How to Sell Meal Worms
Mealworms are the larval stages of the common darkling beetle and are invasive pests that infest flour, meal, grain, corn, seeds and related organic products. Mealworms differ in size from very tiny, newly hatched baby worms to fully mature larvae that may be over an inch long. Mealworms are often used as fishing bait. There is a growing market for mealworms to meet the needs of fishing tackle and pet stores. You can raise mealworms at home inexpensively and sell them for a fine profit. Does this Spark an idea?
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Things You'll Need
- Rubber tub with tight fitting lid
- 5 gallon bucket with lid
- Drill
- Corn meal
- Oatmeal
- Grain
Instructions
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Secure a few starter mealworms to start a growing box at home. They can often be found in grain bins or animal feed storage sheds and barns. Mealworms eat dead leaves, plant debris, insects, animal feces as well as grain. They clean up after many farm animals and wildlife and can be found in horse stalls, cattle barns, animal burrows and manure piles. You can also purchase mealworms from most fishing bait shops and pet stores. They are used as a food source for many pet rodents, frogs, lizards, birds and reptiles.
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Drill very small ventilation holes in the sides and top of a rubber tub or 5 gallon bucket and lid.
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Put 6 cups of dry cornmeal, grain, oats or flour into the tub.
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Add several handfuls of shredded newspaper and mix with the grain, flour or meal. This will prevent the meal from packing down too tightly.
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Introduce the worms. It will take about four to six weeks for the worms to reach maturity and turn into beetles. Harvest for sale at four weeks.
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Offer to provide worms to pet stores, aquariums, zoos and fishing bait stores. Place the worms in small Styrofoam cups with lids. Add a couple of teaspoons of corn meal and cover with the lid. Worms are commonly sold in batches of 25, 50, 100 or 200 worms. Store them in a cool place or in the refrigerator for several days after harvesting.
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