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Bad Guy Fluker Farms AVOID LIKE THE PLAGUE! Filthy

kerrek said:
There are over a hundred larva in that picture and no there shouldn't be that many in the order period. She paid for crickets not beetle larva 5-10 per thousand I would put up with getting that many in an order of 3000 crickets isn't acceptable.
Click to expand...

If there were even 200 larvae in that picture, according to her statement she received less than 200 crickets. As I said, that picture doesn't prove her statement as she typed it. AGAIN, I'm not saying she didn't get a bad order. I just think she blew it WAY out of proportion and exaggerated immensely.
 
I ordered once from Fluker back in 2008, i did get a high # of dermestid larva, but the crickets weren't too bad. I just didn't order from them again. I mostly order my crickets from Ghanns these days.

I have had all sorts of unexpected critters in my cricket shipments, spiders, various beetles, roaches, a chinese mantis and once a h. frenatus juvenile.
 
Sandra,
I've ordered from Flukers in the past and I to have had bad shipments. It is what it is. I have since moved on and found a supplier I am happy with. I do feel that they did try to make it right with you. A refund is acceptable and I personally feel you have acted unreasonably to the situation. Why is it whenever somebody has a problem these days they the first thing they think is to get the government involved to deal with it? Grow up. If your that unhappy with the service you where provided try a different provider and move on with your life.
 
man i wish i got that many beetles in my order when i use to get crickets from flukers i might have to start again but yes if she was looking for crickets then it should be replaced or refunded but on a lighter note sell them you can get more for them then the crickets i use them in with my crickets and other feeders to keep it clean and every now and then to clean a skeleton (reptile not human lol) its fun to mess around with articulating
 
LONG POST

So, I just got into buying crickets in bulk. I ordered from bulk the first time and things were great.

Then I found Fluker Farms and they were cheaper so I tried it and ordered 250. The first batch came with about 100 crickets, 40 or so dead ones, a bunch of those worms (not to the extreme as that picture), some beetles, and one GIGANTIC spider.

I called about the low number and they were very nice. Sent me a new batch at no charge.

Then, the next day, upon discovering the spider, I called again. They had me send them a picture of it and then told me that it was a yellow sac spider. This is a poisonous spider. I am terrified of spiders (especially ones as big as this one). They apologized and explained that because they cannot use pesticides or any other chemicals, these spiders are a problem. Again, they were very nice and patient. They then sent me another shipment and gave me a full refund. I didn't ask for either. I only called because I was concerned that this spider was dangerous.

I probably will go back to Ghann's just because they seem more organized and their crickets were very healthy and there were no extra friends in the shipment. I will say that the customer service at Fluker Farms was amazing to me.

I created an account just for this post because I was wondering if giant spiders are normal with cricket breeding. I have researched the worms and beetles and found that they are very normal and even helpful. But, I have not found out any information on spiders.

To the person who started this. I am so saddened to hear about your experience and to see the picture. You really got unlucky. I would agree with the folks telling you to calm down. This happens. It does not make it right but, in order to get kindness, understanding, and respect, you must first give it.

I do highly recommend Ghann's but, will also say that I plan on keeping the worms from this batch for when I get my shipment from Ghann's. The smell difference is amazing! :)
 
Yellow sac spiders are somewhat common in my area and very unwelcome. Many spider bites here are blamed on the brown recluse which is not indiginous to this this area because the sac spider causes similar symptoms but on a smaller scale. They can cause sores that last for a long time, some bites causing necrosis. However they are far from "gigantic". Normally an inch or less with legs extended.
 
I go through roughly 3000 crickets a week & roughly 500+/- die before they are eaten. :eek: So, I would like a few of those beetle larva, especially if it improves the odors.

aoldham3 said:
I do highly recommend Ghann's but, will also say that I plan on keeping the worms from this batch for when I get my shipment from Ghann's. The smell difference is amazing! :)
Click to expand...
 
Snake-Queen said:
I go through roughly 3000 crickets a week & roughly 500+/- die before they are eaten. :eek: So, I would like a few of those beetle larva, especially if it improves the odors.
Click to expand...

It does. I definitely notice a difference. I was keeping only about 80 at a time and the smell was terrible. Now, with 250 plus the larva, no smell. I am assuming that it is the larva doing it because they eat the dead crickets. :)
 
yeah i use the beetles with the crickets to eat the dead ones and also use vermiculite it helps cut down the smell i order 7-10k crickets every 2-3 weeks and it helps alot to cut down the smell
 
The OP. Just so over the top. And then disappears. *shrug* Maybe I'm just paranoid being around the BOI so long.
 
No, I have not gotten a refund yet. I stand by my original opinion and I still think Flukers is a horrible company. I think it's okay if some of you have a different opinion but I don't think it's okay to treat people like dirt just because they have a different opinion than you do. I decided to stop debating with you because it was pointless. I stated my opinion, posted the evidence, and will leave it up to readers to decide whether to order crickets from Flukers or not. There's no logical reason to keep arguing with people who can't discuss a difference of opinion without becoming abusive.

