Phew! My mealworms STINK!

[AnnieSantiago]

is that normal???

I've taken out the dead ones and a couple of pieces of apple.
Do I need to (somehow) sift them out and start with new substrate???

1. Best way to get them out? A sifter doesn't work. The screen is too small

2. How often do you put fresh fruit or vegetable in??

 

[ChickenCanoe]

I'm thinking your mix is too wet. There shouldn't be dead ones.
I might start over and use less fruits/veggies. Mostly grain.

 

[AnnieSantiago]

I've got about 3 inches of wheat germ in there. What type of grain???

 

[Space Coast Mealworms]

wheat bran is the preferred substrate.. not germ.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

X2
Wheat germ has a high oil content that rapidly goes rancid when removed from the wheat seed. Exposure to air speeds up the process. It also has a lot of protein in it. I imagine a bed of that with moist fruits on top would stink pretty bad.

 

[azygous]

"Stink" is a relative term. Describe the bad smell in terms of "sour","fetid", "acrid","moldy", "rotten", etc. That way we can better judge what might be causing the bad odor.

Canoe has probably nailed it, though. If you're using fruit as a water source, the juice has probably made the substrate too damp. Fruit is more likely to mold, too. That can kill off your colony.

The objective is to keep your substrate as dry as possible, and only introduce a very minimal amount of vegetable matter as a water source for the beetles and larvae to suck from. While you may use any fruit or vegetable, most of us prefer small carrots, very few but frequently. They don't mold, and they also are the least likely to transfer dampness to the substrate, especially if you take the time to allow the outer skin to dry for a few minutes before giving it to your worms.