Mealworm farming

[DMRippy]

Quote: Inside, I had it on the outside but didn't work as well. Tape.... maybe. I was think about staples too. The glue is not STICKING to the plastic as well as I would have thought.

 

[Auscal]

Thanks Amy, somehow in all my reading I missed the 10 week part, and was remembering it being much less -

Where else but this thread could I proudly announce "I've got worms!" LOL I had posted previously about how long my container seemed to be just beetles. The advice I received was to be patient. Well, I was, and now after about 8 weeks of just beetles I can see tiny little worms. It may have helped that the weather warmed up, I also tried to increase the humidity (I live in a very dry high desert climate) - or, maybe it just takes the time it takes. Regardless, I am so excited to see little worms (is that sad?)

My advise to other newbies would be don't start with 100 worms from your local petstore - start with lots more for a headstart. I have been farming these mealies for about 1o weeks - and my chickens have yet to get anything, and probably won't for another generation.

 

[BeccaSmith]

Inside, I had it on the outside but didn't work as well. Tape.... maybe. I was think about staples too. The glue is not STICKING to the plastic as well as I would have thought.

I had the same problem....I had the screen on the outside at first and everything fell through! So now the screen is on the inside, and since there are only Beetles in the bin I only keep about a 1/2 inch of wheat bran in the bottom so it isn't so heavy on the screen. I haven't had any problems since. Regarding the glue not holding....I really had to use a ton of the stuff to get it to stick...it was pretty sloppy looking but it seems to work!

 

[DMRippy]

Quote: I think it was too heavy. I did what you did and it fell through. I just had too much in there.

 

[wolftracks]

OK I think somethings wrong. How long does it take for the eggs to hatch? I thought it was like a month. Am I wrong?

So here's why I'm asking.

Posted the other day about all the tiny worms from the first container. Mentioned I had just got a second container last month, just a couple of weeks really and had moved the beetles to the second tub. I was checking the carrots in the tubs. OOPS! I still need to pull those and replace them! So the first container is moving like crazy. I have gobs of baby worms and even some that are starting to grow. There are more tiny one too. yepppppyyyyy. Then I checked the second tub with the beetles. I saw several dead ones, which means my beetles aren't living for months. I figured in a month or so I'd have the beetles fed to the birds and lots of baby worms. I decided to stir things around to see how many beetles were hiding. Well I saw tiny moving objects and thought again that I may have mites. NOPE! Just like the other day when I thought that, I have a bunch of tiny worms. This tub is bigger than the first one I started and it's got a bizillion tiny tiny wornies in there. And I just moved a few beetles in this weekend, so that means I'll have even more. Oh and I still have pupa in the first tub and I found some good sized worms already, so I think I'll have to go buy an even bigger tub so I can put all the beetles in it for the next generation. Maybe it's all of this heat. I just didn't think I'd see worms in the second container this soon.

 

[BeccaSmith]

I have a question regarding grain mites! I have been using what bran that I buy bulk at my local grocery store. I freeze all of it before using it, a minimum of 24 hours, sometimes even longer depending on when I actually need to use it. I moved my colony in a three tier set up from inside the house to outside in the garage for the summer. They have been in the garage since the temps have been warm enough....at least since May since the garage is insulated (but unheated) and holds it's temperature pretty well. Today I noticed tiny microscopic flecks moving around on the outside on my 3 bin set up...they are all over the place. Are these grain mites? If so, what do I do, are they bad enough I need to completely start all over again? Will they harm the chickens if I just feed everything out to them to get rid of them and start over? I also store my extra bags of chicken feed in the garage, maybe about 6 feet away from the meal worm set up, do I need to worry about the grain mites transferring to the bags of feed and scratch? Any advice would be greatly appreciated! Happy 4th of July!

 

[hemet dennis]

I have a question regarding grain mites! I have been using what bran that I buy bulk at my local grocery store. I freeze all of it before using it, a minimum of 24 hours, sometimes even longer depending on when I actually need to use it. I moved my colony in a three tier set up from inside the house to outside in the garage for the summer. They have been in the garage since the temps have been warm enough....at least since May since the garage is insulated (but unheated) and holds it's temperature pretty well. Today I noticed tiny microscopic flecks moving around on the outside on my 3 bin set up...they are all over the place. Are these grain mites? If so, what do I do, are they bad enough I need to completely start all over again? Will they harm the chickens if I just feed everything out to them to get rid of them and start over? I also store my extra bags of chicken feed in the garage, maybe about 6 feet away from the meal worm set up, do I need to worry about the grain mites transferring to the bags of feed and scratch? Any advice would be greatly appreciated! Happy 4th of July!

The mites probably came from the chicken feed.

 

[BeccaSmith]

The mites probably came from the chicken feed.

So how bad are the mites? Do I need to start over with my colonies? Will they harm the chickens?

 

[hemet dennis]

So how bad are the mites? Do I need to start over with my colonies? Will they harm the chickens?

I'd Pick out the worms and put them in new bran inside give the old to the chickens move the feed out of the garage and bug bomb the garage. you'll need a new bin for the worms till you clean the mites out of the old. How many worms do you have ?

 

[BeccaSmith]

I'd Pick out the worms and put them in new bran inside give the old to the chickens move the feed out of the garage and bug bomb the garage. you'll need a new bin for the worms till you clean the mites out of the old. How many worms do you have ?

Dang, that is what I was afraid of! I have so many worms I couldn't tell you...I started back in November.....I have a three drawer system in a stacking tower with the top beetle drawer having a screen on the bottom for the baby worms to fall through to the middle bin. The bottom bin is a mixture of all since my screen originally broke and it was to much to try and sort the worms, pupa, and beetles. I have a ton of new baby worms in the middle bin that are just barely big enough to see....it is my second hatch baby worms if that tells you have many I have! What will the grain mites do to the meal worms?

Also I will have to find another place to keep the meal worms as I don't want to bug bomb the garage, my kitty sleeps in the garage at night and I don't want that stuff around her, but thank you for the suggestion!