Mealworm farming

[csaiz100]

Thank you I will try that tonight

 

[greasemonkey88]

mine are in the garage but i think the coop would be fine because i open it and close it every day and that gives you a chance to check the carrot,potato, or other water source. I went to the Natural food store and bought Wheat Bran in 2 lb bags for only 2+ per bag. use it it is very good for the worms which is good for the hens ='s good for the eggs and ultimately ...YOU.

Thank you. Will heed that advice.

 

[greasemonkey88]

Hi, first post here. I found you via Bluebird threads. My interest in raising my own mealworms, for the birds so to speak and for my friends and family to feed Bluebirds, caused me to lurk for awhile. OK, so now I've gone legal. I'm located in central Maryland and as you see by my handle I make my own Kefir from natural grains. I also look after a 10 yr old sourdough starter which is used to make all of our whole grain breads and pizzas.

I have cruised through the 700 pages of posts and have noticed some common questions and methods and outcomes. I must say, there are many excellent contributors on here that would have been helpful to me when I started out. I use the one container method having progressed through as many as four while testing out a theory or just being curious about what happens, "if".

Some observations I would like to share with you, and I've seen most of these already addressed by others, may or may not support what has been offered.

I have used quick oats because we are known for our oatmeal raisin cookies and quick oats is the best and we have tons of it. I have also used wheat bran from the bulk bin at a health food store.

I've seen no difference in the health or successful raising of mealworms using either quick oats or wheat bran.

Many of the pictures I've seen on here of perceived problems are normal. I believe if you are not seeing what you think a healthy colony should look like, it is because of low temperatures or low temperatures with high humidity. Even at that, your results will not be disastrous. Just not pretty to look at maybe but hey, we're talking about worms. You will still have plenty.

I have never had a problem with high temperatures with high humidity. Low humidity has not been a problem as there is always fresh carrots or other vegetable matter provided. Even if room humidity is low, there is enough surface humidity from the veggies to keep everybody happy. As you can see then. Warm temperature equals "good", low temperatures equal "not so good" (but your worms will still progress, just not as fast or in numbers you might want).

One more thing, then I will have to stop this one. I have tested, or tried to, the cannibalism issue and if it does happen it is so insignificant the topic discussion should just be dropped in favor of researching other causes of mealworm death, at any stage of development. More worms will die because of the container environment then will die of cannibalism.

Whew! Sorry for such a long first.

Good information!

 

[greasemonkey88]

Try this.

The same page I am referencing while starting mine!

 

[ContessaKris]

This is probably a dumb question but do you feed the bugs to the chickens too? I've known you can feed the mealworms but after awhile they all become bugs and bugs that lay and won't it get overwhelming with bugs? And do I freeze the bugs or what? I'm. Wanting to start a small mealworms farm towards end of summer...

 

[crazy huhn]

Your chickens will love all different stages: larvae ( meal worm), pupae and beetle.

 

[greasemonkey88]

This is probably a dumb question but do you feed the bugs to the chickens too? I've known you can feed the mealworms but after awhile they all become bugs and bugs that lay and won't it get overwhelming with bugs? And do I freeze the bugs or what? I'm. Wanting to start a small mealworms farm towards end of summer...

No question is dumb. The article I read states that after laying the beetles will die off. Don't know how accurate that is but you could always thin them out. From what I hear you will have an abdance of all stages as long as conditions are right. Just ordered my worms today! :cd

 

[Gallo del Cielo]

Hi, first post here. I found you via Bluebird threads. My interest in raising my own mealworms, for the birds so to speak and for my friends and family to feed Bluebirds, caused me to lurk for awhile. OK, so now I've gone legal. I'm located in central Maryland and as you see by my handle I make my own Kefir from natural grains. I also look after a 10 yr old sourdough starter which is used to make all of our whole grain breads and pizzas.

I have cruised through the 700 pages of posts and have noticed some common questions and methods and outcomes. I must say, there are many excellent contributors on here that would have been helpful to me when I started out. I use the one container method having progressed through as many as four while testing out a theory or just being curious about what happens, "if".

Some observations I would like to share with you, and I've seen most of these already addressed by others, may or may not support what has been offered.

I have used quick oats because we are known for our oatmeal raisin cookies and quick oats is the best and we have tons of it. I have also used wheat bran from the bulk bin at a health food store.

I've seen no difference in the health or successful raising of mealworms using either quick oats or wheat bran.

Many of the pictures I've seen on here of perceived problems are normal. I believe if you are not seeing what you think a healthy colony should look like, it is because of low temperatures or low temperatures with high humidity. Even at that, your results will not be disastrous. Just not pretty to look at maybe but hey, we're talking about worms. You will still have plenty.

I have never had a problem with high temperatures with high humidity. Low humidity has not been a problem as there is always fresh carrots or other vegetable matter provided. Even if room humidity is low, there is enough surface humidity from the veggies to keep everybody happy. As you can see then. Warm temperature equals "good", low temperatures equal "not so good" (but your worms will still progress, just not as fast or in numbers you might want).

