Mealworm farming

[beverly evans]

Thanks latestarter, My keyboard came lose and I thought it had died, back in business now. My glass aquarium is outside in the shade but we are into triple digits of late. I even put a new sponge on top of a piece of slick cardboard in there. No sign of the beetles getting any water from it. I'll try the water container inside the farm. Will also try evemfoster's corn cob idea. I only started with 1000 and those sat on my porch for days before I found where the postman had put them so a bunch had died. My Black Soldier Flys are doing so much better, just living off the poop from the compost. I put the shavings with poop in them from when I clean out the coops into a garbage can with a lose fitting lid and bingo I have fat grubs!
Oh, and no my house is not air conditioned. Sounds crazy in these temps. but they want $7000 for a new unit and the monthly cost to run it here is like $300. I have so many better priorities for my little bit of money that I just cope with it. Lots of fans, little clothing! And the "farm" is in bright light, not darkness. I have nowhere to put it in my garage, but I guess that would be the best place, huh? THX again for the helpful advice. : )

 

[kubotafoot]

I believe it to be wonderful for the worms, tho is attracts those pesky "fruit flies" when I have the aquariums stored in the barn with wire mesh over them, unlike the cucumber seeds and ends which haven't attracted flies yet.
From posts and informational readings I did prior to getting my colony up and running, I was under the impression a chunk of potato or a few pieces of carrot were great moisture and sufficient for the "farm." I have now seen what adding much more moisture items to the container has done. I do not believe it is the type of items added, but more to the point the amount of items added. The colony, tho living and expanding with a few moisture items did OK, it is now thriving and I am now seeing tons and tons of newly hatched babies, pups morphing and meal worms wiggling before my eyes. Too bad there is no actual set amount of water needed additions for directions. I under watered for a while.....tried adding a few more pieces because of a real hot spell and saw how quickly they were devoured. I understand too much can cause mold and moisture build up and the walls, but be assertive and pro-active and throw a bit more moisture items into the farm and watch what happens. It worked for me. I share it with you to try or not. I do have a question, however, but will start a new thread for that..........

 

[evemfoster]

Thanks latestarter, My keyboard came lose and I thought it had died, back in business now. My glass aquarium is outside in the shade but we are into triple digits of late. I even put a new sponge on top of a piece of slick cardboard in there. No sign of the beetles getting any water from it. I'll try the water container inside the farm. Will also try evemfoster's corn cob idea. I only started with 1000 and those sat on my porch for days before I found where the postman had put them so a bunch had died. My Black Soldier Flys are doing so much better, just living off the poop from the compost. I put the shavings with poop in them from when I clean out the coops into a garbage can with a lose fitting lid and bingo I have fat grubs!
Oh, and no my house is not air conditioned. Sounds crazy in these temps. but they want $7000 for a new unit and the monthly cost to run it here is like $300. I have so many better priorities for my little bit of money that I just cope with it. Lots of fans, little clothing! And the "farm" is in bright light, not darkness. I have nowhere to put it in my garage, but I guess that would be the best place, huh? THX again for the helpful advice. : )

Look into getting a swamp cooler. Cost less and is cheaper to run. Doesn't get as cold as air conditioning but feels better than just fans.

 

[beverly evans]

Quote: I have a problem with too much moisture in my house, can get mildew on my antique doll's dresses. No good. I have dehumidifiers in the house....contraproductive, no? But thanks.

 

[evemfoster]

I have a problem with too much moisture in my house, can get mildew on my antique doll's dresses. No good. I have dehumidifiers in the house....contraproductive, no? But thanks.

Sorry about that i have had to live with the too much moisture thing and its no fun at all.

 

[katatonic123]

I can finally see my 2nd gen worms! They are finally getting big enough to notice.

 

[Dipstick]

Has anyone tried watermelon rind? I always have the rind left after the chickens finish with it. Do you think it's too wet?

This works very well, but they are slow to complete it for some reason... perhaps because it contains so very much water it just meets their needs very well and therefore lasts a while compared to carrots etc. Just be aware of this because you can use less of it to accomplish the same result.

 

[Dipstick]

Thanks latestarter, My keyboard came lose and I thought it had died, back in business now. My glass aquarium is outside in the shade but we are into triple digits of late. I even put a new sponge on top of a piece of slick cardboard in there. No sign of the beetles getting any water from it. I'll try the water container inside the farm. Will also try evemfoster's corn cob idea. I only started with 1000 and those sat on my porch for days before I found where the postman had put them so a bunch had died. My Black Soldier Flys are doing so much better, just living off the poop from the compost. I put the shavings with poop in them from when I clean out the coops into a garbage can with a lose fitting lid and bingo I have fat grubs!
Oh, and no my house is not air conditioned. Sounds crazy in these temps. but they want $7000 for a new unit and the monthly cost to run it here is like $300. I have so many better priorities for my little bit of money that I just cope with it. Lots of fans, little clothing! And the "farm" is in bright light, not darkness. I have nowhere to put it in my garage, but I guess that would be the best place, huh? THX again for the helpful advice. : )

Try to build a cover of some kind to create shade. Four posts with a roof.

 

[Dipstick]

Look into getting a swamp cooler. Cost less and is cheaper to run. Doesn't get as cold as air conditioning but feels better than just fans.

Will work well in your environment due to the dryness.

 

[kubotafoot]

This works very well, but they are slow to complete it for some reason... perhaps because it contains so very much water it just meets their needs very well and therefore lasts a while compared to carrots etc. Just be aware of this because you can use less of it to accomplish the same result.

Regarding the watermelon rind.....I have used it, but the outer skin is too hard for them to "eat" so it gets left in the farm but you just remove it when they are done.
The problem I have found with using watermelon is that those pesky fruit flies all go into the farm and I hate them. I try to stick with vegetables over fruits. I find I have less of a fruit fly population. Again..... (to update my last post) ....after seeing the explosion in my colony when I increased the moisture in the aquarium, I strongly urge everyone to think seriously about the possibility of your farms being under watered..... The colony was doing OK for weeks, but when I finally gave more in water foods....it exploded!!! Being new at this, I looked at pictures of colonies and saw 3 baby carrots in the container and figured 3 was good...... Carrots are one of the slowest to break down, I have found. I started adding squash and cucumbers cut up and they literally disappeared in a day. Give it a go and see what happens for you, but of course remember....over watering (water on the walls and roof) can be bad, too. Experiment and find that happy medium. WOW! What a difference in production more water for mine was.......