Do YOU Raise Mealworms?!

[redhen]

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I bet you have eggs and teeny-tiny...microscopic worms...as they get bigger you can just barely see them...just keep looking for them...Also..all those beetles are laying tons of eggs now...just be patient grasshopper..

 

[Germaine_11.20]

Oh boy, now I am going to have to go look mine over better. So far I haven't noticed any mites.

I bought them from sillybirds and got the starter kit plus extra worms. I can't believe it but I am actually having fun with them.

They are just gross to me, but wow do they change quick. He has a nice set up. Small enough to keep in my office and they don't smell. I finally have new beetles and am making another little box for them.

Maybe if you had several small boxes then the chance of mites hitting all the boxes would not be as great. At least you could save some.

I know that just about any box or bag item has the possiblility of having bugs or larvae in them. Every year I deal with Weevil moths and larvae. I try to throw those items in the chest freezer after I bring them home. I keep them in there for a few weeks to kill the bugs off

I just never thought about it in the huge bag of wheat bran I bought. Yikes!!

 

[sillybirds]

That is scary. I haven't seen any mites in my mealworms, going on the second generation now. I am using a multibox set-up, and throw out the old substrate with the harvest of each generation. Also, as a safeguard against mites and ants, I do spray around the periphery of the garage.

Glad you're enjoying your worms, rustyswoman! They are kind of fun to raise, aren't they. Must be the farming instinct in us.

 

[PineBurrowPeeps]

Wendy, I think it came from the chicken grain I was using as substrate when I ran out of rolled oats...
Just a theory. I do not think it came from your worms.
Apparently the eggs from these mites can live a LONG time dormant. The only thing I have read is to microwave all new substrate before adding it to kill any mite eggs in there.

I have also read something about washing the worms, because they have a breathing aparatus on the top of their head, supposedly you can put them in water and they won't drown, but the mites will come off...
I haven't killed my colony yet, I can't do it yet, I've just had a rough week... Maybe I'll try washing them. What have I got to lose right?

 

[PineBurrowPeeps]

Another thing I was just thinking was putting the washed worms inside a container of clean oats in the fridge to put them into a dormant state for awhile... The mites need warmth and moisture to survive.

But then again, you run into the fact that the mite eggs can survive a long time in their own dormant stage...

 

[redhen]

I was thinking about it,myself. What would i do...
I think i'd keep my colony too...i wonder if you put them in the fridge..will it kill the mites? Sorry all this crud is happening to you Jenna..

Maybe if you seperate the worms from the bedding....wash the worms good and the worm container... maybe that will at least slow them down some...

 

[redhen]

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thats a good idea! I'd try that!