A TEENAGE David Attenborough superfan is making £60,000 a year selling weird and rare insects - from his parents' home.
Cameron Reardon, 19, stocks more than a hundred different species at one time and attracts buyers from across Europe.
The budding entrepeneur has always had a passion for insects and grew up watching legendary broadcaster Attenborough's programmes.
He began importing insects while studying at college but soon realised he had found a gap in the market after making money flogging them on Facebook.
He now devotes all of his time to the thriving business - raking in up to £5,000 a month.
Cameron also offers services such as birthday parties, education workshops and "fear classes" - aimed at helping people overcome their phobias of insects.
He stocks a wide variety of creepy crawlies including venomous spiders, scorpions, millipedes, crabs, bird-eating spiders and giant land snails.
Cameron stores the products at the end of his parents' garden in Llanelli, Wales - but would keep them in the house when he started out.
He said: "I used to keep stick insects as a pet when I was younger.
"They used to lay hundreds of eggs, which I then used to sell on Facebook. There's loads of groups.
"Then, when I started college, I had an enterprise talk as part of my induction. That's when I realised I was already making money and could make a business from it.
"I used to keep everything in my bedroom at the start. My mother hated it.
"There's five bedrooms upstairs - for some reason they always went straight for hers if they got out!"
The business really took off after Cameron won a local bursary of £5,000 - beating other young entrepeneurs to prize.
This money allowed him to buy a chalet for the end of his parents' garden, where he now operates from as Bug Box UK.
He said: "I moved into that and, about a month later, we started shipping.
"Stock changes from season to season but right now we have around a hundred different species - the bird-eating spiders are really popular.
"It can be quite seasonal - some months we are just scraping by - but, with all the educational stuff I think, it's a rough salary of £60,000 a year. That sounds about right."
All orders come in via a website which Cameron then prepares and sends off using a 'live animal' delivery method through Royal Mail.
The business is currently online only - although there are plans for a shop and further expansion.
Cameron, who has a younger brother, added: "I'd love to expand the business. The main plan we are looking at is to franchise out to the States.
"The market out there is colossal - everyone out there has a pet tarantula! They love it."
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel