Mealworm farming

[HenOnAJuneBug]

I just re-did all my previously treated substrate (not the stuff with meal worms in it), at 300F and stirring halfway through. If that doesn't do the trick, they need something much stronger, like a nuclear explosion.

Has anyone tried microwaving it?

 

[azygous]

Yes. Microwaving produces very uneven results. Freezing isn't so hot either. (See what I did there?)

You need a heating method that will heat all of the substrate evenly for an extended period. Those grain mites are survivors. Good thing we're smarter than they are.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

Has anyone tried microwaving it?

I always microwave mine, and leave the heated clump sitting there until it cools. If I don't break up the clumps left behind they will be the start of mold. I have NEVER had grain mites YET. But it's simple, I DON'T have them.. at least in this bag or currently in my kitchen. After a whole year of microwaving but also not seeing anything in my open bran bag.. I decided I was wasting my time getting rid of something I don't have. So I have been using it just straight for a couple months now with NO treatment. But I WILL be treating my new bag as if it DOES have them until proven otherwise.

I was wondering recently... if the amount of oxygen available during freezing/baking had any effect on the life left behind? Or in other words, if storing in an air tight container might be as effective... or freezing the container open faced so that it isn't just freezing them but also drying them... but seems like drying would take place in the oven as well.

And how the hell do these things survive such high temps? ANY egg cooked that long should be... well, cooked!

 

[jigfishnut]

When I got mine the instructions said that 85F was the hottest.

I did move them from the garage to inside house where it's 75, but have very few worms left as most seem to have turned to beetles. Still suffering beetle lost but not sure of their life span.

 

[azygous]

My beetles seem to live for around six months. Maybe longer. Of course, I'm constantly adding new beetles to the beetle tray as the worms cycle into adulthood, but I seem to have very little die-off.

One time I had a significant beetle die-off. I figured out it was due to not keeping carrots in the tray to provide an adequate moisture source. I've found that having a continual moisture source is crucial. Worms as they grow and shed exoskelteton need the most moisture, beetles need about half as much, and larvae nearing the pupa stage need very little.

I saw larvae die that I had forgotten in a carton I'd left in the run in summer where the temp would get up to 90F. I learned then that worms are very susceptible to high temps.

I keep my colony between 70F and 85F. They cycle through their stages faster between 80F and 85F.

 

[orchardflock]

Is there any reason for not feeding excess beetles too chickens or lizards? Six months is a long time to keep beetles and I would think a ton of eggs produced.

I have a small three drawer system I set up for mealworms about a week ago. I'm struggling with the constant flecks of wheat germ that is spill each time my kids (7&9) feed their pet gecko. I keep having nightmare visions of delighted swarming mice and hatching eggs. The simplest solution is probably to just keep my kids from accessing it or put the whole thing inside a large plastic bin to catch any spillage. I wish I could just put them outside.

 

[azygous]

You may feed all stages of meal worms to chickens and reptiles. My chickens even relish the dead ones, dried out and riddled with holes. They're all treats.

As for the three-drawer system, that's what I started out with, and found out after my larvae went on walk-about all over the water heater closet, then my kitchen, that it wasn't desirable. If/when that happens, you will look at a few spilled bits of bran as a walk in the park.

Look into getting stackable plastic trays with covers. I drilled 1/8" holes in the lids and on the upper portion of the sides just below the rim. This provides plenty of room for all the stages, you can separate them, cut a hole in one and glue screening over it so the eggs fall down to the tray beneath, and as your colony grows, you can always have meal worms of a size to feed out.

As for the mess, with a seven and a nine-year old, they're old enough to learn how to use a hand vacuum.

 

[orchardflock]

Excellent points, on all accounts. I think I'll try switching to plastic trays and ordering them a hand vacuum. I wish I had thought more about the potential for escaping before buying the drawers. It's very convenient for easily accessing the different layers, but too scary. Live and learn.

 

[tigger19687]

Or you can buy a big Tote that will catch the dropped stuff.
Not sure how big your drawers are, but what about a 50 gal tote?
I just got one for my cats as a litter box with a top. Cut a hole near the corner of one side (long side because of the way I have to have it in the basement).
I would think you could put a drawer set in there and have enough room to opena nd take out the drawers ? Unless you got the HUGE drawer set

This is the one I got for $20
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Sterilite-50-Gallon-189-Liter-Stacker-Tote/43393267

 

[Kusanar]

Is there any reason for not feeding excess beetles too chickens or lizards? Six months is a long time to keep beetles and I would think a ton of eggs produced.

I have a small three drawer system I set up for mealworms about a week ago. I'm struggling with the constant flecks of wheat germ that is spill each time my kids (7&9) feed their pet gecko. I keep having nightmare visions of delighted swarming mice and hatching eggs. The simplest solution is probably to just keep my kids from accessing it or put the whole thing inside a large plastic bin to catch any spillage. I wish I could just put them outside.

No real reason not to feed the beetles, but, after raising the larva all the way to a pupa and then taking care of the pupa until the beetle emerges, it would be a shame to kill the beetle before it has laid all of the eggs that it can over it's life.