Earthworms, Mealworms, Black Soldier Fly Larvae, Crickets...

[JennsPeeps]

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They also are carriers for roundworm and cocci. But then again, so is nearly every other ground-dwelling insect. I don't worry about it too much but keep a close eye on them.

 

[jamieneenah]

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Would earth worms you buy at the store for fish bait have this problem? I assume those worms are farmed in some fashion.

Jamie

 

[bookchick]

I have a BioPod for raising the BSF grubs. You are probably a bit far for an afternoon look-see, but if you ever travel to the Orlando area, I would be happy to show you my setup and even give you some starter grubs if you want. Just PM me!

 

[elmo]

I think I have black soldier fly grubs in my composter. I'm just now in the process of researching the subject. Whatever these critters are, they're doing a wonderful job breaking down the material in my composter.

 

[geedub]

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I'm quoting myself from this thread because I did eventually publish a DIY design for raising black soldier fly larvae. Please keep in mind that this unit is small and can only handle a few ounces of waster per day, maybe up to one pound under optimal conditions. It's meant to be a cheap way to learn about BSF and how to keep a colony balanced so you can avoid bad smells and crashes. The principles used to make this unit can be applied to larger containers if you decide to go larger.

DIY BSF bucket composter v2.1

 

[Tdub4chiks]

I have been raising mealworms for a few years now for a small pet supply business I have. They are the easiest worms to raise. Just need to put them in a plastic bin, with a cutout in the top with screen for air, put in bedding, give them a potato or carrot to give them moisture and let nature happen. They will eventually turn into beetles. The beetles can lay hundreds of eggs each. They cannot fly so they are not a problem. You can use all kinds of ingredients for the bedding. I use wheat bran which I purchase at the feed store for about $8 for 25 lbs., I stir in some baby rice cereal, powdered milk, and brewers yeast. You don't have to use all of those ingredients - even flour or oatmeal will work. They like to have a piece of folded newspaper on top, in the center. I spray this with water ever few days to give them more moisture. But not too moist - you have to keep the bedding dry.

Good luck.

 

[Gallo del Cielo]

I too would highly recommend raising mealworms. It will be by far the easiest insect protein source to raise. The earlier post by ArizonaNessa with the link is a great source of info. Check out my BYC page for a brief outline.

 

[Miss Lydia]

My ducks eat earth worms but If I throw an earth worm over the fence to the chickens, they just look at it and walk off. Their spoiled rotten and love meal worms mostly.

 

[elmo]

What do you know...I have a BSF colony in my composter! I did some research this afternoon to confirm what I had in there, and they definitely are BSF. I put a scoop in and got a couple dozen of the grubs out to feed my flock. Boy, howdy! They loved 'em.

I tried raising mealworms a while ago but it was messy, and periodically I had to go through the bin to discard dead worms, put in fresh bedding, etc. I love the BSF grubs because I have to do nothing that I wouldn't otherwise be doing: putting stuff into my composter. And before the BSF got going in the composter, I was having trouble with smells coming from the bin. Now, the grubs are consuming the organic matter quickly, everything is breaking down beautifully, and there's no smell anymore.

I don't know if there's been any comparison of the nutritive value of mealworms vs. BSF grubs. One of the things that concerned me about the mealworms is that they were raised solely on wheat bran. The BSF grubs get all kinds of vegetable matter from the compost bin. If the grubs' diet is more nutritious, it should stand to reason that they would themselves be more nutritious as food.

 

[Gallo del Cielo]

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Hi Elmo, the nutrition of mealworms can be as broad as you want it to be. They aren't (or shouldn't be) raised solely on wheat bran. Most of what they eat is vegetable matter, which is as broadly nutritious as you want to make it. They do eat the wheat bran, but you should think of it largely as substrate to hold them. The vegetable matter I give them is every bit as broad as the material I add to my compost bins. You can increase the protein by adding brewer's yeast. You can also add oyster shells to the colony to increase calcium content of the worms. Also, you shouldn't ever have to discard the dead worms or put in replace bedding. We raised them for scientific purposes and had colonies that were over 30 years old and were never cleaned other than to remove dried vegetable matter. I'm not trying to dissuade you from BSF, just that mealworms might be better/easier than you think. Frankly, you should do both!

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