Mealworms To Raise

[DobieLover]

Mine have never stunk. I guess it depends on what you feed them.

I fed them wheat bran and dried milk. It wasn't until adults and pupae started to die that the stink started. It's been written that the live ones will consume the dead ones. They did not in my setup.

 

[Nay]

Very interesting stuff...I'm considering letting my 8 yr old son take a crack at mealworms farming. He's into anything creepy and crawly...not to mention my birds would appreciate it as well!

this is a great idea! Also maybe you can cultivate the entrepreneurial spirit in him, he might have a very nice little business on his hands.

 

[Ladies-Eight]

Very interesting stuff...I'm considering letting my 8 yr old son take a crack at mealworms farming. He's into anything creepy and crawly...not to mention my birds would appreciate it as well!

Wal-Mart sells a vey small container if you want to start small and build it up later. If you start bigger get a second hand aquarium.

 

[DiYMama540]

No kidding! Agree that the dried ones can get expensive...I can see him with a sign by the road now..."Live mealworms for sale" and he would be loving every minute!

 

[ColoradoPip]

I fed them wheat bran and dried milk. It wasn't until adults and pupae started to die that the stink started. It's been written that the live ones will consume the dead ones. They did not in my setup.

Good to know. My colony is just hatching into beetles for the first time so if they dont devour the dead I will clean it out. Currently I have a 55 gallon tank with ~5000 and a 20 gallon tank with another 1000 of a different mealworm.

No kidding! Agree that the dried ones can get expensive...I can see him with a sign by the road now..."Live mealworms for sale" and he would be loving every minute!

I picture myself doing this!

 

[ColoradoPip]

The purpose of my mealworm farm is to provide a protien, and fun to eat, supplement to the chickens. The dried mealworms are expensive, something like $16 for 1lb or $36 for 5 lbs. Maybe they can be found cheaper, but at what cost really...meaning how are they saving the money to sell them to you cheaper?

In the end, what's more important is I have no idea how those mealworms were raised or fed. Same with live ones. Once I made the decision to go USDA organic this became even more of an issue. Now I have complete visibility and control over it. I like giving the chickens treats and these appear easy and require minimal maintenance, yay! Will keep posting in this thread on how it goes, smells, and lessons learned.

 

[CatWhisperer]

I raised mealworms a few years ago. Finally quit because they were indoors and kinda stinky. I recently read about mealworms being able to eat/actually live on eating styrofoam. Also that those mealworms are safe to feed to chickens as nothing in the foam accumulates in the worms bodies. I’m very tempted to try it again just to dispose of household styrofoam waste. Also my family’s business if production of foam signboard so I would like to see if they can live on that also. Can anyone tell me what temperatures they can live in? Would like to try them outdoors or maybe in the garage for winter.

 

[Ladies-Eight]

I raised mealworms a few years ago. Finally quit because they were indoors and kinda stinky. I recently read about mealworms being able to eat/actually live on eating styrofoam. Also that those mealworms are safe to feed to chickens as nothing in the foam accumulates in the worms bodies. I’m very tempted to try it again just to dispose of household styrofoam waste. Also my family’s business if production of foam signboard so I would like to see if they can live on that also. Can anyone tell me what temperatures they can live in? Would like to try them outdoors or maybe in the garage for winter.

They like a warmer temperature. I know they will thrive in New Mexico. I keep mine in the house with a temperature around 68 in the winter and around 72 in the summer. The more you feed them the faster they reproduce.