How to PREVENT isopods from breeding

[AJV]

Hello,

I purchased about 15 dairy cow isopods a few months ago. They're nice little guys, and have their own box. They're my first and only isopods. I knew when I obtained them that dairy cows breed prolifically, but I hadn't really prepared myself with how to deal with it. Within 2 weeks after arrival, several of the originals had already given birth (they must have been pregnant when they were sent to me). Those babies are now juveniles, and there have been multiple other cohorts that have appeared. Their box has a mix loose soil, sand, and fiber with a lot of leaves and some bark making it impossible to give a precise estimate of their current population, but I'd guess that there are maybe 80 living in the box, possibly triple that if there are many babies burrowed that I can't see.

Since I've had them for less than 6 months and their population has already increased by at least 400%, I don't understand how to maintain an adequate environment for them. They're still now, but what happens when there are 1000 of them? 10,000? I dislike the idea of doing anything harmful to them since they're primary pets and I like them, but I also can't possibly keep pace with them reproducing like this. Is there any known way to slow or stop their breeding without killing them? Separating them by gender is likely impossible at this point since there are so many already and many babies and juveniles are hiding in the substrate.

Thanks for the advice

 

[Croal]

Can you give some back to the person you bought them from or sell them yourself? I don't believe that there's any way to sterilize them/prevent breeding.

[Hisserdude]

Well once they fill up an enclosure their population kinda just hits it's limit and stops increasing, they don't have overpopulation crashes or anything, they seem to either breed less or just cannibalize enough to keep the population steady.