Black Soldier Fly composter

[buttonquailtx]

Has anyone used a black soldier fly composter?

I built one and it is awesome. I use the droppings from my quail to fill the composter. The compost is ready for the garden in 2 weeks.

The best thing is that the larva self harvest and make wonderful food for my chickens, quail, and bearded dragons. They are high in calcium and protein, just what our flocks need.

I love being able to use the waste from my birds to help feed my flock!!

 

[RichnSteph]

Check out this site from Harvey Ussery about black soldier flies. http://www.themodernhomestead.us/article/Soldier+Grubs.html
He has great information.

That was awesome thanks! I'll build a little ramp and just let the larvae crawl out and become adults, we have really sandy soil so I think they can burrow easily. I'll probably put a little bucket under the ramp for a day just to see how many get collected and ease my curiosity.

RichnSteph

 

[donnavee]

No, but it sounds interesting - could you post a picture and tell us how you made it.
Thanks.

 

[buttonquailtx]

I'll try to get pictures tomorrow. This is the second season the BSF bin has been in use, so it's kind of dirty, but it will show how it works.

 

[TXchickmum]

We are composting and harvesting BSF larvae for our chickens (and the son's sugar glider). We have two galvanized trash bins with lids that we use for our compost. -drilled small holes in the bottom/sides for air. It's a wonderful thing!

 

[buttonquailtx]

here are some pictures. Sorry it's a bit of a mess. I need to empty it

 

[buttonquailtx]

For the bin:

I used a plastic tote. I made slits on the side by drilling 1/2 inch holes and cutting out the space in between two holes with a dremmel tool.
I drilled 1/8 inch holes on the bottom along one side to allow drainage.
I used self adhesive velcro and placed it just below the slits to keep the larva in.

For the ramps:

I used 1 inch PVC and cut all but the last 4 inches in half.
I used a hole saw to drill two holes in the tote for the ramp to exit.
The PVC ramps should be against the walls of the tote and go from the top corner to the opposite bottom corner
I attached a 90 degree elbow to the PVC outside the tote and added a short piece of PVC to each elbow.
The PVC empties into a bucket and the larva climb out when ready

The tote needs to be placed in a shady area

I use mainly quail droppings to fill the composter, but sometimes add table scraps.

Right now I am collecting about 1000 larva a day. It's enough to feed my bearded dragons and suppliment the chickens' feed.

It is easier to "seed" the bin with larva at first, but they are cheap to buy. They are marketed as Reptiworms and Phoenix Worms. I added 500 worms to start with, and in two weeks began to harvest about 500 a day.

It's great being able to turn droppings into gold!!

The worms/larva are dry and not gross to handle



Feel free to ask me anything I may have missed.

 

[JeremyKSullivan]

1,000 per day climb up those pipes and fall in the bucket? Not doubting your word, just making sure I understand.

 

[buttonquailtx]

yep. It's weird, if you open the top you can hear them moving around. In order to get that many, you have to have a lot of "food" for the worms.

 

[donnavee]

Thanks & WOW.