anyone seriously raising mealworms?

Hello,

Is anyone else currently seriously raising mealworms?? I've been at it for 18 months and could use some moral support. I'm amazed at the quantities of bugs I have to support in order to have a daily scoop of mealworms. I know I don't really have to give them so much in the winter, as I also give them suet, but 1) I figure I need my colony producing good quantities at all times if I expect good production in the summer, and 2) the wrens, woodpeckers, and titmice help them eat them.

Anyway, I'm blown away by how much work it is. I'm wondering if anyone else has more experience and maybe some pointers.

My worms are in cornmeal, and they get mostly sweet potatoes but occasionally carrots or fruit.

I have to say, as expensive as these things are to buy, I totally understand it!

Ann

Hi, I am not an expert but have been raising these little guys for some time. I have 9 large rubbermaid bins/drawers and use cornmeal. I give them carrots and occasionally potatoes. I clean out dead bugs, etc once a week. I put bugs on new cornmeal every 2 weeks and take old cornmeal and put in new bin...waiting for eggs to hatch. It's time consuming but well worth it. I also give my blues way too many in the winter!

I am trying to raise a decent quantity of mealworms. I had a batch going really well and producing great last year when one of the bins got the dreaded grain mites. I had to start over, and now only use grains that I microwave first to kill anything that may be in it. I use a combination of wheat bran, cornmeal, and whole wheat flour. For moisture I use celery because I've found it doesn't mold up like apples or potatoes do. I leave mine in the bin about a month after spotting the first tiny mealworms. Then I sift out the beetles and put them into new bedding to start again. At this point I have about 8 bins, but I keep them in different areas just in case of another mite infestation. I don't want to risk having to start over again. I also keep reptile tank heaters under two of my bins to speed up their growth rate. I restarted this whole thing four months ago, and I have one bin just about ready to feed out, and another not far behind. So I guess my question to you would be what temperature are your bins kept at? They will still produce at a lower temperature, but you would be amazed at how much faster they grow when kept warm. My two bins with the heaters under them are just full of shed skins every day. Which to me is a good indicator of faster growth. My unheated bins have shed skins, but very few new ones showing up each day next to the heated bins. I was buying two thousand mealworms every few weeks, so far me this effort is worth it. Besides, I find it a very interesting hobby.

Thanks for your comments....Kendra, are your bins covered? If so, they can be side by side, right? Seems like it would be much easier to keep warm that way!

I have a ridiculous amount of bins, stacked on plastic shelves in my basement. It's cool down there...maybe 65?...even in the summer. I know it's not ideal, but I have no place for them upstairs, and I have far too many of them to keep them warm down there. I guess that's a lot of my problem right there: they grow so slowly in the basement so I have to keep billions of them at all times to get enough worms. I have 2 bins of adults currently, and I sift them every week or two, starting a new bin. When I have bins that appear to be at the same stage, I try to combine them. But one of my issues is that I have a huge range of worm sizes within any given bin. I hate feeding teeny ones to the birds....

Anyway, I have to admit it is kind of addictive, and kind of fun (when I have the time.) I find myself looking in on them for no reason quite often. I just feel a little silly doing this, but I know everyone on this forum at least understands doing everything possible for the blues. I guess mostly I just needed to vent.

Anyone know how to separate the different sizes of worms?

Thanks Kendra and csking,

Ann

Kendra,

What temperature do you keep yours at? My temperature is at 82 degrees. I keep them in a huge closet with the hot water tank. Thanks

Ann, I do keep my bins covered. I use plastic containers with lids, then I cut out most of the center portion of the lid, and hot glue mesh to it. I also have a few of those three drawer bins that don't get (or need?) covers. One of my heaters is under the three drawer bin, which I'm hoping will also keep the drawers above it warmer. I wish I knew how to separate the different sizes of worms. I've tried using a strainer with larger holes so only the big ones would stay in it, but it didn't work very well for me. It does work for straining out the beetles though. Like you, I can't help myself. I check on mine all the time. I love seeing progress and knowing if the Blues show up again this winter, I will have plenty to feed them.

Csking, I am not exactly positive what the temperature is, but I would guess that the bins over the reptile heaters are about the same as yours. It is hard to determine exact temperature because the heater only covers about 1/3 of the area of the bin. I figured if the worms got too hot, they could crawl to a side.

