old leaves/cuttings before throwing them out. Some even keep a container to throw old milkweed so they can recheck in a couple days to make sure no ๐Ÿ› takes a one way field trip to the garbage dump ๐Ÿ˜ฑ

Tip 3: The sap from milkweed is toxic and can cause corneal damage if rubbed into your eyes. Always wash your hands after handling milkweedโ€ฆ


What About Bleach?

I only recommend using bleach or cleaners in between batches and at seasonโ€™s end unless you are having issues with monarch diseases. Then the caterpillar cage should be disinfected immediately!

I will be discussing monarch diseases and parasites in an upcoming raise the migration post. If youโ€™re not on my mailing list, you can sign up for โ€˜Raise the Migrationโ€™ emails here.

Use a minimum 5% bleach solution (1 part bleach to 19 parts water) or maximum 10% (1 part bleach to 9 parts water) for cleaning. We use the minimum 5% solution unless there are disease issues.

Mix the solution in a bucket, spray bottle, pressure sprayer, or soak mesh cages in a large tub, laundry tub, or bucket for about 20 minutes. Alternatively, some put their flat-folded cages in a dishwasher, using dishwasher detergent with bleach

Soak smaller food containers in a sink or laundry tub. Some opt for disinfecting wipes.

Rinse the disinfected cage thoroughly with waterย (and dry) before usingย to raise more monarchs.

And thatโ€™s the dirt on cleaning up after messy monarch caterpillars! ๐Ÿ’ฉ

For further assistance with caterpillar cage cleaning and raising healthy monarchs through the butterfly life cycle, a โœฌโœฌโœฌโœฌโœฌ rated PDF download on How To Raise More Monarchs, with Less Effort is available for purchase HEREย <<< (choose paperback or PDF download)