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People are disgusted by maggots (in the case of BSF larvae) because of emotional reasons, not logic. We all have issues like that, including me, and I respect a person's right to keep their biases. I can respect an aversion to BSF larvae the same way I can respect someone's fear of the dark, or...

How does something go from being ok to being gross just because it's called a different name? I understand that people have an aversion to maggots because they probably associate them with disease and death, however, this particular fly species does not spread diseases. BSF larvae are not only...

BSF larvae (ok, maggots) are light in color during most of their time as larvae. The 5th time they shed their "skin" they're dark like coffee, and their skin is a little tougher. Most animals are more interested in eating the light colored younger larvae. If you can harvest the larvae when...

I imagine it could take some exposure before a bird would eat something new. I used to feed BSF larvae to a few peacocks, and they were slow to eat them at first, but later would go crazy for them, like the chickens in the video.

Your chickens are the exception.

This thread is about black soldier fly larvae. Anyway, I'm not qualified to speak about other insects....

I use them to compost kitchen waste, I don't have any chickens. Most people who raise BSF use open systems which are outdoors. In those systems the BSF adults are wild, and only visit the unit to lay eggs. BSF adults (winged stage) aren't pests and are rarely seen, even when you keep a large...

They did a radio/blog piece about BSF a few days ago! http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2013/09/19/223728061/making-food-from-flies-its-not-that-icky In the blog entry, they linked to my BSF site, which is pretty cool. :)

Always nice to see variations on BSF composters. I'm a little surprised that you've had issues with dairy products, I add them occasionally without noticing adverse effects. I'm actually more careful with meat. I try to limit the amount of flesh I add to what the colony can process in several...

That's about a pint per day which isn't unusual for a container that size. The harvest might be even better if the ramps were tightly secured against the walls since the larvae tend to hug the wall as they try to migrate.

Black soldier fly larvae and other maggots have been shown to reduce harmful bacteria like e. coli and salmonella. Wild animals eat maggots all of the time. I'm sure some do get sick, but I also think we tend to exaggerate the risk because of our bias against fly larvae. Quote: and...

No problem, we're all learning about BSF as we go, including me. First we need to establish if we're talking about a system for waste conversion (garbage to grubs) or only pupation/emergence. My comment about moisture is for composting units where juvenile (light colored) BSF larvae (BSFL)...

The black soldier flies in OR may have adapted somewhat to the cool climate, but in my experience you won't see breeding until the cold evenings are finished for the season. I would expect to see adult BSF emerge there in late June or even July. We normally advise people to keep BSF composters...

I may have misunderstood, but black soldier fly larvae must have high moisture to thrive with 70% being a minimum, although flooding can cause issues including excess anaerobic bacteria.

There's really only one thing you need to cultivate BSF; something they can eat.

In theory you could keep the larvae indoors, but you won't have reproduction so if you fed any larvae to chickens your colony would shrink. Also if it got a little too warm they would mature and pupate. Again, it could work in theory but you should probably learn the basics of outdoor culturing...

First you should know that the BSF season will be fairly short where you live; probably around four months. Since buying larvae is optional there is really no right answer to how many you might buy. More is better but they can get expensive. 1000 or even 5000 is not a large number considering...

You're very welcome Debra. It's possible to overwinter larvae and I'm sure you could also keep some pupae. Juvenile larvae can be maintained during cold weather by continuing to feed them and keeping them insulated. I tried it during one south Georgia winter with limited success. The basic...

Hi debra, Based on what I've read the larvae do best when the humidity of their environment is at least 70%. I don't believe there is a limit to the high moisture level they can tolerate assuming they can breath. I've seen large juvenile (light colored stage) thriving in a bucket that was...

I just published a BSF composter design that uses a storage tote. The ramp system is easy to build and I tested it for a full season. The drainage system is experimental, but you could modify it if you want something with more testing behind it. LINK