Mealworm farming

[Emily1220]

Some of my pupae have turned black but are still soft and moving a bit. Whats going on with them??? Are they dying?? What do I need to do?? They are in a bin with oatmeal, wheat bran and corn meal. A bit of bread and celery. Same as the wormies. Some have turned into beetles. Any suggestions greatly appreciated!!

 

[dmclalin]

I think mine were too cold in the feed room, @ 48°. They are now more active at 68°

 

[Emily1220]

Where is Hannahkat??? She hasnt been here for a while. I miss her knowledge and helpful hints. And well, also, her cool personality.

 

[Gallo del Cielo]

So here is a picture. It definitely was alive.

It would be very difficult to determine what it was from the picture, but it is most likely another species of darkling beetle, perhaps Tenebrio obscurus. Do they move much faster than the mealworms you bought at the store now that they are heated up?

 

[hannakat]

Don't know if anyone remembers but I had a moth infestation a while back. And I still do, more or less. I'm keeping the numbers down with the sticky traps but they're still there. So I'm trying something new. I got a 30x18 under bed box and filled it with some course ground whole wheat (Nuked in the microwave!). Then I removed all the beetles and pupae from one of my containers and put in there. Probably only around 300 total. I also put a few wormies in there "just because" lol. But what I'm trying new is this: I have some small cedar boards from a tree I cut down last fall so I took the bandsaw and made 1/8 strips. These I taped to the outside of the box around 4" down from the top. I don't want to kill the ones in the box but here's hoping I can deter the danged moths. Somehow, some way, they are still in here. I've just about gone crazy trying to get rid of them completely.

I have cockatiels in here so I can't just go around spraying poison, it has to be something very safe if I use anything at all. It's been so frustrating. I have removed every source of food they could possibly be in, and still I find one here and there. If they can't get in the mealworm bin, they'll lay in the creases of it on the outside of it. I patrol those and remove them with a toothpick but argh I wish I could just fog the house! So we'll see how the cedar does. I've a mind to put more out but too much will indeed affect the cockatiels.

I certainly do remember and feel bad that you're still dealing with the buggers...!! Sounds like you have it to a manageable level though and those cedar boards sound like a marvelous idea! How are the wormies doing?

 

[hannakat]

Where is Hannahkat??? She hasnt been here for a while. I miss her knowledge and helpful hints. And well, also, her cool personality.

Ah Emily1220....that's so nice! I've been under the weather but do peak in every couple of days just to keep up with all the going-ons. We have so many people with lots of experience now and the thread has been in good hands. I'd 'a been on the war path if bad advice was being given! It's all about the chickadees so gotta keep the worms growing.

I'm still growing mine out to size in the oven. It's working so well for me and I'm not sure why! hahaa.. There's been 1 pupae that didn't morph and I've had less than half a dozen dead worms in the thousands that are growing. It's nice being able to feed my 4 girls a couple hundred most days. My little Nugget sits on my lap and puts her head under my arm and falls to sleep and it's all because I hand feed them the worms. It's the most amazing thing to me! She actually sinks down and falls to sleep. I feel guilty when I have to get up. I'm not covered in feathers and it gets cold here in PA in January!

dmclalin ~ I agree with Gallo.... has to be a different kind. It'll be interesting to see what you find out.

 

[galanie]

 


I certainly do remember and feel bad that you're still dealing with the buggers...!!  Sounds like you have it to a manageable level though and those cedar boards sound like a marvelous idea!  How are the wormies doing?

So far so good. But it's only been a few days. Holding my breath for a few weeks to see how they all do! There's enough beetles that I can watch them run around some and enough wormies that I can see what a few are doing. I've got my finger crossed that this works. I've really seen NO moths around the last few days though which is a great sign.

 

[AliciaM]

I thought I read somewhere on here about putting oyster shells in with the mealworms.. Is this OK? Will the mealworms and beetles eat the crushed oyster shell or is it just a waste? I heard it was done to up the calcium for the chickens when you fed the mealworms as a snack..

 

[dmclalin]

Well, I took the leap into meal-worm farming. I have a 3 drawer plastic bin. The drawers are 8" high, 12" wide and 16" deep. I filled them about 4" high with wheat bran and some regular oatmeal and about 3 or 4 cups of all purpose flour. I bought 200 meal-worms and put 100 ea. in the top two drawers. I put some newspaper on top and but some shaved carrots on plastic lids in each drawer. I thought maybe I would save the 3rd drawer to expand with. Is 100 in each drawer too many?

Carrots was all I had. I'm grocery shopping tomorrow so I can pick up some apples, etc.

 

[Gallo del Cielo]

I thought I read somewhere on here about putting oyster shells in with the mealworms.. Is this OK? Will the mealworms and beetles eat the crushed oyster shell or is it just a waste? I heard it was done to up the calcium for the chickens when you fed the mealworms as a snack..

Studies say yes.