# Growing / Raising Bait?



## Captain Ahab (Oct 10, 2008)

Anyone here have a bait farm? I know one of our members raises meal worms and woudl like some more info on how that is done.

i raise earthworms in my compost pile - bad year as it was too dry this summer for easy worm digging


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## Jim (Oct 10, 2008)

who raises the meal worms? Is it a secret?


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## Mac (Oct 10, 2008)

Google
meal worms,
raising meal worms

You will get a wealth of information. Easy to do.


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## ejones1961 (Oct 10, 2008)

RAISING MEALWORMS THE EASY WAY
by Joe D. Bryant

Revised August 3, 2006


You will need to gather the following before you begin



--- One RUBBERMAID - Jumbo Storage Box - 50 gallons - 42.7 X 21.4 X18.0 (Sells for about $15 at Lowes and Menards, about $16 with wheels)

Note: The container must be opaque because mealworms must be raised in the dark.

--- One 50# bag of WHEAT BRAN - about $10 from any feed store, and bake what you need as you need it in an oven until it's all hot enough to destroy any eggs of mealy bugs, especially if you fear your wife's wrath as much as I do. I store my extra in the bag in my chest freezer until I need more for the mealworms.

--- 2 paper grocery sacks (cut off the bottom, cut up the sides, and fold in half and put on top 
--- CARROTS (whole) and/or potatoes cut in half, cut side down (make three columns lengthwise). They must have these for moisture. Carrots are much easier to work with and don’t cost that much more than potatoes.

--- 1,000 large, 1,000 medium, 1,000 small MEALWORMS Order them from www.reptilefood.com/PMCA for about $25 including shipping and handling

Pour four to six inches of wheat bran into the container (add more later when you see that they need it), put the carrots/potatoes on top, dump all the mealworms on top, cover them with the grocery sack paper, and do nothing until the large mealworms turn into white, motionless grub that then turn into beetles. Once you have several hundred beetles, start collecting/using large mealworms that crawl between the folded paper by sliding them into a container. Do this every other day whether you need them or not; they can be kept indefinitely in a ventilated container in the refrigerator. Mealworms being kept in the refrigerator should be taken out for two or three hours each week so that they can be fed wheat bran and watered with carrots. Don't bother with the dead beetles; the baby worms will suck them dry, and their body parts will sift to the bottom of the container along with the feces dust and molting skins that the mealworms produce from eating the wheat bran. 
Notes:
1. Don't use egg crates, etc., they're a pain in the neck. With the paper sacks, you can slide the large mealworms into a container easily. Carrots leave only a long, hard core; they and the dried potato skins should be removed occasionally.
2. For some reason that I cannot explain, only the large worms crawl into the folded paper once the process starts. Stay up with removing most (not all) of them, or you will have a million mealworms on your hands in a very short time, and an odor will develop. That happened to me, and a million mealworms is not an exaggeration. Each pair of beetles will produce several hundred babies. Figure it out for yourself, 60 beetles will produce several hundred babies for each of 30 days in a month, SO STAY UP WITH THEM.
3. Keep the container in a heated room during spring and summer, but store in a cool garage when you will not need mealworms. Heat and moisture are needed for growth. During the summer, I just lay the lid over the top; during the winter, the handles of the Rubbermaid Jumbo Box have vent holes that provide all the ventilation they need. Mealworms will multiply at temperatures ranging from 65 - 100 degrees F. The optimum seems to be about 80 degrees. I keep my house at about 74 degrees during the summer. I only keep them inside because it's more convenient.

4. Remember that this is not rocket science; the mealworms know what they’re supposed to do and will do what they’re supposed to do. All you have to do is be sure that they always have enough wheat bran and carrots.


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## redbug (Oct 10, 2008)

I raised minnows when I was younger. I had a 24 round pool 4' deep in my yard I had rosey reds and fat head minnows by the thousands i feed the regular fish food and ran the filter to keep the oxygen levele up. great for trout bait 
you can buy meal worms for $15.00 per 1000

feed them quaker oats you can also buy bedding that contains food cheap also


Wayne.


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## ben2go (Oct 10, 2008)

:shock: Kool.Never knew it was so easy.Looks like my live bait business will be at full tilt come spring. :LMFAO:


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## Jim (Oct 10, 2008)

jirwin6985 we need to see some pics of your hobbies!


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## SlimeTime (Oct 10, 2008)

jirwin6985 - You consider selling any "starter-kits" ? I might be interested if so.....

ST


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## SlimeTime (Oct 10, 2008)

lol.....don't think I'd wanna fall asleep on your couch :shock: I'm not scared of creepy-crawlers.....but I don't purposely elect to be near 'em either :wink: 

Question, are those bought at a baitshop or petshop the same "quality"? Or is one better over the other for the prupose of raising?

ST


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## Popeye (Oct 10, 2008)

My wife hates when I put my extra "spikes" and waxies in the fridge between ice fishing trips. I can just imagine the fit she would throw if I was raising meal worms in the house.


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## SlimeTime (Oct 11, 2008)

jirwin6985 said:


> Slime time i find that when i buy them from the pet shop they are usually in better condition since they are meant to be fed to pets not just raised in shoddy conditions so we can feed them to fish...pet store are usually cheaper too..
> Joe



Thanks for the info!

ST


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## russ010 (Oct 17, 2008)

I bout an old freezer off craigslist that didn't work anymore. I put it out in the woods. Bougth a bag of Peat Moss, filled the right side (Left side has a place where I guess a basket used to sit, so that's where I put my bait cups).. 

anyways, I would find a guy who sold earthworms (not the crap you get in stores, stuff straight from his pile). When I first started, I put chicken scratch feed on top of the peat moss about 2 inches thick, and just hosed it with the water hose, wetting the scratch and moistening the moss underneath. After about a week or 2, the worms had finished off the feed. Then I put the ends of loaves of bread in there, as well as EVO dog food (42% protein, it's what I feed my dog) I'll put a cup or 2 of that in there atleast every 2 weeks and mix it around the top of the pile. 

The earth worms I have no look like their on steroids... I put a nightcrawler in there with them and I swear he wasn't much bigger than the worms in there.


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## eeshaw (Mar 3, 2021)

I used to raise gliders and those little guys LOVE meal worms. Now I'm into the bird thing and have made an enclosure for chickens. I'll bet they'd lose their minds (what little they have) if I was to give them meal worms for treats.


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## LDUBS (Mar 10, 2021)

redbug said:


> I raised minnows when I was younger. I had a 24 round pool 4' deep in my yard I had rosey reds and fat head minnows by the thousands i feed the regular fish food and ran the filter to keep the oxygen levele up. great for trout bait
> you can buy meal worms for $15.00 per 1000
> 
> feed them quaker oats you can also buy bedding that contains food cheap also
> ...




We used to use minnows for trout bait way back when. Every bait shop had live minnows. Everyone had one of those galvanized minnow buckets with the floating basket. Now it is illegal in California to bring live minnow bait to any inland lake. The only exception might be if you catch them with a net in the lake you are fishing.


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## Popeye (Mar 10, 2021)

Probably illegal to have a galvanized bucket in your boat too.


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## Popeye (Mar 10, 2021)

Kwikpets said:


> It is so much easy to get the best reptile food and treat where a lot of meals and feed available. where can you find the way for a reptile?
> https://www.kwikpets.com/collections/Reptile-Food-Treats



Seems to me I remember this being posted previously and yet here you are with just one post to your name. A post that has nothing to do with this thread. SPAM I think


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