SELLING CREEPY CRAWLERS: The Crawlspace finds niche in reptile feeder business

May 12—As a child growing up in North Carolina, Cedric Purnell loved exploring and playing with insects.

"I played with dirt, I played with ants, I played with grasshoppers," he said.

Now, as an adult, he's again playing with bugs with the same vigor as a child.

At his house on south Armstrong Street in Kokomo, Purnell has all his "pet" bugs in various containers placed all around his covered porch, checking each one periodically with a slight pep in his step and a childlike excitement as he sees them scatter about.

Out of one large plastic container, he pulls out the death's head cockroach, known for its jack-o'-lantern face it has on its pronotum (the platelike structure that covers the insect's thorax). The feature is striking, and it's no surprise the bug is kept as a pet.

"These are not for sale," Cedric Purnell says as he picks one up and allows it to crawl up and around his hand. "These are my pets."

But every other bug is for sale.

Cedric and his wife, Danielle, are owners of The Crawlspace, a name Cedric Purnell got from his childhood days of checking out bugs in his parents' crawl space. The company largely sells insects, such as the Dubai roach, mealworms, crickets and more, as feeder insects to reptile owners.

What started as a necessity to feed their own reptiles has now turned into a small business serving a niche community of mostly reptile lovers from across the state of Indiana.

DON'T CALL IT AN INFESTATION

Cedric and Danielle Purnell have tens of thousands of bugs in their basement.

But it's not because of an infestation.

Rather, the Purnells are bug breeders and have been using their basement as their "farmland."

"I have to sometimes remember that there were millions of bugs right below my feet," Danielle Purnell said.

Just like so many other businesses start out, the Purnells were looking to solve a problem they had: How do we find quality food for our bearded dragon, Frank?

"We couldn't find quality insects to feed our pets, and we feed our pets like family," Cedric Purnell said.

Without any good enough options in Kokomo and online prices expensive, especially when including shipping, Cedric Purnell decided to breed his own.

The COVID-19 pandemic provided the Purnells with plenty of free time. Like millions of Americans after the onset of the pandemic, the Purnells used the downtime and work upheaval to start their own business.

HUMBLE BEGINNINGS

Many insect breeders construct whole rooms or buildings to breed their bugs. The Purnells didn't have that luxury, so Cedric improvised and used his creativity, creating makeshift breeding grounds in plastic storage bins.

The Crawlspace's first insect was the dubia roach, a staple of reptile feeder insects for many reasons. The dubia roach's diet is simple, as it likes to eat lettuce, carrots, apples and other semi-sweet fruits. They don't make much noise, are unable to jump or crawl on smooth surfaces and they can't fly. The bug has since become the company's mascot and is featured on its logo.

The two ordered about 200 of the roaches in spring 2020 to get their operation started. Since then, the two estimate they've easily bred a million or more insects at their house — a number that would creep out many but only makes the Purnells smile and laugh.

It took some time to convince Danielle Purnell to allow it, but the couple's first batch was stored in the bedroom closet. The constant pattering of the insect's legs, though, interrupted sleep so the couple moved operations to the basement.

Once the breeding began, the business took on a life of its own, and the Purnells soon found that they weren't the only ones looking for quality reptile feed.

The business has largely grown through word of mouth, with a friend initially asking to buy some of The Crawlspace's bugs. Then he told another, and that person told another and so on.

"The phone kept ringing and Facebook Messenger kept on going," Danielle Purnell said. "It really just took off."

Occasionally, a customer would ask, "Do you sell this bug," to which Cedric and Danielle would reply, "No, but we can."

And so, over time, the business expanded its offerings from just a dubia roach to mealworms, small and large pinky mice, weaned rats, black soldier fly larvae, waxworms and nightcrawlers to sell as fish bait.

The business really began to take off once the couple began bringing their products to the Kokomo Downtown Farmers Market. The business attracts customers at the Market with its cardboard dubia roach cutout.

And while not every day at the market is a successful one financially, the couple says the artisan marketplace, along with heavy Google and Facebook advertising, has served as a great way to get the business's name out to people.

The Crawlspace had 10-15 customers within its first month. Now, the business has dozens of regular customers from all over the state and sells about 1,000 of its flagship dubia roaches a week.

THE ROACH AHEAD

Currently, The Crawlspace operates out of Purnell's residence. The setup has worked well so far, but the couple knows that the informal location has likely caused potential customers to not stop on by.

"A lot of people look us up on Google, think it's a pet store 'cause there's no way to distinguish that on Google, see that it's a house and they'll drive by," Danielle Purnell said. "I feel like we lost a little bit of customers that way."

That's why The Crawlspace is hoping to one day have its own formal storefront.

"Having a storefront would be a game changer," Danielle Purnell said.

For now, The Crawlspace is happy to have its own small little nest within the feeder community.

"I didn't think it was going to take off in this way," Cedric Purnell said.