First attempt at mealworm farming

[Perris]

sounds good to me! thanks again

 

[Perris]

I have two pupae already! As I have set the farm up in a set of plastic drawers, I have moved them up to the empty drawer above. Apparently they need no feed. The worms have got a mix of crushed wheatbix (wheatbran is on order), porridge oats, some ground rice, a small carrot and an apple core. Yummy!

 

[ColoradoPip]

Nice! Yeah the pupae will just sit there, flutter around a bit, and then hatch. I give them potatoes and apples because they are the most full of moisture at the lowest cost (am following USDA organic guidelines). I was lucky to find an organic feed place close to my place where I can get wheat bran, oats, or anything else like that.

I've also started adding in some organic chick starter and they are loving it!

 

[Perris]

lucky you! there are quite a few pet and farm feed stores round here but none of the ones I tried had bran in stock.

 

[aswank22]

SUPER easy to mealworm farm.
I find it easiest to do drawers. I know a lot of people that don’t separate their stages but I do. I find I get a better turn out because the beetles aren’t eating the larvae/eggs.
I’ve got thousands of worms. I started last April so it’s almost been a year.
The best bedding I would suggest is something small so they can eat it faster. The worms grow really well on wheat bran. I get a 50lb bag at my feed store for less than $15.
make sure to microwave or bake it to kill extra bugs! Grain Mites are a HASSLE but they only come around when the humidity Is too high. So make sure whatever water source you add to your drawers they eat right away.
I would stay away from apples and potatoes. They tend to smell and mold if forgotten about.
My farm goes crazy for aloe, cactus, carrots, lettuce, cucumber, etc.
Anything with a high moisture content make sure to watch and don’t add it straight to the bedding cause then it could mold. I add a piece of cardboard and then put the water source on top and they will crawl to it.
I almost always just use carrots. They’re easy and cheap.
Make sure you’re watching if they’ve been sprayed with pesticides though and wash thoroughly because that can kill your whole farm.
I leave my beetles in the bedding about 2-4 weeks. After that I remove them to new bedding and leave the “old” where all the eggs are to sit. I can usually see babies immediately.
the warmer it is where your farm is, the faster you’ll see worms.
I keep my room about 70°ish so I see worms relatively quickly.
Mealworm farming is pretty interesting and cost me... maybe $6to start. I haven’t had to buy anything again other than the occasional bag of carrots.

$30- 10 drawer craft drawer system (Walmart)
$15 - wheat bran (still have a ton! I just had to repackage it in sealed bags)
$5 - carrots
$15 - mealworms

I personally sell kits for mealworm farms and it get you a jump on farming. I give you all the cycles.
beetles, eggs in the bedding and jar, worms and pupae.

if you have any questions I would love to answer them! Farming mealworms is a fun and interesting process!

 

[CindyinSD]

It's too cold here for shipping mealworms. Is it worth buying a small amount from a pet store, or does it make more sense to wait and order a large amount once the weather warms up?

 

[Perris]

thank you so much for all that advice @aswank22 !

I get my veggies from a CSA and they're organic so that should be fine, and the tip about grain mites and bagging the bran is very timely - I pick up the sack on Monday.

Picked out another 7 pupae this morning, and can see others transitioning from worm to pupa, so I think they're happy enough with the conditions I've given them.

The worms cost me £2.50 for one take-away-sized container full. The bran will cost £11 for 20 kg. The drawers are repurposed from my son's bedroom, where they had become redundant, so they were £0. The carrots can't be more than a few pence. So you're right, it's really cheap to have a go at this

 

[Perris]

17 more pupae this morning

 

[Perris]

there are about 60 pupae now; can't wait for the first one to emerge as a beetle

 

[ColoradoPip]

Super cool!

I did a full clean out and found lots of hatched worms. It took a couple of hours for both the 55 and 20 gallon tanks and how I clean will need refinement but they're eating and thriving! The dust is gone too.