Fishy? Seriously? What an odd thing to say. I left the thread because some of you can't have a difference of opinion without behaving abusively. It isn't really worth discussing this anymore so I stopped. What's so fishy about my deciding to drop it and move on? Are you implying that I made the whole thing up? I went out and bought or found flesh beetles for no other reason but to make Flukers look bad? Why would I do that? And if someone were weird enough to do something that strange, it seems a bit odd that other people keep saying they got the same beetle larvae (and sac spiders) in their shipments from the same company. Are you implying that they are lying as well or that they are friends of mine coming here to back up my claims? Yeah, I made it all up, my complaint was so fishy. LOL

It's okay to disagree with someone about whether getting beetles in their shipments is a good thing or an outrage but to attack someone the way some of you people do is uncalled for. People should be entitled to have different opinions and if someone like me thinks it is a sign of a sloppy and/or unclean supplier to be shipping out so many flesh beetles you should respect their right to have that opinion and try to refrain from abusive behavior. I respect your right to not think it is a big deal to get these larvae, or spiders, (or whatevers), in cricket shipments. It is all a matter of perspective. One person's tragedy is another person's good fortune. (if you wanted the beetles you'd be thrilled you got a shipment like this). I tried to point that out when I brought up the fact that someone with antique leather furniture might be outraged at something like this but my point fell on deaf ears. At that point I realized it wasn't worth any further arguing so I decided to stop. You have your opinion, I have mine. The world keeps spinning.

People who want flesh beetles will order from Flukers hoping to get some. People who do not want them will avoid Flukers. As far as I am concerned I've done what I needed to do. I put a warning out there. I'm finished with it now.
 
I am still wondering why the OP has not received a refund when the company said they would give it?
 
I don't recall anyone being "abusive" towards you. I think most people that chimed in here, myself included, thought you were a bit over dramatic about your order and the problems.

I will agree, however, that if you haven't received a refund yet you are definitely due one. I should also point out that, to date, we have heard nothing from Fluker's, so all we have to go by is your word. Given your exaggerated and, in my mind, screaming claims, I'll wait until I see proof before I call them Bad Guys or "avoid like the plague."

Let me make another thing clear as well. I say fishy because, after looking at some of the other posts here, you seem to enjoy digging up dirt on people and posting it in threads about them, though some of it seems to have nothing to do with the thread at all. I'll let others look at that as well and pass judgement. Just making an observation was all I was doing. ;)
 
I have only posted at Fauna a handful of times, so I am assuming you are referring to how I unmasked a poser in The Reptile Etc...thread. The guy runs around all over the net pretending to be a high ranking military hero when in fact, he was kicked out as a specialist for bad behavior, plus he was charged with fraud for falsifying documents during his domestic abuse case.

I guess if the poser was a buddy of someone's they'd think what I did was "fishy" and hold a grudge against me. That explains your behavior a bit.

You may think what I said about him was unrelated to the thread but a person's habitual lying is relevant when they are taking up for a known scammer, at least in my opinion it is. I think what I said was appropriate. The only thing I did that wasn't appropriate was posting the same info in a different thread. I wanted people to know that the guy was a liar so they wouldn't trust him but I probably should have created a new thread for that and not posted it in that other guy's BIO. It could have derailed the thread.

We are a military family so posers seriously annoy us and I wanted to spread the word about the guy. Some people, like TattooLost, may not care about scumbags who pretend to be military heroes, but some of us in the world care a great deal and would want to know if someone in the herp biz is a poser. To me and people like me, what he did was a big deal and worth telling people about. You can disagree if you want but if that's what you're basing your "fishy" opinion of me on, that says more about you than it does about me.
 
Sorry, don't know the guy. Just following up on you and discovered the other posts you'd made. Sorry to blow that theory of yours out of the water.

As for my "grudge" against you, I have none. I'm just trying to figure out why the over the top post, trying to get Fluker's shut down, threatening to do everything in your power to shut them off, all because you got one bad shipment? Especially after they seem like they tried to take pretty good care of you.

Also, you never did answer my question. What, in your mind, would have satisfied you that they had cleaned up their act. Did you expect them to send you a new order that was absolutely perfect? Or perhaps a personal tour of the facility? It seems no matter what they did, you would have continued to be irate and unreasonable, and I think they made the right decision to suggest you find another supplier.

BTW, I don't know if anyone else has contacted Fluker's, so I went ahead and shot them an email letting them know about this thread. If they did in fact not send you a refund, shame on them. If they did, and you're lying to save face, shame on you.
 
I have to agree with the Op on one aspect. That post about her being "fishy" was uncalled for. She may have overblown the situation and been a little overdramatic in her concerns over some beetles. But she also provided proof of her claims. So Tattoo, that statement was def stepping over the line. I know if I provide proof of an accusation on the boi and someone took my character into question I'd be ticked off too. You need to take a step back and think about how you'd react being in her shoes and having ppl question your integrity after you posted pics clearly showing a problem.

And I dont know the Op and have never had any dealings with her in any way. So dont even think about trying to say Im sticking up for a friend. Because I stated earlier, I thought she should have taken the refund and gone to a new supplier....

G kilsby/Killer Chameleons
 
Killer Chams said:
I have to agree with the Op on one aspect. That post about her being "fishy" was uncalled for. She may have overblown the situation and been a little overdramatic in her concerns over some beetles. But she also provided proof of her claims. So Tattoo, that statement was def stepping over the line. I know if I provide proof of an accusation on the boi and someone took my character into question I'd be ticked off too. You need to take a step back and think about how you'd react being in her shoes and having ppl question your integrity after you posted pics clearly showing a problem.

And I dont know the Op and have never had any dealings with her in any way. So dont even think about trying to say Im sticking up for a friend. Because I stated earlier, I thought she should have taken the refund and gone to a new supplier....

G kilsby/Killer Chameleons
Click to expand...

No worries there, I get what you're saying. I probably shouldn't have "thought aloud" so to speak, but I did. People asked questions, and she'd given up on responding. Just seemed fishy to me, given her other interactions on here.

I'm still waiting for an answer though, on what Fluker's could have done to satisfy her. I have a feeling the answer is "nothing."
 
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