Mealworm farming

[Gallo del Cielo]

I used rolled oats and wheat floor. I am probably have to either buy oats from Sam's club or feed store for the wheat bran or ground wheat.
I found on a web site that if buy wheat bran or ground wheat that you have to bake it to kill the grain mites which will live on the beetles and worms then infect the whole colony and then kill the colony.
That means extra work so going to stick with stuff for humans. Unless it cost more than I change.

Grain mites can contaminate your colony from a variety of sources, even the grocery store. Baking helps, but they can still contaminate your colony since they could come in on a bag of chicken feed or dog feed or any grain product and migrate into your colony. The best defense against them is to keep the colony dry, since they can't reproduce at humidities less than 60% or so. FYI, a grain mite infestation won't kill your colony, at least not at first. They're just a big mess to deal with.

 

[chickenALD]

Finally it up load it how does it look

 

[Gallo del Cielo]

Finally it up load it how does it look

Looks great.

 

[chickenALD]

O

Grain mites can contaminate your colony from a variety of sources, even the grocery store.   Baking helps, but they can still contaminate your colony since they could come in on a bag of chicken feed or dog feed or any grain product and migrate into your colony.  The best defense against them is to keep the colony dry, since they can't reproduce at humidities less than 60% or so.  FYI, a grain mite infestation won't kill your colony, at least not at first.  They're just a big mess to deal with.

Okay so as long as they keep dry as possible. Here is the site where I found that they would. http://www.godsc.com/animal-info/care-guides/raising-mealworms/
But I keep them dry. I read on here that tic power helps but not sure what that is

 

[Gallo del Cielo]

O
Quote:
I'd stick to the instructions in the first post of this thread. I didn't find anything in there about talc powder.

 

[Arielle]

@Arielle did you decide on a grain? If you can get wheat bran, I'd recommend that. You can usually find it at the feed store in 50 lb bags at a relatively inexpensive price, but it's a lot for a single colony! If you can't find wheat bran, then a rolled oat (or oatmeal) product would work. As kubotafoot said earlier, it's an issue of the smaller larvae being able to consume the harder bits of the oats. Maybe you could grind some smaller for them.

This is starting to make sense to me. THank you for restating it Gallo.

I can get the 50# of bran-- we use it regularly for many uses. ANd I can grind the oats-- I use a coffee grinder.

 

[kubotafoot]

Contact Rainbow people NOW! They send more than you've ordered, and no food in the shipment is quite normal. A few black ones are expected as with any shipment, but if you feel it is excessive, they will GLADLY credit your account or send out more. I have had no problems with them and think you might just be a little sensitive as a new farmer to what is involved. Just wait until you see the shedding hulls they worms give off, it you want to get nervous over something! It all works out in the end, trust us.....Most have been at this for a long time and give great advice. Those of us new, just keep on asking questions and if we heed the advice, all goes extremely well. It is not rocket science here. The cycle of life happens not because of us all the time, but often in spite of us! Never had worms or beetles escape and I am using stacked trays in my home. (The cats are enthralled by the sounds coming from the trays, tho, so be warned if you have other pets, they might have exceptional interest in them!!) Enjoy the farming experience, mostly by ignoring them for extended amounts of time. As long as they have food and moisture from fruits or whatever, all is well.

 

[Arielle]

question-- I might be jumpng intwo feet here. . . . can I use an old dresser with 4 drawers?? Do I need to keep the drawers ajar, and do I need to protect the wood ??

 

[chickenALD]

O

Contact Rainbow people NOW!  They send more than you've ordered, and no food in the shipment is quite normal.  A few black ones are expected as with any shipment, but if you feel it is excessive, they will GLADLY credit your account or send out more.  I have had no problems with them and think you might just be a little sensitive as a new farmer to what is involved.  Just wait until you see the shedding hulls they worms give off, it you want to get nervous over something!  It all works out in the end, trust us.....Most have been at this for a long time and give great advice.  Those of us new, just keep on asking questions and if we heed the advice, all goes extremely well. It is not rocket science here.  The cycle of life happens not because of us all the time, but often in spite of us!  Never had worms or beetles escape and I am using stacked trays in my home. (The cats are enthralled by the sounds coming from the trays, tho, so be warned if you have other pets, they might have exceptional interest in them!!)  Enjoy the farming experience, mostly by ignoring them for extended amounts of time.  As long as they have food and moisture from fruits or whatever, all is well.

Okay thanks,
I think I am Nervous about them being new to worm framing.
I should know some stuff because I have did lot research on it watch lot of videos. People make sound simple. Maybe I am thinking can it real be that easy.
I know that all will not turn to beetles but lot will. So just got set back and wait and make sure they have food aka bedding and water aka veggies. I am good. In 2-3 weeks I see pupa.

Thanks for all the help.

 

[azygous]

The idea of using an older dresser is a great one! One thing, though. You will need to make the sides slippery and smooth so the worms and beetles can't get a grip on the wood grain to make an escape. If you have some scraps of linoleum, that would work, or line the drawers with 6 mil (heavy) plastic.

I would also line the bottoms of the drawers in case the beetles might develop a taste for wood. They love to eat newspaper, so wood might be on their menu, too.

Beyond that, there's not much else you'd need to do, unless you want to cut out holes in the drawers for the eggs to sift through.

No, no need to keep the drawers ajar.