Ever wonder about cultivating your own mealworms? Our very own Jess N. created a tutorial on how easy mealworm farming is! Here is what you will need to start your very own mealworm farm.

To start your mealworm farm you will need the following supplies:

• 2 containers with drawers
• Small hole plastic canvas
• Plastic tote
• Towel
• Mealworms
• Old fashioned oats
• Mealworm food (apples, carrots, potatoes)

To set up your mealworm farm you will need 2 sets of plastic drawers, with each set having 3 drawers each. You will want to cut the bottom out of 2 drawers and replace them with a small hole plastic canvas. The 2 sets of drawers once set up, will be placed into a larger tote, with a towel placed on top for extra warmth. To help your mealworms thrive place them in a temperature-controlled area between 60-70 degrees, and avoid raising them outside or in a garage that is cooler.

Refer to the following photos for the specific function of each drawer:

Tips & Additional Information:

• Cut out 5 additional small hole plastic canvas sheets to place on top of drawers 1-5.  This will help prevent the mealworms from escaping the drawers.
• Carrots are often the preferred source of food, as apples and potato peelings can mold faster.
• After the mealworms change to pupa you will move the pupas to the beetles’ drawer where they will turn into darkling beetles within a 1-3 week span.
• The mealworm eggs in the egg drawer can take 1-4 weeks to hatch.
• To help keep your mealworms nice and healthy, be sure to clean your mealworm farm about every 2 weeks.
• If you are going to do this on your own, be sure to give yourself a few months to get fully established. It will take on average 2 months for a fully functioning farm. Once you get through one cycle you can start giving mealworms to your chickens.  You want to use the largest mealworms and allow half of the drawer to develop into pupa (beetles) and the other half you can give to your chickens as a treat!

Raising mealworms is such a wonderfully interesting adventure! You will have some trial and error, but once you get established they are extremely easy to take care of and your chickens will be very grateful for their yummy treats.  Take a look at Jessica’s video below to see the process in action!