Mealworm farming

[onafixedincome]

I want my easy smilies back....

But I don't need 'em today--I had an entire box of 400 beetles go toes-up on me, a few are very slow-moving alive but the rest are deader than dead. Don't know why. Am suspecting that the beetles need more and better ventilation than the worms do....

*sigh* And we're back off to the races....with the other 1000+ beetles....

 

[galanie]

If it's any consolation, it would have to be a huge temperature swing to cause mortality in these guys.  The thing to watch out for is high temperatures combined with high humidity/moisture.  Those conditions are often the precursors to disaster.  

What is considered a high temp with high humidity? I have my meal worms in a bedroom that I have set up for growing orchids in. In the winter, the day temps are in the low 70's, night temps go down to 60, but the summer is my concern. I run window A/C unit to keep the room cool during the summer do to the heat put off by my T5 grow lights. I try to keep the day temps in the low to mid 80's and nights are around 65 to low 70's. Will temps in the 80's be to hot to use with high humidity such as 70% humidity? I keep the humidity up for the orchids, I could move the meal worms to a different location during the summer if needed. I have seen several dead meal worms (black) but it isn't much of a bother, but if my growing conditions are causing it and I can change it then I will!

My folks used to raise Orchids and I'd say that ideal conditions for Orchids is way too humid for the mealies.

 

[Kassaundra]

This may be splitting hairs, but I don't think the high humidity is so much "bad for meal worms" as it encourages mold and fungus growth which is bad for meal worms. Also encourages mites which are bad for meal worm raisers.

 

[BeccaSmith]

Well nothing seems moldy and I don't see any fungus growth. I do have good air circulation with my 70% humidity and I also freeze my bedding for several days if not longer to kill any mites.

 

[Elwood Lightfoot]

I agree the humidity is not good,

I have been raising meal-worms for over 20 years and have found that Non-Medicated chick crumbles or laying pellets are best for a substrate for them,

Don't use it whole however, I used to grind it two cups at a time in a blender (the cheaper blenders work better for some reason) till it will sift through a screen wire mesh, This way when you need a few worms a Tea Strainer is perfect for dipping some out and leaving all the food (and frass) in the container, It's also helpful when cleaning out the container,

I have tried about every kind of food/substrate for raising them things like flour and corn meal seems to cause substantial die offs' of worms and beetles the bran and similar food stuffs seems to me to not promote breeding as much as the chicken feeds ground up, I've thought about trying shorts that I remember feeding to the hogs as a kid but have never tried that.

As far as other food and water for them to drink a quarter inch thick slice of potato every few days (as they consume it) is plenty to have a healthy colony and keep the beetles alive and laying.

I have recently bought a hand crank flour mill and it makes the feed into a fine enough powder but does take a lot of work cranking it so will be adding a motor to it soon, The crumbles work best in a blender since it's already smaller there's less grinding, I use the Non Medicated because I have other things that eat the worms like reptiles, fish, and ducks that shouldn't eat the med's

I buy stacking, cheap, shoebox sized plastic containers and drill holes around the edge of the tops where it isn't covered by the box on the top of it, This will allow plenty of ventilation even with adding the potato slice it works out perfect, To prevent problems a closet is good for them and never keep them in a laundry room or room with a water heater or large fish tanks, the substrate will absorb moisture from the air and cause problems..

That's just my 2 cents worth and what I've learned works out very well for me, I know others do things different and it works for them also,
Good luck with your meal worms,

 

[BeccaSmith]

So 20% or less humidity would better then 70%? Those are really only my two options. I live in a very dry climate!

 

[wolftracks]

I agree the humidity is not good,

I have been raising meal-worms for over 20 years and have found that Non-Medicated chick crumbles or laying pellets are best for a substrate for them,

Don't use it whole however, I used to grind it two cups at a time in a blender (the cheaper blenders work better for some reason) till it will sift through a screen wire mesh, This way when you need a few worms a Tea Strainer is perfect for dipping some out and leaving all the food (and frass) in the container, It's also helpful when cleaning out the container,

I have tried about every kind of food/substrate for raising them things like flour and corn meal seems to cause substantial die offs' of worms and beetles the bran and similar food stuffs seems to me to not promote breeding as much as the chicken feeds ground up, I've thought about trying shorts that I remember feeding to the hogs as a kid but have never tried that.

As far as other food and water for them to drink a quarter inch thick slice of potato every few days (as they consume it) is plenty to have a healthy colony and keep the beetles alive and laying.

I have recently bought a hand crank flour mill and it makes the feed into a fine enough powder but does take a lot of work cranking it so will be adding a motor to it soon, The crumbles work best in a blender since it's already smaller there's less grinding, I use the Non Medicated because I have other things that eat the worms like reptiles, fish, and ducks that shouldn't eat the med's

I buy stacking, cheap, shoebox sized plastic containers and drill holes around the edge of the tops where it isn't covered by the box on the top of it, This will allow plenty of ventilation even with adding the potato slice it works out perfect, To prevent problems a closet is good for them and never keep them in a laundry room or room with a water heater or large fish tanks, the substrate will absorb moisture from the air and cause problems..

That's just my 2 cents worth and what I've learned works out very well for me, I know others do things different and it works for them also,
Good luck with your meal worms,

I use 30% Gamebird feed here. Would that work for the worms?

 

[WestKnollAmy]

I am just checking in again..... I see the discussion on humidity.
I have had mealie containers in the bottom of my big Sportsman incubator for several weeks now with the humidity around 50% and I set up a still air LG and put a bunch of small containers of mealies in there with the humidity at 50%.
They are loving it. They eat well, move a round a lot and I am constantly cleaning out shed skin from their containers.
There isn't any mold or fungus or mites.

I have been doing this less than a year but I must say, I have learned tons and enjoy all my experiments!

 

[hannakat]

So 20% or less humidity would better then 70%? Those are really only my two options. I live in a very dry climate!

Keep some in each and find out what works for you. You can add moisture to the 20% in veggie form. At 70% they might not need much additional moisture. I think you can adjust their environment to each situation. More ventilation with 70%. More veggies at 20% It depends on temperature too.

Never forget that mites love warm/moist. I also have the humidity up on my grow out containers right now.

Experiment to see what works best for you!!! Try not to keep all of your 'eggs in 1 basket' though

.

 

[WestKnollAmy]

As always......hannakat has voice of wisdom!