Raising Mealworms &

Utilizing Frass

JUSTIN MEYER

OWNER/INSECT FARMER

MIDWEST MEALWORMS, LLC

ASHLAND, MO

Agenda

WHO AM I? MEALWORM & FRASS BASICS

HOW DO YOU START?

Q&A

Who am I?

Family of 4 in Ashland, MO

8-5'er by day managing a software implementation team

Mealworm Farmer by night!

Origin story: It all started with a micro colony of mealworms to supplement chickens 6 years ago, then turned into a business in Jan of 2017. Producing live mealworms and superworms, Midwest Mealworms provides quality live insects to central Missouri as well as Frass (mealworm poop) as a soil amendment.

Pros to mealworms

Nutrient dense feed/food

Great use of natural resources:

To obtain 1 pound of mealworms, they need 2 pounds of feed, 1 gallon of water, and 2 cubic feet of space. (Martin, 2014)

Feed: wheat bran, wheat midds, oat bran, grains

Water: low volume necessary, feed a moisture source like potato or carrots.

Space: 2 cubic feet, but think VERTICAL…

Super easy to raise!!!!

Martin, D. (2014). Edible: An Adventure Into the World of Eating Insects and the Last Great Hope to Save the Planet. New York: Houghton Mifflin

Harcourt.

Nutrient analysis from http://www.grubco.com/nutritional_information.cfm

Easy to scale!

Super small on the left, my current farm on the right.

Cons to

mealworms

Allergies – take precautions to avoid allergic reactions

TIME!!! – not active time spent working on the raising process, just the time it takes to raise a mealworm from one stage to the next. It takes patience.

Slight smell in large concentrations – mainly due to frass

Frass…what is

Frass???

Frass, castings, manure, poop.

Insect frass is insect poop and is a fantastic soil amendment.

Dry, ‘sand-like’ substance with very little odor

Non-manipulated – it comes out of the mealworm ready to use!

Contains Chitin – natural element of all insects, when a plant encounters chitin it thinks it is under attack, and reacts!

Stimulates growth Trigger immune defensesIncrease plant strength Boost plant production

Frass

Frass is collected from the larval stage

Finely sifting it removes all larvae and feed, leaving just frass.

Ready to use right away, or can be stored for long periods.

Frass nutrient contents vary based on feed provided and environment variables.

Analysis of my mealworm’s frasscompleted by MU Soil & Plant Testing.

Application of Frass- Flexible and cost effective

Compost TeaAdd 1 T frass to 1

gallon of water, let sit for 10 mins, water like

normal.

Top DressSpread/Sprinkle frass

over the root zone and water in. 1 T every 2 weeks, 1 Lb. per 20 sf

for lawns.

Potting Pre-MixAdd 1 T frass to 7 gallons planting

media.

Foliar FeedAdd 4 T to 1 gallon of water, shake well, sit

for 10 mins. Strain and spray.

Application of Frass- Flexible and cost effective

A 1 pound pouch will make 75 gallons of

compost tea!!

Mealworm Basics - Lifecycle

Takes 2-3 months from egg to large larva

Beetles lay most of their eggs within the first 90 days of their life

The beetle does NOT fly!! ☺

How and

why?

Optimal rearing scenario: 80 F, 70% humidity, moisture source fed every day, sift frass once a week.

Reality: 60-80 F is fine, 40% humidity is fine, feed moisture source twice a week, sift frass once a month. You won’t get maximum output, but you get worthwhile output.

Why bother:

Live mealworms for your animals (poultry, reptiles, small mammals)

Frass for your garden/orchard/lawn

Sales – what most insect farmers who stick with it and enjoy it find is that they produce more than they need, and can sell it locally.

Start small

With just an $80 investment, you can start a small mealworm colony:

Top drawer has mesh to allow hatched larvae and eggs to fall through

Beetles, pupae, mealworms, eggs included.

Instructions!

Are you a DIY’er? With little work you can build a tower like this yourself, and get starter mealworms online or in local stores.

Maintaining your mealworms

Environment conditions:

77-81 F – they will do just fine in 60-81 F, lower temps result in lower production

70% humidity – they will do fine in 40-80%, lower humidity results in higher death rates of larvae and pupae

Light – none required, less light is better.

Feeding your mealworms

What is going to eat your

mealworms? If the critter that will eat

mealworms is allergic to citrus, don’t

feed your mealworms citrus.

Substrate: what the mealworms and

beetles live in.

Mealworms eat it for nutrition. Best

option is wheat bran, other options

include oat bran, oats, wheat midds,

grains.

Moisture source: any fruit or

vegetable, anything with moisture in

it: potatoes, carrots, banana peel,

squash, sweet potato.

Careful with high moisture foods like

fruit, mealworms are slow eaters, fruit

scraps could mold before eaten.

Monitor your farm and you won’t

have issues.

Feeding your

mealworms

Substrate: Ensure your mealworms have

substrate to eat. Check your farm at least

once a week, run a hand through to see how

much frass vs substrate you have.

Moisture source: check your farm every 2 to 3 days

for moisture sources. Add if all moisture sources are

gone.

If moisture source still exists, do NOT add more.

If the previously added source is present but dry,

add fresh but add less

Drawer / stage

maintenance

Several options and methods

All-in-one: lower production, results in loss of eggs when sifting frass, good for low maintenance and low output – fishermen, reptile

Drawer with mesh bottom tower: low production, low maintenance.

Every 3 days check your large mealworms for pupae. Place any pupae in the Pupae tray.Check the pupae tray for hatched beetles. Move hatched beetles to beetle tray.Remove any dead beetles

Frass removal: once a month, or when the frass is 1 inch thick, use a fine sifter to remove all frass.

Scaling UpKeep all stages separate

Beetles – let them lay for 1-2 weeks, then sift out beetles and put them in fresh substrate

Larvae – sift the frass every 1-2 weeks – see video starting at 2:00

Large larvae – sift out pupae every 4-7 days

Value add opportunity

With 5 hours of work/maintenance a week, you can raise a good deal of

mealworms and frass

Live, locally produced mealworms are highly desired by reptile owners and bird

feeders who currently get their live insects from chain suppliers/stores

Frass can be used for gardens, indoor plants, orchards, and lawns. Local sellers

are able to sell frass very cost effectively – shipping is a large part of frass cost.

Question and Answer

IF YOU THINK OF QUESTIONS LATER, CONTACT ME!

TEXT MWMW TO 555888

MIDWESTMEALWORMS.COM

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