One more thing, then I will have to stop this one. I have tested, or tried to, the cannibalism issue and if it does happen it is so insignificant the topic discussion should just be dropped in favor of researching other causes of mealworm death, at any stage of development. More worms will die because of the container environment then will die of cannibalism.

Whew! Sorry for such a long first.

First of all,

Thanks for taking the time to share your experiences, we all appreciate it. That's interesting that you've had good success with quick oats and good to hear since some people have a hard time getting bran. My experiences with raising mealworms in places with high temperatures and high humidity (outdoors, without climate control, in places like New Orleans and tropical climates further south) were more problematic, colonies typically succumbed to bacterial and fungal infections before the completion of the second generation. In general though, excess moisture and low temperatures are at the heart of most problems we see reported here. I couldn't agree more about the cannibalism issue. It's an issue that just won't die.

 

[KefirGuy]

I wasn't thinking that not everybody lived in Maryland. We do live close to the D.C. Area known for its humidity, but nothing like some of you have. I should have explained that I do not keep my worms outdoors. My experience is summer, indoors (garage) on average, 85-95+ degrees , 60-80% humidity. I take extra precaution then by not covering the farm and using only carrot. I leave out any really wet greens. So for us, hot and humid has not been a factor. When I started, it was easy for me to get a little carried away during the winter using more water sources such as lettuce, apples and such. The farm would take a dive and I would respond by thinking things were to dry and add more wet food. Over time I learned that indoor winter temperatures, 65-70 degrees and to much water source was not a good thing.

Thanks for your welcome. I will help when I can and be quiet when I should.

 

[kendles]

First an introduction:
Hi. I'm Leslie from South West Michigan. I learned from BYC how to raise Meal Worms. I have so MANY questions. I feed meal worms to my outdoor wild birds, and have for a few years now. This is a very expensive hobby, turning me to google and search breeding them. I have my set up that I am content with, I bought 2,000 large Meal Worms from Rainbow Worms (?) and have 3 Pupae so far, not what I would have hoped for, albeit I am eager for all of them to pupate *LOL* (patience is not one of my strong suits). Anyway, more about me I'm a married female in my mid-fifties, who is slave to Bailey a Long Haired ChiWeenie and a Parrotlet named Willie (with a Tiny Teacup Chihuahua on the way). We have no children so we spoil our indoor pets and the outdoor birds. Ken, my husband and I love to ride our Harley's traveling the back roads and stopping to fish from the banks of the Michigan lakes, rivers and stream's. We've also discovered that meal worms travel in our tour packs better than night crawlers and are great for bait! I am eager to learn more about raising these little creatures. What I have learned thus far is absolutely amazing and I am eager to learn more.

I hope that because I am not feeding chickens that I will still be welcome here to post inquiries about the meal worm breeding - if not, I certainly understand.

Thank you.
Leslie

Now for some questions:
A) I have 2,000 meal worms, ordered from Rainbow Meal Worms in Compton, Ca.

B) My set-Up right now is a Rubbermaid Plastic Container, the lid I cut a large opening in and secured metal window screen to it. (container size: is roughly inside measure - 20" x 16" x 6")
*What would be the MAX amount of meal worms would be recommended for this size container?

C) Substrate is Organic Rolled Oats and Organic Wheat Bran (both baked at 250 degrees for 2 hours - to eliminate any unwanted grain pests) it's 2 1/2" deep

D) Water source is Organic Baby Carrots or Organic Apple Slices (they eat almost all of what I give them daily)
* is this too much? not enough? feeding too often?

E) Temperature stays about 73.0 - 75.0 degree's - no idea what the humidity level is though, but have added a moistened sponge in a tall skinny glass. just in case.

F) I have placed a seedling germination heating mat under the bin, without much success in increasing the internal temperature.
* What suggestions would you have for heat sources - here in SW Michigan we have a short window of "warm" weather

> < Sorry, I am very long winded LOL

G) I'm somewhat Obsessive re: Cleanliness of things around me.
* I was wondering, is it OK to clean my mealies house daily? I have been turning the substrate with my hands, in a motion as to gently move them from side to side, removing any expired larvae and I did discover 3 Pupae and removed them (no the larvae aren't creepy to me, "odd" but not creepy).

**Are the meal worms sensitive to be "handled" or can they take a compulsive clean freak messing with them "Daily"

H) Color. They are much darker than when I received them in the mail, and dusty feeling (obviously from the bedding). When I received them they were they had a bath before they shipped
*How do they grow Meal Worms where they are CLEAN?

I) About cleaning substrate. I see people talking about SIFTING the substrate to clean the frass out... when it is spoken to SIFT or SHAKE is that a gentle shimmy, or a hard over and over sifting until pretty clean then repeat with more?
* Are the mealies being removed from the substrate first? Seems to me this could make them dizzy and cause physical harm to them.

J) So that's about it for now. Knowing me, I'll find other questions. The reason for all these questions is I simply have not found these answers --- anywhere

Thanks, for your time and for those in the USA, have a safe Memorial Day weekend and...
Buckle Up and please drink responsibly

Leslie