Ann, I did it for three (MISERABLE) years. There were times when I could pull 500 to 1,000 but not many. I had three farms going at all times and still had to order meal worms on-line to have enough for my bluebirds during nesting season. The day I threw out the farms was a day of celebration!

My hats off to you and everyone who does it..... it just wasn't for me.

Kendra, I keep my worms continously in the same cornmeal until they are big enough to strain through an old strainer that I have. I then replace with new cornmeal. Each time I take cornmeal bedding from the beetles, I put that cornmeal into a new container. My blues eat the dead beetles. Do yours? I put dead beetles in with the worms. They are always eaten. I am always game for suggestions. My son has also used this hobby of mine for a science fair project.

csking,

I just strain out the beetles and leave the worms and any eggs in the original bran mix. I have never tried feeding the birds the dead beetles, but when I ran out of mealworms last winter, I did feed the Bluebirds the live beetles.

I am new at mealworms myself. I have only just gotten my first three beetles so far. I have been watching videos on UTube to learn how to raise the mealworms and ran across this video.

I already have one three drawer setup and plan to place a different drawer under the screen every couple weeks to separate out the sizes of the mealworms. I am thinking of getting more drawer sets for raising the worms in. My thought is if i put screens in two drawers i can use one for the beetles and the other to filter out the worm poop. I thought i would just pour the bedding into the screened drawer with another under it for filtering. Any thoughts on this idea. I know the video has only been up for a month but has anyone else tried this method?

And one other question. How long does it take from hatching to reach feeding size, say half to 3/4 inch worms. With the heat fluctuating between 65 and 71?

Thanks in advance.

Here is a link that might be useful: The Meal Worm Filter System

Hi Fosteem,
It would never have occurred to me to check YouTube!!
The drawer method worries me because it doesn't look secure against grain moths.

Also, if you keep your worms in oats it's really hard to get the worms out when it's time to feed. I keep mine in cornmeal so I can just strain the worms out. I think cornmeal would go right through this guy's straining system.

Regarding timing, with cooler temps it takes MONTHS for the mealworms to mature. Definitely those who keep their worms warmer are having better results.

Hope that helps,

Ann

Thanks Ann, I will look into getting some sort of heating system for the worms. And probably some shallow totes as well as the of drawers. I will try them both and see what ones i like best.

I will still test the screen idea on the beetles. I think only the beetles will need to stay in oats the worms can stay in their regular feed.

Right now i am keeping the worms in a mixture of roughly blended (in a blender) oatmeal, year old cat food mixed with cornmeal and bran. Basically the old stuff i have on hand. Figured i would worry about a better food supply when the leftovers ran out.

I have been buying worms and its getting way too expensive. And i haven't been able to feed near as many worms as i would like so i am trying to raise my own.

I harvest worms by laying a slice of bread on top of the bedding. The worms collect under the bread pushing all the bedding away from the center of the slice. I can scoop out a good bunch without getting much bedding mixed in with the worms until the worm start running low. I have noticed that Juncos eat most of the bedding mix so i haven't worried about putting a little out with the worms.

Kendra, You mentioned microwaving the grain to kill mites, it seems like a very good idea. In how big a batch and for how long do I need to microwave the grain?

Looking for something to keep the worms warm enough I found that pet shops have got terrarium heaters made to keep bugs warm. Its the smallest heater with the lowest wattage, 4 watts. They are made for people who keep reptiles. And want to raise their own bugs.

The heater is a Repti Therm Mini from Zoo Med. I was supposed to place the heater on the back of a cricket keeper. Instead i put it under the Euro rack i keep my meal worms on. And put up cardboard walls surrounding the whole setup above the rack. Just the walls the top is still open for now.

The heater itself is small just a 4 by 7 black plastic strip with a sticky back. They recommended that if you place it under the worm farm to place it to one side so if it gets too hot the worms can move to the other side of the container. In any case it is just barely warm. I have to place my fingers on it to feel the heat. But the metal rods on the Euro rack do feel warm when i touch them so i believe they are transferring the heat to the whole setup.

Two days after sitting it up my worms are changing into pupa at a increased rate. Increased being 5 a day instead of 1 or 2. The worms are also moving faster than they were. Its like they are on speed now. And my beetle population has doubled - to 6.

