Mealworm farming

[Nutcase]

How long have you had them ? Ours always grow quickly - we put two apple halves into the box and they just eat their way through them

 

[onafixedincome]

Folks, I'm thinking that we need to put a warning on the first mealie post to WEAR A MASK when working with these guys. My own sensitivity this summer almost put me in the hospital and now I'm on an inhaler for the foreseeable future.

The frass and allergens from these guys is NO JOKE.

PLEASE WEAR A MASK FROM DAY ONE, and don't keep them in your living areas, such as your bedroom or places you spend time in.

It's sad, but worth taking the precautions...and if you doubt me, kick them outside and wear a mask while working with them for a month. You'll notice a difference in your breathing within days.

 

[Kassaundra]

Folks, I'm thinking that we need to put a warning on the first mealie post to WEAR A MASK when working with these guys. My own sensitivity this summer almost put me in the hospital and now I'm on an inhaler for the foreseeable future.

The frass and allergens from these guys is NO JOKE.

PLEASE WEAR A MASK FROM DAY ONE, and don't keep them in your living areas, such as your bedroom or places you spend time in.

It's sad, but worth taking the precautions...and if you doubt me, kick them outside and wear a mask while working with them for a month. You'll notice a difference in your breathing within days.

The warning is a great idea, but you cannot edit your post after 2 weeks, the OP would have to ask the mods to add the warning I believe.

 

[Tikkajazz94]

How long have you had them ? Ours always grow quickly - we put two apple halves into the box and they just eat their way through them

Ah...... 2 weeks they've apear in both tubs....

 

[Slinglings]

Folks, I'm thinking that we need to put a warning on the first mealie post to WEAR A MASK when working with these guys. My own sensitivity this summer almost put me in the hospital and now I'm on an inhaler for the foreseeable future.

The frass and allergens from these guys is NO JOKE.

PLEASE WEAR A MASK FROM DAY ONE, and don't keep them in your living areas, such as your bedroom or places you spend time in.

It's sad, but worth taking the precautions...and if you doubt me, kick them outside and wear a mask while working with them for a month. You'll notice a difference in your breathing within days.

YES, keep them in a garage, wear a mask and wash hands. I had a terrible cough this fall (the only time I kept meal worms inside) and it magically went away as soon as I dumped the mealworms outside. Unfortunately (for my hens anyway) I don't think I'll ever try to keep them again. I also rehomed our pet frogs when I realized the worms were making me sick, they will only eat live food and I can't possibly buy it for them every few days.

 

[Tikkajazz94]

I have mine in my bedroom. I got told my room smells (Prob my brother).

 

[laughingdog52]

I started reading this blog from the beginning and got to about page 50, but I wanted to check on the more recent entries. I am very glad to hear about using the mask. My worms are doing great by the heater under my desk, but I also have a cough and have noticed a smell. It is great to have them so handy and I like checking on them daily(hourly!), but they are growing so fast they will be driving me out of my room. In fact it might be easier to move me than my worm farm. I am getting about 100 beetles a day and wondering what to do with them. I started out putting about 20-30 in each new nursery box and planned to move them to another nursery every 4 weeks until they died, thus having all the same age worms in each new box. At this rate, I will have ah, millions? I have been seperating the pupae out of the worm box in to a really warm box (I heard 91 degrees) . I wanted to put the screen in the bottom of my worm box, where there probably aren't many eggs(because there are no beetles), so the frass will sift out the bottom and help eliminate the smell and reduce the need to ever sift again! My worm box is so full of many different size worms that it weighs a ton and I an constantly adding more substrate to the top as well as bread and celery for moisture. My question is how many beetles to a 12X12 inch box. All comments are appreciated. BTW, I almost lost my whole "farm" when I got so busy this summer and forgot about them in another room. I found the box with alot of dead beetles and no visible worms. I just sprayed some water on the newspaper and in days I could see the baby worms!

 

[Bmmjz Chicks]

About 30-40% of my pupas are not maturing into beetles. They get their head and front legs out and sometimes their wings but not the rear legs. Is this normal? They are in a room that is about 70 degrees.

 

[laughingdog52]

I have read that we should avoid overhandling the pupae because the "bruising" can cause deformaties. I keep a special drawer for them so the worms can't chew on them, too. I put oatmeal in the drawer to cushion the pupae and always handle then with a small plastic spoon. I cover them with a paper towel to keep them dark and as close to 91 degrees.

 

[Nutcase]

I have read that we should avoid overhandling the pupae because the "bruising" can cause deformaties. I keep a special drawer for them so the worms can't chew on them, too. I put oatmeal in the drawer to cushion the pupae and always handle then with a small plastic spoon. I cover them with a paper towel to keep them dark and as close to 91 degrees.

Yes, be careful with pupae. i didn't find it necessary to separate my worms and pupae in all the times i've raised them though. does anyone know much about breeding a second generation of mealworms? i'm interested for my chooks' sakes!