Meal worms

["G"]

Meal worms are easy to raise. I raise mine in buckets that I modified and cut a hole in the lid and screened. I use wheat bran that I buy at the farm supply store to bed them in....this is also what they feed on. I give them a lettuce leaf once a week for their water. This keeps the bedding from gettin damp. I started out a few years ago with 30 mealworms that I bought to get started with. I do not buy bait anymore I raise my own.

[azslabber]

What does a meal worm turn into?Or do they just stay meal worms?

["G"]

What does a meal worm turn into?Or do they just stay meal worms?

They turn into a black beetle bug....the bugs lay eggs in the wheat bran and then they die.

[azslabber]

I might have to get me some of them.Is there anything special that you have to do to them?Just leave them in the wheat bran and a little water,lettuce weekly,any clean up of the bin?

["G"]

Fill the bucket half full of wheat bran.....add about 25 to 30 worms. Just toss in a lettuce leaf once a week. Every 6 months clean out the bucket as all of the waste material will be at the bottom....clean that out and put your old bran and worms back in and top off the bran. The worms will pupate and turn into a white coccon and then turn into bugs, lay eggs for more worms...then the bugs die and the whole process starts over.

[azslabber]

Can you keep them inside the house?Here in Arizona NOTHING stays alive outside.I mean without any stink.I imagine not,but just don't want to be surprised.I found 100 large mealworms for $6.95.

["G"]

I keep mine outside under a open shed during the summer and inside my shop in the winter.

[azslabber]

I ordered some.If they end up stinkin the house up,I'll just use them up fishing.

[Shoemoo]

Double post.

[Shoemoo]

Can you keep them inside the house?Here in Arizona NOTHING stays alive outside.I mean without any stink.I imagine not,but just don't want to be surprised.I found 100 large mealworms for $6.95.

Word of advice: don't get the giant ones. If the ones you got are longer than 1", they won't work. They are the same species as a regular mealworm, Tenebrio molitar. The giant ones have been treated with a hormone that prevents them from turning into beetles. They will never become adults, and thus never reproduce. You want normal small mealworms.

If you want something bigger, try superworms, Zophobas morio. They take pretty much the same care as mealworms, with one major difference. Superworms are cannibalistic, so in order for them to turn into beetles, you will need to remove them from the container once they get big enough and put them in individual cups. The flat tackle boxes with compartments also work, as long as they have air holes. Otherwise the other superworms will eat them when they pupate. Once they change into beetles, they can be added back into the culture.

You can tell the difference just by looking at them. Mealworms are gold all over, superworms have a dark head and tail:





Size comparison:



Regular mealworms max out at about 1", superworms at 2". You can buy both from pet stores like Petco, where they are sold as food for pet lizards. Either way, they won't stink up your house unless the bedding gets too moist and gets moldy