Mealworm farming

[Frost Homestead]

Quote:
Thanks! Yes, we keep them in a layer of pine bedding. It keeps the fruit and veg that's on top from coming in contact with the oatmeal/etc that's in the bottom. (prevents mold and general nastiness). I dont seperate them for pupation. When we expanded from 5 bins to 15 we just took some of the large worms and added them to the other bins. As long as they have enough space they have no issues going through all their life stages in the same containers. We've been breeding them for about a year and a helf now. They don't take much time to care for. We just add fruit and sorrel/chard/kale from the garden once a week and they do their thing. We feed them oatmeal, cornmeal, old bread. They LOVE it when you put half a loaf of unsliced bread in there. The tunnel through it, it's pretty neat looking.

 

[Gallo del Cielo]

Quote:
Oh Frost, that is very cool!

Thanks for taking the time to explain. Your arrangement is inspiring.

 

[jimmywalt]

I've been following this thread since July and don't recall ever seeing this question...............

I started my farm in July in a 10 gallon aquarium. I now have extremely microscopic worms from the eggs my beetles laid.

Question ----- How do you clean out a "all-in-one" breading container? Do I just continue to add more food (currently using rolled oats and corn meal)? What do I do with the powdery stuff that's on the very bottom of the aquarium?

I would seem that after while (maybe many years) that the aquarium would be filled to the top with waste.

Suggestions???? Thank you!!!!

 

[sillybirds]

You should sift out the frass = mealworm poop (which is that fine material that settles out on the bottom) ever now and then. If you let the substrate and frass get too thick it can increase risk of getting mold. I just use an 8 inch kitchen sifter.

Oh, and you may wish to save that frass in another container as it may contain eggs, and then allow mealworms to grow big enough to be sifted out and frass eventually discarded/composted.

 

[Tikkajazz94]

I finally have four different colony's going at this time. One is from last September that last month I finally harvested from 200 big worms. There's more in there but I want the colony to grow. One of the others is from September, in took out 50-100 worms from.
The other two is from 2000 mealworms I ordered.


I'm solo look excited to see how many i get next year

 

[chrissyr]

I've been following this thread since July and don't recall ever seeing this question...............

I started my farm in July in a 10 gallon aquarium. I now have extremely microscopic worms from the eggs my beetles laid.

Question ----- How do you clean out a "all-in-one" breading container? Do I just continue to add more food (currently using rolled oats and corn meal)? What do I do with the powdery stuff that's on the very bottom of the aquarium?

I would seem that after while (maybe many years) that the aquarium would be filled to the top with waste.

Suggestions???? Thank you!!!!

I don't know it this helps, but here's what I have going on. I like to separate the beetles because I don't like the idea of feeding them to my chickens. I took too long to get them and it's a pain to separate for me. So I have 2, and will do a max of 3. Once my worms turn to beetles, I let them do their thing. I leave them in their about 4 weeks or so (you can do it more often if you'd like, for different bins) . They lay TONS of eggs. THEN: I have been using a piece of toast or if they're thirsty a water source. Put it in and let them go for it!! As they all cling to the sources, I lift it out and transfer to a new bin. Once their all out I save the frass/leftovers. I don't want to throw out this now, or i'll be throwing out eggs.
I add food to it. Once the new worms are growing and big enough to harvest, I can then filter them out( oh about 2 months I'd say) . Then what's left, SHOULD be just frass and no eggs. The longer you leave your beetles in, means more chance you will be throwing out eggs/worms in your frass. I just can't do it all that often. If you are still seeing the microscopic movement in the frass- there are still babies in there. Frass is AMAZING fertilizer! But before I use it for fertilizer I add DE to kill any leftovers. I only do this to make sure I'm not getting outside colonies going where they shouldn't. If I see a lot of babies, I wait and sift again in a couple weeks. So far, it's worked for me great.

 

[ddzFunnyfarm]

Chiming in here......

I basically do what ChrissyR said up there

except that I go ahead and sprinkle the frass in the garden regardless of any eggs because my girls (the feathered ones) work the garden soil and get some random treats out there that way. The point is to have more than one "bed" of mealies going so you can transfer the beetles and clean out the frass while you keep a fresh crop going.

Have fun with it!

 

[Lacy Blues]

If I have fermented feed that is not organic, would it be safe to give some to my mealies once in a while? I'd hate to kill them off but they sure seem to be enjoying it. I put a little on a plastic lid and almost immediately you could see the pilgrimages starting from each corner of the box!

 

[Strummer]

can I use rice bran instead of wheat bran?

 

[Tikkajazz94]

can I use rice bran instead of wheat bran?

You could try it. You can also use oat flakes. I buy the two bag thing at costco. When its time to clean the containers it does them all