Mealworm farming

[Latestarter]

Do NOT put DE in with your mealworms unless you want a bunch of dead mealworms. DE works as an abrasive that will cut their exoskeletons and kill them. DE is used in animals feeds for bug prevention for this reason. I also don't personally recommend feeding chicken feed to the worms, or dog food either, as many of these feeds have DE in them and if medicated can also cause havoc on the worms. Just KISS... Keep It Simple Silly... wheat bran... simple, quick, easy, cheap. Sift out the worms and pupae that you can and QUICKLY and LIGHTLY rinse them under the faucet then put them in fresh dry wheat bran. Take the rest and destroy it or feed it to the chooks.

 

[aart]

I currently use wheat bran for the most part with some rolled oats mixed in and I do freeze then microwave or bake the substrate prior to adding it to my bins but have still gotten an infestation of grain mites

Freezing and baking only works if it is cold or hot enough for long enough...microwaving doesn't generally get it hot enough all the way thru.

Freezing needs to be subzero, most folks freezers don't get that cold.

Baking 300F for a hour, at least, stirring occasionally to distribute heat to all of the bran.

Your hot, humid environment is what they like best.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

I have a question for everyone who cares to chime in. It's about the feeding of your mealworm farms and grain mites.

I know that many people use dog food or chicken feed as the substrate for their mealies or mixed in as part of a mixture for their mealies. I also know that diatomaceous earth is used widely as a natural pesticide or anti-parasitic agent for many animals (even people) as well as an anti-caking agent in many bags of feed. So I always assumed that the people using chicken feed were using brands that didn't have DE as an ingredient. My organic chicken feed has diatomaceous earth in it so I thought that using it as food for my mealies would hurt them or possibly even kill them but I have recently learned of many people using chicken feed that in fact does had DE in it. I currently use wheat bran for the most part with some rolled oats mixed in and I do freeze then microwave or bake the substrate prior to adding it to my bins but have still gotten an infestation of grain mites

(now coming under control much better and I hope to have them gone soon).

So here are my questions...How many of you are using or have used chicken feed as a food source for your mealies and did it have DE in it?

Of those of you that have used it, have you had many grain mite infestations or not?

Do you think that the small amount of DE that is in the feed is maybe not enough to hurt the mealies but enough to kill off grain mites or keep them more under control?

What do you think of all this? Thanks & patiently waiting for responses!!!!

Let me say, DO NOT USE DOG FOOD. It goes rancid and molds! (yep, the beatles and worms still live but I'm going to bury the whole thing) I used chicken feed, once accidentally that included DE and they didn't all die. But I changed it out once I realized. I microwave my wheat bran and don't spread it to cool to rapidly. I haven't had mite issues yet. I wonder if some people who have mite issues even after heating, had the mites move in from their own house?

I found sifting worms out of the chicken or dog food a lot more difficult than the wheat bran. And I didn't like the white powder from oats looking like the beginning of mold on everything. so wheat bran is my current bedding of choice.

Maybe a spray of permethrin around the ground surrounding the bag. I avoid chemicals as much as possible, but if needed would pursue.

 

[Kusanar]

I don't think that horse feed has DE in it, has to be ground up (blender) in order to be able to sift it, but the worms seem to grow well in it.

 

[azygous]

Report from the azygous meal worm ranch: pupae popping out like popcorn kernels in a hot skillet!

It appears that the larvae in the ice cube trays are no more ahead of the ones left in the big trays. Soon will have a whole new generation of beetles!

By the way, I ran an experiment of removing all bran from one ice cube tray of larvae and those did not want to pupate, just lied there like slugs. It appears that worms do not need to run out of food in order to pupate since all the other trays were pupating like crazy.

 

[aart]

Report from the azygous meal worm ranch: pupae popping out like popcorn kernels in a hot skillet!

It appears that the larvae in the ice cube trays are no more ahead of the ones left in the big trays. Soon will have a whole new generation of beetles!

By the way, I ran an experiment of removing all bran from one ice cube tray of larvae and those did not want to pupate, just lied there like slugs. It appears that worms do not need to run out of food in order to pupate since all the other trays were pupating like crazy.

Huh....They must have just been delayed.....maybe due to temp...or who knows<shrugs>...somewhere along their timeline.

 

[Kusanar]

I'm sure my worms aren't happy with me right now, it's 59 in my house. We haven't turned the heat on yet, all of the animals are fine, the fish has a tank heater that is still holding him in a good range, and we have blankets... the worms are just going to chill a little

 

[EggSighted4Life]

I'm sure my worms aren't happy with me right now, it's 59 in my house. We haven't turned the heat on yet, all of the animals are fine, the fish has a tank heater that is still holding him in a good range, and we have blankets... the worms are just going to chill a little

Stays that temp in my house all winter and most of the summer. But I moved the meal worms out to my pump house where the temp stays 45-65..... They better learn to live with it.

 

[aart]

Quote: They may not survive 45F.....65 they won't be growing morphing or reproducing...they need at least 70-75....80 is optimal.

 

[Jensownzoo]

Mine pupated last winter like crazy with that temperature range. It wasn't 70F in the house until it was 70F outside. My ancient furnace (it originally was coal-burning) shot craps last winter so I was heating the house with two space heaters.