Decided to give meal worms a shot . Seem simple enough . Any do / don'ts ? Experience is the best teacher .Attachment 292388
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Decided to give meal worms a shot . Seem simple enough . Any do / don'ts ? Experience is the best teacher .Attachment 292388
I've been raising them for about 8 years,I use a clear med size tote with a hinged lid.I cut a 2"x 4" hole in the lid and hot glued a piece of mesh screen over the hole to keep out spiders,and allow air in.I use wheat bran for bedding and food,every 2 weeks I halve a med potato for food and moisture.
I also place a couple opened cardboard egg cartons on top the bran and potatoes ( inside facing down ), this allows the worms to seperate and not bunch up,( prevents them from eating their own eggs as much ). Every summer I sift the worms,and beetles from the castings (bran poop ) and put them in new bedding.
Keep the castings for a few weeks,there are copious amounts of eggs left in the Sifted poop,once they hatch,simply add them to the newly sifted ones from a few weeks earlier.This all may sound laborious,but it really only takes about an hour or so once a year,the rest of the time,just keep some fresh bran for them ,and some sort of water source ( the potato ).I keep mine in a warm location,and they actually prefer darkness if possible.
There are several ways to raise them,find what works for you,even a caveman can do it.:biggrin:biggrin
HOW OFTEN DO YOU ADD BRAN ? WOULD A NON CLEAR TOTE WORK BETTER ? TRYING TO LEARN FROM YOUR EXPERIENCES NOT QUESTIONING ANYTHING .Quote:
Originally Posted by Yaker
Hi eagle1,I keep a couple inches of good bran on top of the castings.Do not mix the bran in with the casting,but do keep an eye on the castings,if they are getting damp,you need to redo your bedding.This leads me to your second question,the non clear tote will work,but one thing I found out,if you use a clear tote,it's much easier to keep an eye on the depth of bran,vs the depth of castings,plus it's allows you to see if the castings are getting damp.
All this may seem confusing,and problematic ,but really it only takes a few minutes once a week to inspect my
colony.if all is well,there will be dead and live black beetles,new light brown beetles,larva, pupa,and thousands of too small to see eggs.Egg cartons will keep them from bunching,and prevent dampness and egg consumption .
I've raised them on and off, mostly off for 30 years. I started with an old aquarium and that was probably the best thing I ever used. I've used 5 gal buckets, plastic totes, etc... If you use the plastic totes, the clear or nearly clear ones seemed better to me because the plastic was slick. I didn't want the beetles crawling out. Moisture is your enemy. I'd "water" mine with cut up apples. You can also use a damp paper towel.
I separated mine with a screen wire looking colander. I found it at Walmart or somewhere similar. I'd just sift the bran to get the worms out. You can keep them in a container in the fridge to keep them from pupating. I'd let them go through a couple of life cycles before you start using the worms. That will let them get far enough ahead of you that you won't use them all up.
You'll want a MUCH larger container than the ice cream buckets you currently have. I'd say something in the 25 gallon size. 1/2 of a plastic 55 gallon drum would be about ideal.
I was thinking if they like the dark why not a non clear box . I see the reason . thanks .
Use a tall plastic tote with no lid and give them a light misting of water every couple of days, they seem to really like this. Also fold some face cloths on top of the bedding so they can get in there and hide.I like to use the pupa instead of the mealworms, because they're kinda like little mini waxworms, and the bluegill can't resist them.Quote:
Originally Posted by eagle 1
I keep mine in a dark closet,if nothing else cover them with something.
For food they like baby carrots from the can, powdered milk, cornmeal, Farina powdered wheat, chicken livers, plums,mangos, watermelon, grapes, and they will strip a old piece of fried chicken to the bone.
Get a couple of those 4-way cardboard McDonald's drink holders and put them on top the bedding , this will act as a little playground for The Beetles.
Yep,those would work great,since we have a farm,egg cartons are readily available.Quote:
Originally Posted by Techno2000
Mine get here on Wednesday. If the weather holds to the weather-guesser's forecast I will have bluegills by Thursday.
Good info. Thanks
Where did you get your starter worms from? We don't have any around here.Quote:
Originally Posted by eagle 1
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You can try and find a PetSmart, Petco or order them online like I did, I started out with about 2000 large mealworms.Quote:
Originally Posted by feeshrman
Grubco :: Welcome :: Mealworms for bluebirds, crickets for reptiles, mealworms for sale
Meal Worms Archives - Uncle Jim's Worm FarmQuote:
Originally Posted by feeshrman
I’ve ordered from them a couple of times and I’ve always been happy. They have meal worms, I’ve always purchased red wigglers for my compost worm bins.
I tried the wet paper towel and got mine to damp even putting a mist on the paper with a spray bottle is to much . I feed mine nothing but the wheat bran till I fatten them in containers to take fishing .
They need moisture,if not they will eat the eggs and anything that will give them moisture.ive been 10 years with generations from the original batch,they live in bran,and I halve a medium potato for moisture and supplement .
It's fun to watch the beetles completely strip a chicken bone down to nothing. :cool: