Mealworm farming

[Sweetwater Clyde]

Get a bug zapper for crying out loud. You will get more bugs in a night than your little worm factory will make in a month. C'mon now...leave it to a hillbilly to figure it out for you.

 

[Dipsy Doodle Doo]

Hi! Wow! There is a mealworm farming thread! I'm an 'accidental' mealworm farmer. A bag of rye seed got left outside (I planted part as cover crop last fall and the rest of the 50lb bag got left outside the rest of the winter). I have billions of mealworms!

Lisa

 

[Dipsy Doodle Doo]

Oh and... It sounds like they ship well. What is the best 'age / stage' to ship, and how to pack the little darlings? I want to send some to a pal in MO and want them to have a happy trip. Would a mixed-age group would be better for start-up than a bunch of 'same-age-ish' mealworms?
Thanks!

Lisa

 

[WestKnollAmy]

Quote:
How many chickens and ducks do you have?

I can see me out trying to pick up several hundred dead bugs to feed to my hundreds of chicks in their brooders!

And pick them all up before all the chickens and ducks get out there to clean them all up off the ground, deck or driveway first thing in the mornings!

Not to mention the frogs that love to come hang around the bug zapper to get their share.

As daddy used to say.... work smart, not hard.

Okay, okay. I know I could make a funnel that goes down into a container below the bug zapper but then again, those bugs do not have the nutritional value of meal worms and I can make the meal worms with extra vitamins or sweet from fruit or have extra Omega by using flax meal and they would be way better than any old dried up dead bugs from the night before.

Sorry folks! I had to defend our intelligent feeding of our beloved chickens and ducks.

 

[RachaelS]

And bug zappers don't help in the winter..... Great idea might even buy a zapper to go with my farm of worms!!!

 

[hannakat]

Quote:
My chick-a-dees like their bugs juicy ...... electrocuted bugs have no juice......

 

[hannakat]

Quote:
Welcome Lisa!! Mixed is preferred ... just put them in a paper sack with some oats...don't need much, and maybe a piece of potato....pack it in a small box and ship. They are very hardy.

 

[WestKnollAmy]

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My chick-a-dees like their bugs juicy ...... electrocuted bugs have no juice......

OMG! That is hilarious!

 

[kizanne]

Ok so here's a question. I keep seeing people say add food or take out old food every 3 days. what do you do if you go on a 7 day vacation? does it matter or do you actually have someone come to your house?

Also I found so reasonably priced organic mealworms for those that live in the southeast.


http://tastyworms.com/products/live-mealworms

 

[Gallo del Cielo]

Quote:
Your colony will be completely fine for seven days. I only remove old food a few times a year (unless it's something new I've tried and they don't like it, then I remove it as soon as possible). I have gone without feeding them for weeks on end and they still move along (although that is tougher on beetles). That's one of the great things about raising mealworms, they are amazingly hardy and seem to thrive even with occasional benign neglect. Have fun on your next vacation!