Once you bring your worms home, please remove the fabric cover from the lid or carefully empty the worms out of the fabric bags. Emptying the bag over a bowl or tray will help prevent escapees. Be sure to get all the worms off the paper and inside the bags. Place the worms in Optimal Worm Food & Bedding or wheat bran. Make sure to give the worms or beetles moisture in the form of fresh vegetables (sliced carrots or potatoes) immediately. They will be very thirsty from their travels. Any beetle containers may smell very strong.
Store your worms in a container with air holes; the worms cannot climb smooth plastic. Keep your mealworms in a fridge unless you are starting a farm; temperatures of 3 to 7°C are ideal. The mealworms may die at lower temperatures, and at higher temperatures, they will become more active, need feed, and may begin to pupate. No extra care is required if you plan to use your mealworms within 3 weeks.
For more than 3 weeks, follow these steps once a week:
- Remove your mealworms from the fridge.
- Place a food source in with the mealworms. We use thinly cut slices of squash, potato, or carrot. Let the mealworms eat for 3 hours.
- Remove all remaining pieces of food.
- If no bedding remains, add approximately 1/4 cup of Optimal Worm Food & Bedding or wheat bran for every 1000 mealworms.
- Place mealworms back into the fridge.
Remove worms as needed.