Mealworm farming

[CorinneP]

When they turn to that point I read about where they get wings ... Will they be able to fly all over in my celler ?? I am seriously a bit friked out !

 

[Emily1220]

Corrine.....yes they do have wings! But they mostly dont fly. Mine rather spread their wings and buzz a bit as they jump off the egg cartons and such. But they dont fly out of the bin and all around your house! Nevertheless, I keep my beetles covered!!!

 

[Emily1220]

From a strict biosecurity standpoint, keeping various batches/sources separated is a good idea. However, on a practical level, just add 'em in....but I would NOT combine substrates, since you don't know what's living in there that you don't want! (Mites, moths...etc.)

Wow...... excellent point. I didnt think about mites or moths in the substrate. Now that my bins are up and growing, I wont be buying anymore now. I have hundreds of thousands now and growing quickly.

 

[mychookschick]

Uh oh...I'm gonna be REAL unpopular here and remind folks that the beetles AND larvae can most certainly climb....IF there is footing for them. A typical mealie setup is a slick-sided plastic container and thus there are no escapees even from a shallow one. If you utilize older tubs, you might want to screen the tops until you know if they can climb a scratched-up side.

Just a word from someone who picked half a dozen beetles out of her hair this morning (I left a piece of paper leaning on the side!)....talk about a way to WAKE UP!!!

Startling, but not harmful except for the two cats sitting on my pillow patting my hair to try and catch them for me...

Oh, yes! Sorry! That came across wrong. They do climb, but not on the sides of the tub, as long as it is slick. Never had an escapee here!!

 

[Tikkajazz94]

So Im moving out of the house, I have a babysitter for my birds, but not my wormies... so I have to feed them to my birds.... I guess I'll start over later on.

 

[ChickenWifey]

Your wanting to buy BEETLES specifally??? Most people buy the meal worms. In the first post there is a list of those places that people have had good success purchasing from and those that haven't, but I think all those sell meal worms not beetles.

I want the beetles because I dont want to wait for the mealworms to turn. I have mealworms now, but I want about 50 beetles to start out my farm, That way I get a large farm faster.

Im still looking for beetles if anyone has any they would sell me!!! I need at least 50, but if you have more, Ill buy as many as you will sell!!!

 

[Stark]

I finally ordered my mealworms...at long last. Was traveling too much to be sure I'd be around to get them settled and on their way. Apparently in the spring rush some of the bluebird places I intended to get them from sold out, but put in a order with GrubCo. Will give feedback as to how their service goes...1000 worms for $7 + shipping (though shipping nearly doubled it).

I'm thinking I will put their container under the kitchen sink. Can anyone think of a reason that wouldn't work? There are no leaks or anything so I think it's fairly dry. The hot water pipes pass through there and keep it the warmest part of the house though not terribly hot. I'd say around 80 to 85 degrees.

Here's to hoping this all works out. My red wrigglers are doing great so at least I have those to fall back on in the event of an accidental mass mealworm massacre. Suppose I should put a little welcome mat in front of their bin?

 

[SteveBaz]

Does anyone start kind of all over and separate everything?
Like, Heat the Wheat Bran all over again to re-steralize?
Clean all the skins out?
Freeze the worms?
Have only beetles in the tank?
To what extreme?
I have seen all the fancy cabinets and 3 and 4 drawer stuff but I have a 10 gallon fish tank only and its been 4 months now so is there any tank maintenance at this point?

Could anyone jump in here and give me a process or ideas at this point? (Im beetles only almost now)
What next to get them up to feeding the girls again? In the beginning there where 100's of worms NOW ZERO!! Whats up?


Thanks in advance

 

[Emily1220]

Does anyone start kind of all over and separate everything? I keep all mine separated from the beginning.
Like, Heat the Wheat Bran all over again to re-steralize? No way.....if there are beetles in that tank there are eggs and babies. You will kill them all if you heat them to much.
Clean all the skins out? I pick out a bunch of skins every day but many people dont ever pick them out.
Freeze the worms? Freezing will kill the worms but that is how you can store them to feed them to chickens later.
Have only beetles in the tank? See question and answer #2!!!!
To what extreme? You really dont need to do anything unless maybe if you have an odor issue or something. Take part of it out and put fresh stuff in. But do NOT throw away the old stuff. Let it sit for about a month and see what grows in there. My bet is you've got a ton of eggs and babies in it. But it takes a long time for you to be able to see them.
I have seen all the fancy cabinets and 3 and 4 drawer stuff but I have a 10 gallon fish tank only and its been 4 months now so is there any tank maintenance at this point? Go to the first page of this thread and click on Gallo's page. That set up is a large fish tank that has been up and running for years. Perhaps that page will answer your questions better.

Could anyone jump in here and give me a process or ideas at this point? (Im beetles only almost now)
What next to get them up to feeding the girls again? In the beginning there where 100's of worms NOW ZERO!! Whats up? Sounds like you were feeding out faster than the beetles could reproduce. But trust me......if you've got beetles, you've got eggs and babies!! As Hannakat says....."patience grasshopper, patience!!"


Thanks in advance

 

[Emily1220]

Today I noticed some webs and clumps in my mealie bins. Ugh!! I think they are moth larva. Soooo.......is it best to just dump the bins and let the chicks eat the mealies or is it possible to try to save any of them?? If I miss one little egg or larva are they just going to come back again?? I would rather dump them than have the rest of my bins infested. Please give me your opinions quickly before I have a disaster on my hands!! So far only one isolated bin has the webs. Thanks for any and all replies!!!!