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

[Noobchick]

Quote:
Oh crap!! Found a bunch of earthworms the other day under a potted plant I was moving. I fed them to my chickens, not even thinking. Won't be doing that again. *runs to research signs of parasite infestation*

 

[paratoke]

Tulie13, I don't know much about worms and mealworms, but I have some experience raising black soldier fly grubs. You can raise them without much more than a bucket, especially since you're in the south. I want to come up with a simple cheap DIY black soldier fly unit design and if I do I'll share it with you.

Btw, 70º is a bit cool for BSF. They don't start getting very active until it get's into the upper 70's and they're do the best in the 80's and 90's, you just can't let the temp inside the colony get over 100º or so.

Did you ever come up with a DIY method? Considering a BioPod Plus, but they are kind of expensive.

 

[paratoke]

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!

How do you like your BioPod? I am considering getting the BioPod Plus, but it's around $180, and I'm wondering if it's really worth it.

 

[Rhawn]

A buck 80 sounds like a lot. I started a compost bin and the BSFs showed up on their own. I have thousands in my bin. We put all non-meat scraps in the bin.

 

[triplepurpose]

How do you like your BioPod? I am considering getting the BioPod Plus, but it's around $180, and I'm wondering if it's really worth it.

I have a "ProtaPod" which is the commercial scale version. In my opinion it's not worth the money, unless you don't have the time or inclination to make your own. It can be really simple. You just need a container with a lid that keeps the light and birds and rain and such out but that still has a way for the adults to get in to mate and lay eggs. And you have to have some kind of ramp, or tilt the container, at an angle that's not too steep for them to crawl up, leading to a collection container of some kind. You also need some kind of drainage collection underneath your container for the liquid that collects. But it's really not that complicated if you are at all handy with DYI or know someone who is. I know there are some youtube videos of homemade pods. If I could go back in time I would never have bothered paying what I did for mine, especially since I had to tweak a few things anyway, and make my own lid (?!). It works fine, the materials are good and sturdy, but just not worth the money for something I could have made myself and had fun doing it.

 

[triplepurpose]

I have lots of these guys in my compost piles too. They show up on their own in huge numbers every time I build a compost pile. I let the chickens dig through them to eat the grubs when it's time to turn the piles. Not as precise or controllable as a biopod, but it's free and I don't have to build anything!

 

[Angelight]

Reviving this old thread out of curiosity for these compost piles! Do you all just pile vegetative scraps and waste and let nature take its course?

 

[Noobchick]

Yup- that's what I did. The solider fly larvae were just a nice surprise. I don't even remember exactly what I did. I do know that I tend to build cold compost piles, mostly because I'm lazy but patient.

 

[geedub]

Reviving this old thread out of curiosity for these compost piles! Do you all just pile vegetative scraps and waste and let nature take its course?

Traditional compost piles are the most common way people discover black soldier fly larvae. You probably won't attract any if you only compost leaves and grass, but if you regularly add fruit and vegetable scraps they'll show up eventually.

 

[brianb88]

I built a composter out of a plastic 55 gallon barrel a few years ago and I had no idea what kind of larvae it was that infested the composter. I only put in vegetable & fruit scraps, peanut hulls, coffee grounds and grass clippings. It was not long before it was literally "moving" with larvae. Now I know. This will be great for my soon-to-be chicken flock.