Mealworm farming

[bobbieschicks]

I was using the 3 drawer drop through egg version and decided I didn't like the mess of it and/or potential messes. Yes opening the 2nd drawer first helps keep down potential messes, but some stuff still fell out through the opening and onto the sides of the drawer unit. Since I do this in my foyer and I do not like bugs in my house I closed back up the top drawer and now have 3 drawers of mealies of all ages. It's working just fine and I don't have to worry about the mess or move them around so much. If you start with the 3 drawer with the screened in cut out - save your cut out just in case you decide not to keep it that way. Try it for awhile and see if you like it.

Now that I have mostly larva again and the beetles are presumably all gone - I will probably work on merging all the larva back into one drawer to separate out the next generation from this first generation. That will give me an opportunity to clean out one of the drawers of all the frazz, skins & add fresh wheat bran.

 

[kukupecpec]

I was reading something else online and they said that you can FORCE the pupa stage with a large worm by isolating it without food. This guy used a tackle box with the little separators so he had one worm in each compartment to force to pupa. Does this work? I'm not sure I want to try it unless others here have had any good experiences with it.

 

[onafixedincome]

I'm thinking he was raising superworms, Zophorbia (?). Those you pretty much have to separate or they kill each other, I think....My mealies pupate just fine en masse.

It's amazing what these guys can survive; when all seems lost, pick, sift, and wait. They surprised me with how many eggs hatched despite atrocities from the (insert expletives here) clutch of ten who discovered where mealworms came from....(mumble, grumble).

I do a lot of my mealworms in cheap dollar store shoeboxes and tubs with lids. I 'work' my mealies hands on a lot more than do others--I find it relaxing. So my beetles move from container to container once the substrate shows signs of movement; my larvae grow and get split to different containers to maximize survival and growth; I pull the largest larvae to pupation bins, where they pupate and are picked out to hatch.

That makes it easier to choose large, healthy pupae for my beetle increases; I found with mass raising, my size was dropping rather quickly, both of pupae and beetles. By decreasing the population density near pupation, the mealies are growing larger before pupating, which means larger beetles, which I HOPE means more eggs and longer lives to lay more.

Today I get to evaluate hatching bedding, split it up as necessary, pick pupae (done every other day or so or it takes FOREVER), skim dead beetles off the tops of their bins, and harvest a few handsfuls of larvae for the Feathered Plague Daily Feast.

My advice of the day? Use lids....! Because once the chooks learn where the mealies are, they don't give up-another trait that they seem to hold in common with Jurassic Park raptors!

 

[Tikkajazz94]

I'm thinking he was raising superworms, Zophorbia (?). Those you pretty much have to separate or they kill each other, I think....My mealies pupate just fine en masse.

It's amazing what these guys can survive; when all seems lost, pick, sift, and wait. They surprised me with how many eggs hatched despite atrocities from the (insert expletives here) clutch of ten who discovered where mealworms came from....(mumble, grumble).

I do a lot of my mealworms in cheap dollar store shoeboxes and tubs with lids. I 'work' my mealies hands on a lot more than do others--I find it relaxing. So my beetles move from container to container once the substrate shows signs of movement; my larvae grow and get split to different containers to maximize survival and growth; I pull the largest larvae to pupation bins, where they pupate and are picked out to hatch.

That makes it easier to choose large, healthy pupae for my beetle increases; I found with mass raising, my size was dropping rather quickly, both of pupae and beetles. By decreasing the population density near pupation, the mealies are growing larger before pupating, which means larger beetles, which I HOPE means more eggs and longer lives to lay more.

Today I get to evaluate hatching bedding, split it up as necessary, pick pupae (done every other day or so or it takes FOREVER), skim dead beetles off the tops of their bins, and harvest a few handsfuls of larvae for the Feathered Plague Daily Feast.

My advice of the day? Use lids....! Because once the chooks learn where the mealies are, they don't give up-another trait that they seem to hold in common with Jurassic Park raptors!

Sounds Like alot of work. Im running into a issue. I put all 1000 worms into one container, I started to get dead ones, so I picked some out and put them in new containers. (about 100-200 in a new container), But Nows Im still getting dead ones, I put more oatmeal in there, which helped. but Im not getting alot of pupas I say 1-2 every other day to three days......