It looks like the reptile heater was worth the money.
BTW it was $12.95.

fosteem1, Those are the heaters I use. I do not stick them to the bottom though, because I want to be able to move them to different bins if I choose to. All this has paid off for me. I just got the best Christmas present ever. The Bluebirds showed up today, and I have been able to give them a feast. I hope I can keep enough bins warm enough to supply them through the winter. I may have to purchase more reptile heaters. As for your question about microwaving the grain. I put what will fit in a glass bowl and heat it for a few minutes, stir it around, and heat it again. Since all microwaves are different I don't think there's an exact formula. Just make sure it is good and hot to kill anything that may be in the grain. Then I take it and store it in tightly sealed containers until I need it.

I found this link on the web.

It should work for large meal worms farms and you don't have to put in the water prof layer.

Here is a link that might be useful: Homemade bottom heat

Wow, that would make me nervous! Of course, I am one of those people who attract bad luck... I'm afraid to leave ANYTHING on when I'm not home! Also, I don't have nearly enough counter-type space for the ridulous # of boxes I have. It would take a mile of these insulated lights to go allover my shelving units...

But this does make me think about just stringing up some regular X-mas lights in my basement and put them on a timer---I can warm the basement at night when I'm sure I'd be home to hear the smoke alarm go off (LOL) and give the worms at least some warm time.

Ann

Ann,

Just a heads up about the heating. I am like you and afraid to leave anything on when I'm not here. Last year I tried heating a bin only when I was home and ended up with condensation when the bin cooled. It caused mold and may have contributed to my mite problem.

If you are worried about the setup getting too hot. When i was looking at the heaters at the pet shop i noticed that they sold an adjustable thermostat separately. It was made so that you could plug your heat source into the thermostat to control the temperature.

But i believe that if i try the setup i will use do one small shelf and stack the containers above it. I will use drywall instead of foam for spacers. That foam makes me a bit nervous. The drywall is fire proof so i wont worry about it catching fire. And i have a lot of small chunks of leftover drywall.

I do have a couple of those rope lights. I used them once and decided they looked like they should be on a truck. I fished them out last night and plugged one in. It was about the same temperature as the bug heater i bought. Just warm in any one place.

The longer this discussion goes on, the more I think I need to do something about the temperature. I'm investing so much time & effort and not getting what I need/want. (well, barely.) But all these small heaters make me nervous. What does it say on the packages regarding safety? Maybe I'll look into a space heater that is considered safe to leave on all the time....is there such a thing? Also, my worm set-up in in the middle of a sizeable storage area, and I probably should try to enclose it more to conserve heat. So much to think about....

Kendra, thanks for your comment on mold...yes, less heat for 24 hours would be much better than more heat for 12 hours!

Ann

Ann, those reptile heaters are made to be on all the time. They use very little electricity. I have had them running non-stop now for months and have not had any problem. They don't get too hot. I put them under the bins and there is an air space of about 1/2 an inch between the heater and the bin which keeps it from overheating the plastic bin. My worms were so slow growing before I started heating the bins. It takes me about two months from the time I can spot the tiny worms until they are feeder size with heat. It take twice that long without heat in a room that stays about 65 degrees.

At this point I have such a ridiculous number of bins, I'm not sure how I would start. I guess I'll buy a few...hopefully after a while (a long while) my set-up can evolve into a much smaller number of bins. Kendra, what kind of heaters do you have? The type Fosteem has had some very questionable reviews on Petco.com. Seems like the small ones are the way to go, though---the worms can congregate around it if they like it.

I'll try to configure my bins to conserve heat better, then do some shopping....

Happy New Year everyone!!

Ann

I also have the heater under the setup with about a half inch gap between the it and the bottom of the bin.

At first it was under two bins half under each bin. That was when i posted last, when i started getting 6 pupa a day.

I changed the bin setup to a stack 3 days ago and placed it so the the heater was under one side of the bin. Then rearranged the cardboard so that all but the front was covered. The worms seem to concentrate over the heating pad.

I put a thermometer inside the bottom bin. It was 73* in the bin this morning, 67* in the house. The top bin with the beetles in it was 69*.

Yesterday i got 43 pupa and this morning just 7 hours later there was 37 more. An amazing change in the speed of growth. Also in numbers considering i thought i had saved 100 worms and it now looks like i got more like 200.

I have stopped worrying about the heater it doesn't touch anything that will burn so i have no worries.

Oh, a safe space heater. Try the old fashioned type oil filled ones. The heat is slow but constant. But, even on the lowest setting they take 500 watts. But they don't stay on all the time clicking on and off. The little heating pad i bought only takes 4 watts. I guess it would depend on how much you are willing to spend.

