Let's start out by looking at one of these vents. They consist of an aluminum ring, with fine aluminum screen in the middle. 6 bendable tabs stick out of the back - these can be used to secure the vents in place.

The next several steps involving mesh are optional, but handy if you have a problem with fungus gnats, fruit flies, or other smaller bugs entering or leaving the container. We use pieces of mesh bags our mealworms are packaged in, but ""No see em"" mesh (from camping supply stores) or bridal veil material (from craft stores) works well.

Here, you can see 6 dots indicating where the tabs will stick through the mesh.

Next, a small slit is cut on the mesh, allowing the tabs to come through.

Then stick the tabs through the hole and this vent is ready for installation. You can trim up the mesh and make it look a bit nicer, but our roaches do not seem to care.

Now, Nadja will help show you how to prep your plastic tote (in this case, a Sterilite Gasket Box) for vents.

First, select the appropriate sized hole saw and run the guide bit against the plastic until it just penetrates the surface and creates a round drill hole.

Then, put the drill in reverse and push the hole saw up against the plastic. This will score the surface, making it easier to drill out.

After that, set the drill to forward and, making sure to apply even pressure, drill out the hole.

After you have the holes drilled, extend the tabs on the back of the round vents outwards, place then in the hole, then fold the tabs flat, securely holding the vent in place.

Note the location of the vents. In this case, we wanted to be able to stack the totes for easy storage, so all vents are located on the sides.