Mealworm farming

[galanie]

Having lived in the south my whole life, I pass on the roaches too. Texas' version of the palmetto bug is the "wood roach." Huge things that generally live outside but they love your house too. When I was growing up, they weren't a sign of a dirty house (unless you had them really bad), they were just a fact of life. Everyone saw some in the house from time to time. Thank goodness for our better treatments we have these days. I still see one sometimes but that just tells me I need to replenish the Roach Pruf.

Agreed, the Dubia's don't look like roaches in the wild, but they're still roaches.

 

[Terri O]

Hi again...the wormies are starting to pupate already! I have done something similar to the guy/gal who made the box over the heater. Only I did it much more simply! I put my covered box right in front of the heat register. My worms are growing much faster hand they did in the back room! Our house is 55 at night and 61 during the day. I think this keeps them nice and toasty...the cats all lay there too and now they have another level! LOL Terri O

 

[yankeefan]

So about how much room would you reccomend for 1,000 mealworms? Minimum? (I'll try to add a little extra, I just wanna know the minimum)

I have mine in a plastic 3 drawer organizer and they seem to be doing great. Each drawer is 7''-8'' high (plenty of room to drill holes above the worms), 14'' from front to back and about 12'' wide. Actual surface area is somewhere around 168" per drawer and I think that this setup should do well enough for me as I'm only looking to feed 6 birds.

I'm pretty sure this size exceeds what a minimum requirement would be but it was cheap enough to setup. I cut the bottom out of the top drawer and glued in some window screen so that eggs and babies drop through also. All done up I think I have $17 invested not counting the bran.

 

[In2Ice]

Quote:
Is window screen large enough to allow the babies and eggs to fall through? I have a 3-drawer system too and would like to devise a similar setup if it works

 

[galanie]

I'm pretty sure this size exceeds what a minimum requirement would be but it was cheap enough to setup. I cut the bottom out of the top drawer and glued in some window screen so that eggs and babies drop through also. All done up I think I have $17 invested not counting the bran.

Is window screen large enough to allow the babies and eggs to fall through?  I have a 3-drawer system too and would like to devise a similar setup if it works

Yes, window screen is what nearly everyone uses for this system.

 

[dmclalin]

My meal worms look kind of dry. It looks like I may have lost a couple - one for sure. I have been putting apple and carrot in the bins and removing it when it dries out or is down to the skin. They seem to lay around on top of the bran and I have a sheet of newspaper that covers the whole inside of the bin. Michigan climate here. Its been pretty dry but I have the temp at 70-75° in the bathroom. Any suggestions?

 

[Ivywoods]

I just returned home after being gone for a day. My mealworms had eaten 5 slices of apple right down to the peel. They hadn't eaten as much of the potatoe, so removed the apple peel and put in a few more slices. It was very quiet in the house when I was watching them. I could actually HEAR them rustling around in the oatmeal! I sounded like a slight breeze blowing through the cottonwood leaves. Kinda cool! They all seem to be doing well.

Not that I want to try it, but at this point I am wondering how the "commercial" mealworm farmers have their setups. That would be kind of interesting to see. I plan on using the one-tote method right now, but may switch to a 3 drawer if I think it wouldn't bee too much to take care of.

 

[algopurple]

Hi, I have just gotten interested in raising my own meal worms after reading a little about them on the net.
Any suggestions for reading to learn more about this befor I jump into it? Also, any suggestions as to where to buy my first worms once I am ready to start growing them?

 

[Emily1220]

My meal worms look kind of dry. It looks like I may have lost a couple - one for sure. I have been putting apple and carrot in the bins and removing it when it dries out or is down to the skin. They seem to lay around on top of the bran and I have a sheet of newspaper that covers the whole inside of the bin. Michigan climate here. Its been pretty dry but I have the temp at 70-75° in the bathroom. Any suggestions?

I mist my papers once or twice a day when they look to dry. But be careful not to add to much moisture or you'll get mold.

I just returned home after being gone for a day. My mealworms had eaten 5 slices of apple right down to the peel. They hadn't eaten as much of the potatoe, so removed the apple peel and put in a few more slices. It was very quiet in the house when I was watching them. I could actually HEAR them rustling around in the oatmeal! I sounded like a slight breeze blowing through the cottonwood leaves. Kinda cool! They all seem to be doing well.

Not that I want to try it, but at this point I am wondering how the "commercial" mealworm farmers have their setups. That would be kind of interesting to see. I plan on using the one-tote method right now, but may switch to a 3 drawer if I think it wouldn't bee too much to take care of.

Check out youtube "Dirty Jobs" on mealworm farming, episode 16 or 17 I think.

 

[Ivywoods]

I watched the youtube clip. Wow... Totes... just like I'm using, only I just have ONE!