07-03-2005, 03:52 PM
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][#505000] Just to clear things up I'm not talking about a plate full of mealworms with a side of ranch dressing!![/#505000]
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[#505000]When I was a kid we used to have a zoo at our house. We had a dog, ferret, rats, rabbits, trantulas, lizards, fish, alligator (I'm not making that last one up), tortise, hampsters, parrots, and the list could go on. We also had these pets over the course of a few years so not all at once. [/#505000]
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[#505000]A few of these pets ate mealworms. Instead of buying them my dad used to grow his own. After this last ice season I took my "leftover" mealworms and decided I needed to try ranching them to see if I could end up with a whole lot more "free" worms for next season. [/#505000]
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[#505000]Now come July, I'm happy to say my mealworm ranch is thriving. Being the nice guy that I am [] I decided I'd post instructions for anyone else ready to jump in the 
dle and ranch some worms. STAMPEDE!!!!!!!!![/#505000]
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[#505000]1. Get a high sided plastic/metal container. You want a lot of surface area on the bottom (like a large cake pan with high sides) and about 4-6 inch sides minimum. I use those puke buckets from the hospital. I think they are called Emerson Basins.[/#505000]
[#505000]2. Put 2-2 1/2 inches of dry quaker oats in the bottom of the container. [/#505000]
[#505000]3. Cut several potatos in half and place them on the oats wet (cut) side down. Just set them on top. The worms will bury them later. Try to cover as much of the surface of the oats as you can with potato halves.[/#505000]
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[#505000]4. Dump your livestock into the container and store in an area where your kids won't mess with 'em. Room temperature, light or dark doesn't seem to matter. Keep em out of direct sunlight or you may need that ranch dressing after all. [/#505000]
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[#505000]5. Every couple of months replaced the dried nasty potatos with new ones. Check to make sure there are no worms in them before you toss them if there are tiny holes there may be worm inside. Tear the potato open and take them out.[/#505000]
[#505000]Ok now here's what to expect.......[/#505000]
[#505000]You likely won't see many worms on the surface, they'll burrow and hide under the potatos. You will see the occasional worm carcass come to the surface. After a few weeks the worms will turn to larvae. The larvae will turn into black beetles. The beetles will lay eggs and die. The eggs will hatch (you won't see this part, the eggs or the hatching) and you will find you have tons of itty bitty meal worms eating your potatos. [/#505000][#505000] You'll start to see shed worm skins surfacing on top of your oatmeal. This means your worms are getting bigger. Keep following these instructions and come ice season you can pick out what you need, and when you are done fishing you can return the survivors to the herd.[/#505000]
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][#505000] Just to clear things up I'm not talking about a plate full of mealworms with a side of ranch dressing!![/#505000] [#505000][/#505000]
[#505000]When I was a kid we used to have a zoo at our house. We had a dog, ferret, rats, rabbits, trantulas, lizards, fish, alligator (I'm not making that last one up), tortise, hampsters, parrots, and the list could go on. We also had these pets over the course of a few years so not all at once. [/#505000]
[#505000][/#505000]
[#505000]A few of these pets ate mealworms. Instead of buying them my dad used to grow his own. After this last ice season I took my "leftover" mealworms and decided I needed to try ranching them to see if I could end up with a whole lot more "free" worms for next season. [/#505000]
[#505000][/#505000]
[#505000]Now come July, I'm happy to say my mealworm ranch is thriving. Being the nice guy that I am [
] I decided I'd post instructions for anyone else ready to jump in the dle and ranch some worms. STAMPEDE!!!!!!!!![/#505000] [#505000][/#505000]
[#505000][/#505000]
[#505000]1. Get a high sided plastic/metal container. You want a lot of surface area on the bottom (like a large cake pan with high sides) and about 4-6 inch sides minimum. I use those puke buckets from the hospital. I think they are called Emerson Basins.[/#505000]
[#505000]2. Put 2-2 1/2 inches of dry quaker oats in the bottom of the container. [/#505000]
[#505000]3. Cut several potatos in half and place them on the oats wet (cut) side down. Just set them on top. The worms will bury them later. Try to cover as much of the surface of the oats as you can with potato halves.[/#505000]
[#505000][/#505000]
[#505000]4. Dump your livestock into the container and store in an area where your kids won't mess with 'em. Room temperature, light or dark doesn't seem to matter. Keep em out of direct sunlight or you may need that ranch dressing after all. [/#505000]
[#505000][/#505000]
[#505000]5. Every couple of months replaced the dried nasty potatos with new ones. Check to make sure there are no worms in them before you toss them if there are tiny holes there may be worm inside. Tear the potato open and take them out.[/#505000]
[#505000]Ok now here's what to expect.......[/#505000]
[#505000]You likely won't see many worms on the surface, they'll burrow and hide under the potatos. You will see the occasional worm carcass come to the surface. After a few weeks the worms will turn to larvae. The larvae will turn into black beetles. The beetles will lay eggs and die. The eggs will hatch (you won't see this part, the eggs or the hatching) and you will find you have tons of itty bitty meal worms eating your potatos. [/#505000][#505000] You'll start to see shed worm skins surfacing on top of your oatmeal. This means your worms are getting bigger. Keep following these instructions and come ice season you can pick out what you need, and when you are done fishing you can return the survivors to the herd.[/#505000]
[#505000][/#505000]
[#505000][/#505000]
[#505000][/#505000]
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