Ann, I use the Repti Therm Mini from Zoo Med. The only negative reviews I've read are from snake people that don't think it keeps their enclosures warm enough. I don't want to bake them, just warm them a bit to get them growing faster, so these heaters work well for me. And as fosteem1 said, it is only 4 watts. As soon as my mealworms are large enough to start feeding out, I move the heater to a new bin.

I've thought about trying, but I don't even know if my birds will be back in the spring, this past summer was the first year for me, I just bought some worms before they left, How long do they live in the fridge? Maybe could use those to start some, but it seems confusing from what I've read. It did get expenssive buying them last summer, but worth every penny. I sure hope they come back.

Meal Worms can last a long time in the fridge. But they wont last until next spring if you bought them in the fall. Putting the worms in the fridge delays growth and pupation.

The longer they are in the fridge the less food value they have. They are using up their food stores staying alive.
People who feed meal worms to reptiles do something called gut loading to counter the nutrient loss caused by a long stay in the fridge. They feed the meal worms very nutritional food just before feeding the worms out so that the pets, in our case birds get some extra nutrition when they eat the worms.

If you start a meal worm farm now you will have to keep it heated to have worms by spring. They seem to take forever getting to the beetle stage. But when it is up and running you will always have a steady supply. How many you have depends on the temperature and how many beetles you have.

Each female beetle can lay up to 40 eggs a day for a couple months.

Well, i got mine out and set them up, and am now getting lots of pupas. I hope that I have more worms by the time they come, if they do, If they don't I'm going to be very disapointed, because I really am not fond of raising these worms, and my kids think I'm crazy. I just don't wnat to sepennd all that money on buying them they go through them too much and I wasn't feeding near as many as I've read about on here. I'm giving it a whirl, but i don't think I really want to be a worm farmer. I wish there were some way to have a heated compost pile outside or something, I think mine are coming along fast, hopefully bu spring, I will have some!!!

Gibby, I don't want to discourage you, but I think you may have waited too long. They take a really long time to grow up... If you keep at it, you may have worms mid summer (?) (that's if you keep them nice & warm, unlike me.)

I think to do a good job of this and really have "enough" worms (whatever that means) to satisfy the average bluebird enthusiast, you really need to give it MONTHS to have a colony that 1) produces bluebird food and 2) has leftover worms to start your next generation. It's a fair amount of work, I think we'll all agree, and you'll need a reasonable amount of worms to get this going.

You'll save money in the long run, for sure, but it really is a commitment.

Ann

Gibby - I don't know how you're going about this but I would suggest (if you're not already doing this) to take the pupa out and put them in a separate container. I check my pupae container every day, and when they turn into beetles, I then move them out into a bin. It really does take a while, but I think it's worth it. I usually see tiny mealworms about a month after filling the bin with beetles. Once the mealworms are visable, it then takes between 2 to 4 months, depending on temperature, for them to grow to a good size for feeding out.

I've got lots of pupa now and they are in the second container, i have a third container for when I get beetles. How long does it take for the pupa to turn into beetles? I think it has been a little over a week since my first pupa appeared, And is it okay to put the beetles in cornmeal so when it comes time to sift out the eggs, it will be easier than oatmeal? or go with oatmeal in the beetle box too? My temperature is about 70-72 Some of the pupa move, others don't but I don't think they are dead. I've looked on the inernet, but see lots of different info.

Gibby,
The pupae take about 2 weeks to turn into beetles. It is not an exact time because some morph quicker than others. Right before they morph, you will notice their heads turn a golden color and their legs turn black. It is fine to keep the beetles in corn meal. Whatever you keep them in, it helps to use something fine so you will be able to sift them out later. I use corn meal, wheat flour and wheat bran. When I have used oatmeal, I put it through a food processor first to grind it into a powder. Once I get beetles, I put a date on the container so I will have some idea of when to expect to see the mealworms. Expect the first container to take a bit longer, since you're adding one beetle at a time. But the second time, when you move the beetles out to a new container, you will be moving them all at once, so you can then expect to see mealworms in about 30 days.

thanks for the info. I'm gonna go check mine to see if they are turning color, I know that some of the first ones are darker than the newly opened ones.Even if I have to buy some at first I should have lots by summer and when the eggs hatch.I told hubby this morning that I thought some of them were dead and he said"you thought the worms were, too. theyy're just changing into beetles!" I guess i need to be more patient! Hope the birds return. Thanks again!

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