Raising Your Own Mealworms

[Perris]

I use a plastic three drawer unit, in which I rotate the drawers so there are just beetles in one, grown mealworms in another, and eggs and baby mealworms in the third. Each drawer has a piece of gnarled bark for the beetles to lay eggs on. The whole sits on the central heating boiler so in the dark and nicely warm.

Every month I move the beetles on to a fresh drawer and put it in the top slot; the one they came out of moves down to become the egg/baby drawer in the middle, and the one from there, now moved to the bottom, is the one I use to feed the chickens; labels record the date the beetles were moved out of that drawer. Any pupae I spot in the bottom one while collecting mealworms for a feed, I set aside in a small plastic tub, which I check daily for any hatchlings, which are then added to the beetle drawer. After a month the bottom drawer is emptied out, cleaned and refilled with fresh bran, then the beetles are moved into it, and the cycle starts again. If the clean-out harvest is greater than the chickens can eat, spare mealworms are tubbed and refrigerated until used up.
It's a really straightforward system, and has given my chickens daily fresh mealworms at minimal cost (an £8 sack of bran lasts about 6 months, and my veg peelings to provide moisture cost nothing). Plus I know what my home grown ones have eaten!

 

[Danielpn]

For a few years I’ve been raising my own mealworms. It’s pretty rewarding and cheap. My girls really enjoyed getting fresh live mealworms and beetles, instead of dried bagged ones! Unfortunately, this summer my mealworms ventilation was blocked by something, and they molded while I was on vacation

I was wondering what you do. Do you raise your own mealworms? or do you buy bagged ones?
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I started raising mealworms 3 years ago for my chickens. Its a simple set up, and they sustain themselves easily. First off, you need a good sized plastic bin with a lid. You can put this in a feed room, your barn, or a shed. Then you will cut a hole in your lid for ventilation, and cover that with hard wire cloth. Then you fill the bottom with oats (I used Quaker) and a couple paper towel tubes. (These tubes are useful since the worms will gather in them. When you need to get worms for your girls, you pick up the tube and slide the worms into your hands or a jar!)

Once you have it set up, you can order live mealworms online, and give them fruits and vegetables. After that, you simply refill their oats and vegetables often. The worms will reproduce after they grow up into beetles, and create more worms. Chickens like the beetles to!
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I just wanted to share my simple set up! What do you do?

I'm investigating trying red wigglers in Olympia, WA area. any thoughts?

 

[danielle2003]

For a few years I’ve been raising my own mealworms. It’s pretty rewarding and cheap. My girls really enjoyed getting fresh live mealworms and beetles, instead of dried bagged ones! Unfortunately, this summer my mealworms ventilation was blocked by something, and they molded while I was on vacation

I was wondering what you do. Do you raise your own mealworms? or do you buy bagged ones?
—————————
I started raising mealworms 3 years ago for my chickens. Its a simple set up, and they sustain themselves easily. First off, you need a good sized plastic bin with a lid. You can put this in a feed room, your barn, or a shed. Then you will cut a hole in your lid for ventilation, and cover that with hard wire cloth. Then you fill the bottom with oats (I used Quaker) and a couple paper towel tubes. (These tubes are useful since the worms will gather in them. When you need to get worms for your girls, you pick up the tube and slide the worms into your hands or a jar!)

Once you have it set up, you can order live mealworms online, and give them fruits and vegetables. After that, you simply refill their oats and vegetables often. The worms will reproduce after they grow up into beetles, and create more worms. Chickens like the beetles to!
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I just wanted to share my simple set up! What do you do?

I keep mine in plastic, 4-tiered drawers in my closet, as mealworms prefer to live in darkness. I give the mealworms wheat bran, and the beetles rolled oats. For their water, I place apples and carrots. In the first drawer, I keep the beetles. I have about 100-150 right now. In the beetle drawer, I hot-glued some mesh screening, so that when the beetles mate, the eggs and small mealworms will fall into the 2nd drawer. This system has been working great, and I have about 700-1000 worms right now in two different drawers. My four hens love them! I usually pick out the dead beetles and give them to the chickens. I know that eventually, the other beetles will eat the dead ones, but to keep the odor down, I get them out.
You're right. the dried mealworms are SO expensive! I have had to buy $40.00 bags at Walmart every two months, which can get pricey!
Good luck with your farm!

 

[tigger19687]

Word of advise.... Don't put them I. the basement where you will forget to check on them
Lol
I always forgot, they survived but the barn and stuff got a bit moldy from humidity down there.
I had them for a few months in one big tub, then just fed them to the chickens at the end.