Thousands of Grubs in Compost ( picture and video )

[geedub]

Keep the larvae out of your mouth and you should fine. Not too difficult or scary when you think about it.

If you do swallow a BSFL, and it survives, I believe the extent of the issue is vomiting and diarrhea. I think that pseudo-myasis by BSF is rare in the extreme and also has no lasting or drastic consequences. However, I'm not a doctor or an entomologist so if someone can find evidence that disagrees with my assessment I would appreciate a link.

 

[tom e]

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Yep! I think the only cases where it has occurred, people were rummaging through garbage looking for something to eat. They ingested the grubs by eating garbage that the grubs were already consuming.

 

[Lumenos]

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They don't recommend feeding them to chickens only if they are raised in poultry manure or (uncooked) offal (body parts).

BSFL are extremely high in calcium and another nutrient that many vegetable feeds are lacking. They may be able to replace medicated feed because their fat prevents coccidiosis (for a completely organic diet). They are not known to transmit parasites like most other critters that chickens find when free ranging (see my signature link). A researcher recommends feeding chickens 1/3 insects, 1/3 greens, 1/3 grains for an optimal diet.

 

[cowmilker1958]

Want to see a couple of chickens have a good tug of war??? toss in some grubs. It's cool to watch them steal those things from each other.

 

[cityhermit]

Quote:
They don't recommend feeding them to chickens only if they are raised in poultry manure or (uncooked) offal (body parts).

BSFL are extremely high in calcium and another nutrient that many vegetable feeds are lacking. They may be able to replace medicated feed because their fat prevents coccidiosis (for a completely organic diet). They are not known to transmit parasites like most other critters that chickens find when free ranging (see my signature link). A researcher recommends feeding chickens 1/3 insects, 1/3 greens, 1/3 grains for an optimal diet.

I'm totally sold on them since I started my biopod. The best way to feed them is with leftover vegetables/fruits and/or well-soaked grains. I keep a 50 lb. bag of cracked corn handy for that purpose. Raised this way, they aren't a health hazard, since the black soldier flies don't eat in their mature form and don't carry disease like houseflies do... they just mate, lay eggs and die. As for handling the grubs, I just head to the kitchen afterward and grab the soap and nail brush and scrub away.

 

[tom e]

It's funny. I had a huge quantity of them in my compost bins last year. They just appeared naturally ate a bunch and then left when it got cold. Since then, I bought a biopod, even tried to seed it with purchased BSFL all to no avail. I've emptied out and cleaned the biopod twice now, after the 'bait' got old and stinky. Unfortunately I've yet to get anything going at all.. Just a bad luck year I suppose? Wonder what I did right before on accident?

 

[Homestead Creations]

I have a grow out bin made of plywood with one end slanted so the Soldier Fly Larvae can crawl out into a container. I grow extra larvae and have been drying them for feeding the chickens during the winter, that is, if I don't put too many in the bird feeder. Bluebirds love them and a woodpecker visits the feeder almost every day. My friends keep bugging me for live ones to use as fishing bait.

 

[rolivier79]

Putting together a bsf knowledge base.

http://www.compostmania.com/about-grub-composting-black-soldier-fly-video

 

[kizanne]

yep those are black fly larva and I love them too. Free easy to keep alive and my chickens love them, plus they compost left over food faster than you've ever seen.

Unfortunately with the cool fall weather they will slow down quite a bit if not disappear.

 

[Llewin]

OK this may already have been answered but I can't bring myself to read through 18 pages of posts!

Can someone fill me on any data which gives an estimate on how much green compost (fruit/veg/lawn clippings etc... basically not animal products or grain) equates to how many lbs of grubs? I am looking in to putting a system like this in our small scale pastured poultry operation and would like to determine the viability of replacing 25 to 50% of feed consumption with these grubs.

Any information on how total grub live weight per lb of compost and/or grub live weight per day etc etc would be vastly helpful.

thanks very much!