Mealworm farming

[CHICKENJOHN42]

They are so easy to grow why buy them? buy some cricket food (at feed an garden store) comes in 50 lbs put it in a trash barrel (30 gallon is what I use) .Put the meal in ,moist a bit not wet put a lid on ,drill small hole in top an u will have plenty of the meal worms. CHICKEN UP

 

[chrissyr]

I know

They are so easy to grow why buy them? buy some cricket food (at feed an garden store) comes in 50 lbs put it in a trash barrel (30 gallon is what I use) .Put the meal in ,moist a bit not wet put a lid on ,drill small hole in top an u will have plenty of  the meal worms. CHICKEN UP

 

for me I'm just starting my colony. I got 8000 to get things going and plenty to feed. Doing great right now with tons of beetles and pupae. They were cheap enough to buy extra to start feeding right away.

 

[buttercup95]

I didn
Quote: Ohhh I feel so dumb I thought by mixed it meant like mixed with the other types of mealworms. lol Yeah mixed ages makes total since to buy then...

 

[chrissyr]

Ohhh I feel so dumb I thought by mixed it meant like mixed with the other types of mealworms. lol Yeah mixed ages makes total since to buy then...

sorry i may have been quite confusing i only got regular mealworms, just different ages/sizes. it is nice though because then you have all stages of life going. My first inclination was to buy the oldest ones, but I'm glad I got different mixed ages. I think the 8000 cost me $30 with the coupons (including shipping) so it's a steal. Especially compared to the freeze dried ones

 

[Lacy Blues]

They are so easy to grow why buy them? buy some cricket food (at feed an garden store) comes in 50 lbs put it in a trash barrel (30 gallon is what I use) .Put the meal in ,moist a bit not wet put a lid on ,drill small hole in top an u will have plenty of the meal worms. CHICKEN UP

I'd like to see pictures of this operation. Could you share please?

 

[buttercup95]

sorry i may have been quite confusing

i only got regular mealworms, just different ages/sizes. it is nice though because then you have all stages of life going. My first inclination was to buy the oldest ones, but I'm glad I got different mixed ages. I think the 8000 cost me $30 with the coupons (including shipping) so it's a steal. Especially compared to the freeze dried ones

Oh no I understood completely. I just wasn't clear in my reply. I bought the large ones all the same size and now several of them are in pupa stage and many more are already beetles. I should have bought the mixed ages though. I only bought 1000 as a start but I know I'm going to have to buy at least double that to really get going. I don't have any coupons though I sort of just jumped into it. It's proving to be really easy to raise them I just wish I could find wire for mine. Do you leave them all together or separate them?

 

[jimmywalt]

I have about 10 beetles in my 10 gallon tank with my worms & pupa. So what now?

Do I need to do anything special for the beetles???

Thank you for the help!

Can anyone please help me out with this? Question above.

I took a cardboard type egg carton and sat the half that holds the eggs and put it in the aquarium for the beetles to hide under. I hope this is ok to do??????

 

[Gallo del Cielo]

Quote: Just wait and make sure the beetles have consistent access to vegetable matter and they will take care of themselves. The egg carton in the colony is good, it will give them a place to hide and socialize. Now it's a matter of waiting for the next generation.

 

[chrissyr]

Oh no I understood completely. I just wasn't clear in my reply. I bought the large ones all the same size and now several of them are in pupa stage and many more are already beetles. I should have bought the mixed ages though. I only bought 1000 as a start but I know I'm going to have to buy at least double that to really get going. I don't have any coupons though I sort of just jumped into it. It's proving to be really easy to raise them I just wish I could find wire for mine. Do you leave them all together or separate them?

I am really new to this too, just a couple months now. I started trying to keep them separate but it's time consuming. I really liked Gallo del Cielo's input on how the colony works better altogether (less spoilage). Which makes total sense. So I'm going to keep looking back at his page when I forget things. I googles the coupon I got from rainbowmealworms. I always google "coupon code" and the name of what site I'm on. Was surprised they came up. BESTCUSTOMER works for like $7 off one time. Not really sure what you mean by wire.

Can anyone please help me out with this? Question above.

I took a cardboard type egg carton and sat the half that holds the eggs and put it in the aquarium for the beetles to hide under. I hope this is ok to do??????

I just got my first beetles, so I'm no expert here. But basically they need the same as the worms : food (wheat bran or oats), veggies that won't mold fast, and something to hide under (newspaper sheet) . I've heard beetles like to lay eggs in empty paper towel rolls, but also they can get yucky quick. For the veggies, what I've read, is carrots or salad are good and don't mold quick. I put mine between the newspaper or on top of a small bit of tule fabric. It was graciously posted on here before with pics and it works well for me. I don't remember who posted it, but it keeps the worms from drawing the veggies into the bran, where they will cause mold. the holes are big enough for worms and beetles to still eat. It's been a help at keeping things in order and healthy. Before I was searching for all of these old veggies, which took more time. Other than that just wait for worms.

 

[buttercup95]

Oh haha Sorry I was sort of rambling. By wire I meant I am trying a shelf system it's displayed at the beginning of this forum. I just haven't found any wire small enough the beetles won't fall through for the top drawer of the shelf