Mealworm farming

[binders]

Look at post #689 on this thread. There is some info on mites in the post that follow. Good luck. Luckily I have never had to deal with the problem but hope that the info given earlier will help

 

[Slinglings]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/492636/mealworm-farming/680#post_6946258

That's exactly what they look like. I'm putting a link here so that I can go back and find it to read more later.

I microwaved new wheat bran today and picked worms and beetles out of one bin to start over fresh. The mites seem to be only in a second bin that has frass, fine wheat bran, and eggs, tiny worms in it. The main colony seemed OK.

 

[WestKnollAmy]

I am glad I could help another person that is going through this awful mess.
I have many photos and info on my meal worm page on my website. Be warned, it is a large page with many photos and some videos.
I try to be helpful to everyone!

http://www.westknollfarm.com/Meal-Worms.html

 

[Slinglings]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/492636/mealworm-farming/680#post_6946258

That's exactly what they look like. I'm putting a link here so that I can go back and find it to read more later.

I microwaved new wheat bran today and picked worms and beetles out of one bin to start over fresh. The mites seem to be only in a second bin that has frass, fine wheat bran, and eggs, tiny worms in it. The main colony seemed OK.

OK-- I haven't been able to read everything here about this infestation..but it sounds like I need to dump this colony? I have two bins, one with worms/pupae/beetles, and one with tiny baby worms/eggs/frass. The baby worm bin is totally infested, and I have started to see some bugs in the beetle bin. What if I keep it all outside? The little bugs are harmless, other than infesting my house, right? I know that the meal worms will reproduce and grow more slowly in cooler temperatures, but otherwise is it OK to have them outside?

I understand microwaving the wheat bran before using, but is it possible that the bugs come with the meal worms? How would you prevent contaminating a colony that way?

 

[Gallo del Cielo]

Quote:
Hmmm...where you live, I might be tempted to dump the colony or just turn it over to the chickens. They require relatively high humidity to survive and if you can get the humidity down to 60% or lower you can kill them off without harming the mealworms; that might be tough to do in your climate. The grain mites are harmless to anything but grains, but they can get into everything. Keep them away from your kitchen, your store of chicken feed and the uninfected colony. Outside will be fine, until the temps get close to freezing. It is possible that they can come with the mealworms, but grain mites are just about everywhere in the environment. They could have come in on your latest bag of chicken feed, dog/cat food, or any number of other ways. All it takes is having available grains and appropriate moisture for them to explode. This is one if the main reasons I advocate keeping the colony as dry as possible and limiting very moist vegetables as food. Lids on the colony will exacerbate the problem as they will help retain moisture. I'm not saying any of these are your cause, but that generally, this is how it happens.

 

[Slinglings]

Quote:
Hmmm...where you live, I might be tempted to dump the colony or just turn it over to the chickens. They require relatively high humidity to survive and if you can get the humidity down to 60% or lower you can kill them off without harming the mealworms; that might be tough to do in your climate. The grain mites are harmless to anything but grains, but they can get into everything. Keep them away from your kitchen, your store of chicken feed and the uninfected colony. Outside will be fine, until the temps get close to freezing. It is possible that they can come with the mealworms, but grain mites are just about everywhere in the environment. They could have come in on your latest bag of chicken feed, dog/cat food, or any number of other ways. All it takes is having available grains and appropriate moisture for them to explode. This is one if the main reasons I advocate keeping the colony as dry as possible and limiting very moist vegetables as food. Lids on the colony will exacerbate the problem as they will help retain moisture. I'm not saying any of these are your cause, but that generally, this is how it happens.

OK. I just dumped the bin of worms/beetles out for the chickens They went crazy. Then I swept up the remains and dumped it in the garden for fertilizer. I moved the bin of eggs/baby worms outside. I don't have high hopes for that bin, it will probably become fertilizer also. I give up. I'll try again next summer.

 

[Slinglings]

One last question, --are there any traps or anything I can put in my house to trap any grain mites that might still be lurking?

 

[DMRippy]

One last question, --are there any traps or anything I can put in my house to trap any grain mites that might still be lurking?

COULD you put them in your incubator? My humidity this time of year in the bator is about 30% that would kill them RIGHT?????

 

[bobbieschicks]

What is the best way to lure those last remaining tiny larva out of my bin. I've been watching and cleaning them out for about two months now - but I think there may still be a few left in there.

 

[WestKnollAmy]

I keep my humidity in my big bator around 45% and have put meal worms, pupae and beetles in there with good results.

I put a small piece of apple in the bin to lure up mealies. but only after a week of not offering anything.