Growing Meal Worms

Mealworms are an excellent source of food for many birds, sugar gliders, hedgehogs and more, and having your own mealworm farm can give you the abundance you need to feed your pet and save you quite a bit of money. One of the most successful systems for mealworm farming was developed by longtime mealworm farmer Lisa Lambert and requires only a plastic tub, some bran and some beetles.

  1. Setting up the Farm

    • First you need to obtain some beetles. Beetles can be obtained from a fellow mealworm farmer, a pet store or by ordering online. The best option is to get them from a fellow farmer to ensure that they are healthy, productive and do not arrive in your mailbox dead.

      Once you have the beetles, fill your plastic bin with about six to eight inches of bran. For food, cut several potatoes in half and place the halves sliced-side-down around the bran. The beetles will gain hydration and nutrients from the potatoes, as well as lay their eggs in them. Once the container is set up, release the beetles into their new home.

    Life on a Mealworm Farm

    • The beetles will feed on the potatoes and soon lay their eggs and die. Remove the dead beetles from the farm, but do not remove the shriveled potato pieces---this is where the worms are incubating. After a week, turn over the oldest potato. You should see your first tiny worms.

      The worms now need to be "gut loaded" in order to increase their nutritional value. Do this by adding fruits and vegetables other than the potatoes to the container, such as apples and carrots. As the worms feed on the various food sources, they will take on a higher nutritional value.

      The larval stage of a mealworm lasts about 90 to 114 days, and during this time they will grow to a maximum length of about 1 1/4 inch. As the worm approaches the pupae stage, it begins to turn a darker shade and curls up. The worms can be harvested for food throughout the larval stage.

      If your goal is to produce mealworms for feeding a pet or attracting wild birds with a bird feeder, you may want to build several containers to house the worms throughout the different stages of their lives. This will allow you to have continuous production, and you will be surprised at how quickly you begin to produce a pile of worms beginning with just a few beetles.