 

[Wyogirl]

I thought I would share how I do my 3 draw set up. I keep 2 of them side by side. On the left side I have the top drawer cut out and screen attached to the bottom. The beetles are kept there they lay egg baby mealies fall to 2nd drawer they grow up and are ready for harvest sift second drawer and bag large and medium mealies take all frass and what ever else is left and put in 3rd drawer and put some more food in with it. (there are a lot of baby mealies in the frass after sifting) Fill second drawer with food put back start over.
The one on the right side is the same except when I sift 2nd drawer I put frass In 3rd drawer on left side. The bottom or 3rd drawer on right side is were the pulpa go to turn into beetles to be moved to top beetle drawers.
Ok some people say 3 drawer systems are a pain because when you open the top drawer the stuff falls on the floor. I don't know how to say this kindly OPEN THE 2ND DRAWER FIRST then open the top drawer the 2nd and 3rd drawers catch what would have fell on the floor. So what a few babies fell in the 3rd drawer they will grow.
I started with 5,000 3/4 inch meal worms in May and now have 500,000 or something like that. All I really know is I filled 2 3 pound coffee cans 3/4 way full and we have been feeding 2 eastern box turtles 10 to 20 every other day since the beginning.
The way I talk you think I think it's easy well I have not been through a winter with then and it gets dry with the furnace running I'm worried they won't make it through that. We don't have humidifiers and I ain't buying one for meal worms.

Could you please post a pic of your set-up?? PLEASE
Ayda

 

[Slinglings]

Is anyone else having serious allergy type reactions when doing stuff in the bins?? I have gotten so bad with sneezing and runny nose, itching eyes that i may hae to give them up. I have already started taking out all the large worms to freeze before they can pupate. Darn...... I was really enjoying this adventure!

Me Me Me. I have had a terrible cough and itchy throat for weeks. Waking up in the middle of the night gasping and coughing. I thought it was the mulch that I have been spreading in my garden (could possibly be related, but I haven't messed with it in about 2 weeks, it's probably a combination of both the worms and mulch)

I moved the bin outside to the deck, but it's getting cold at night, and I can't leave them out there much longer. I'm not sure what to do. They aren't just for the chickens, I have three frogs that I have to feed live food to. They won't eat anything that isn't moving!

 

[WillsC]

Me Me Me. I have had a terrible cough and itchy throat for weeks. Waking up in the middle of the night gasping and coughing. I thought it was the mulch that I have been spreading in my garden (could possibly be related, but I haven't messed with it in about 2 weeks, it's probably a combination of both the worms and mulch)

I moved the bin outside to the deck, but it's getting cold at night, and I can't leave them out there much longer. I'm not sure what to do. They aren't just for the chickens, I have three frogs that I have to feed live food to. They won't eat anything that isn't moving!

It is probably the frass you are allergic too....at least that is what bothers me. Eyes tear, nose runs, throat closes lol......I have many bins of them and only mess with the frass or seperating the worms from the bran and frass outside with a mask on and then have no reaction.

 

[onafixedincome]

Developing severe allergies to this stuff is NOT unusual, as I found to my chagrin. Thus, I'm going to have to find a way to keep my worms outdoors this winter--if I kept them indoors, I'd die, and I'm not at all sure that that's a metaphor. There have even been papers on the darn issue.

So mask up, folks, newbies and oldies alike--if you mask early, you might not ever have the problem to deal with; if you mask later, well, at least it won't get worse.

Tikkajazz...if you are having that much trouble, I'd suggest changing over to the wheat bran and see if your mortality rate decreases. Change half, leave half, make sure both have carrot or something they like for moisture, and see which do better. Good luck! (And yes, I put a lot of work into my mealies...I need a lot of soothing in my life and it's kinda like meditating, except when the chickens come up to see if I have more of those lovely yummy wiggly things..!!)

 

[Debbz]

It is probably the frass you are allergic too....at least that is what bothers me. Eyes tear, nose runs, throat closes lol......I have many bins of them and only mess with the frass or seperating the worms from the bran and frass outside with a mask on and then have no reaction.

Well that explains it, itchy nose, sneezing, dry cough since I tipped the mealworms into another tub and sorted through for dead ones. I could smell it so was definitely inhaling stuff. Thanks for mentioning that Slinglings and WillsC. I'll use a mask and do it outside next time.

 

[Tikkajazz94]

Tikkajazz...if you are having that much trouble, I'd suggest changing over to the wheat bran and see if your mortality rate decreases. Change half, leave half, make sure both have carrot or something they like for moisture, and see which do better. Good luck! (And yes, I put a lot of work into my mealies...I need a lot of soothing in my life and it's kinda like meditating, except when the chickens come up to see if I have more of those lovely yummy wiggly things..!!)

Would I be able to find Wheat Bran at a store like 'Bulk Barn'? So do a mix half and half? awesome. well it seemed like when I seperated my big wormies with my small wormies, I don't see any dying