Shipping policy

Shipping & Delivery

Pioneer Feeders ships live feeder insects directly to your door. Because we ship living animals, please review this policy carefully to ensure a smooth delivery experience.

✓Live Arrival Guarantee
We guarantee retail customers insects will arrive alive if temperatures are below 90F and above 40F. If your order arrives with significant DOA (dead on arrival) insects, contact us within 2 hours of delivery with a photo of the deceased insects still in their original container. We will reship or refund at our discretion. Claims submitted after the 2-hour window cannot be honored.

Shipping methods

Standard
UPS Ground
1–5 business days depending on your location. Available for most of the contiguous US.
Expedited
UPS Next Day Air
Overnight delivery to most addresses. Required for longer transit zones and summer heat.

We reserve the right to upgrade shipping methods at no additional charge when we determine a faster service is necessary to protect your insects in transit.

Order cutoffs & processing


Orders placed Monday through Wednesday before 12:00 PM ET ship same day.


Orders placed Thursday before 12:00 PM ET ship same day when Next Day Air is selected; Ground orders may hold until Monday.


We do not ship on Fridays to avoid weekend holds at carrier facilities that could harm your insects.


Orders placed after cutoff or on weekends will ship on the next available business day.

Cold weather protection

During cold weather (when temperatures along the transit route drop below 40°F), we include UPS-rated UniHeat warmers and an insulated box liner with your order. A cold weather surcharge may apply.


48-hour heat pack: included for 1–2 day transit times.


72-hour heat pack: included for 3+ day transit times.

We monitor forecasted temperatures along the route and apply cold weather packaging proactively. If you are unsure whether your location requires cold weather add-ons, contact us before ordering.

Hot weather

During summer months or when temperatures exceed 85°F along the transit route, we may require UPS Next Day Air to protect your order. If overnight shipping is unavailable or cost-prohibitive for your location, we may hold your order until temperatures allow safe delivery. We will contact you in advance if this applies.

Address & delivery issues

Ensure someone is available to receive your package. Live insects left in a hot mailbox, on a hot porch, or held at a UPS facility are outside our control. The live arrival guarantee does not apply if a delivery attempt was made and the package was held or left in extreme conditions due to an inaccessible or unattended delivery location.


Always ship to a physical address. We cannot ship to PO Boxes.


Address corrections after an order is placed may delay shipment by 1 business day.


Pioneer Feeders is not responsible for delays caused by incorrect addresses provided at checkout.

Where we ship

We ship to all 48 contiguous US states. We currently do not ship to Alaska, Hawaii, US territories, or international addresses. Some rural or remote ZIP codes may be limited to Next Day Air only.

Wholesale customers

Wholesale orders are shipped on a negotiated schedule. Contact us to establish your delivery cadence and preferred ship day. Cold weather and hot weather policies apply equally to wholesale accounts. Minimum order quantities do not apply — we offer No MOQ wholesale.

Need help?

Emailhello@pioneerfeeders.com
Live arrival claim windowWithin 2 hours of delivery
Ship daysMonday – Thursday
Order cutoff12:00 P