ReptiWorms BREAKTHROUGH!

I am not sure if any of you guys know this and if I am the only one who did not know but I just learned that ReptiWorms come from black soldier flies. Lots of you guys that like animals also like to garden and if you were having maggot problems with you compost bins, those maggots are ReptiWorms!I was just about to buy some ReptiWorms when I figured out I already have a ton! If any of you guys have a vermicompost or just a regular compost bin outside then you probably already have a buttload of ReptiWorms that are naturally full with calcium.My only question is are they safe to feed?That is a clean vermicompost bin with just fruit, veggies, newspaper, and thousands of red wigglers. I guess I have been a ReptiWorm breeder for awhile now and I didn't even know it.

You can feed them off, collecting them is…messy

CHEERS!

Nick

I don't think its too messy, you just get a little dirt on you.I am used to digging around in there because I actually make quite a bit of money selling red wiggler cocoons I have to get out of there.

Yes they are safe. A number of us here farm them. I use a garbage can and a 1" flexible tube. When they are ready to change into flies, they crawl up the tube and drop into a 1 gallon tub for me. I feed these to the lizards. You can rinse them off- they do not drown, and water makes separating them from compost easier for me.

Oh- by rinse off I mean I take a hose and fill the 1 gallon tub about 1/2 full of water. They probably can drown, but will not drown if bathed for 5 minutes or so like this.

fluxlizard said:

Oh- by rinse off I mean I take a hose and fill the 1 gallon tub about 1/2 full of water. They probably can drown, but will not drown if bathed for 5 minutes or so like this.

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They only drown if you want them alive.

I had a worm disaster a couple of days ago.

I took some soldier fly larvae out of the compost bin to put in cleaner housing so they wouldn't be gut loaded with rotten veggies, fungi and coffee grounds--soldier fly larvae love coffee grounds.

I had them in a bin in my office. They were really small, so I didn't think they would climb out to pupate. They did. Into my son's pile of dirty laundry down the hall. Which he washed--a pre-wash, a wash, all on hot and then into the dryer. My husband washed his clothes and found them in his washed laundry--this is three sets of wash cycles and rinses. Some were still alive!

They are all over my house and I have guests coming for Christmas.....

This sounds very good. My next step is a compost pile.

jajeanpierre said:

They only drown if you want them alive.

I had a worm disaster a couple of days ago.

I took some soldier fly larvae out of the compost bin to put in cleaner housing so they wouldn't be gut loaded with rotten veggies, fungi and coffee grounds--soldier fly larvae love coffee grounds.

I had them in a bin in my office. They were really small, so I didn't think they would climb out to pupate. They did. Into my son's pile of dirty laundry down the hall. Which he washed--a pre-wash, a wash, all on hot and then into the dryer. My husband washed his clothes and found them in his washed laundry--this is three sets of wash cycles and rinses. Some were still alive!

They are all over my house and I have guests coming for Christmas.....

Click to expand...

Murphys Law.

I can not wait to use some tomorrow!

So are they living in with your earthworms?

I always thought soldier fly larvae liked things a little warm and earthworms a little cool, but I've never grown earthworms (my water dragons and crocodile lizards and turtles would probably love me if I did though).

They are red wigglers and the entire compost bin generates heat so the core of it is like 90F while the outside is 50F.They live fine together.

Cool. The soldier fly larvae don't break things down as well as the worms I'll bet- together they probably make a nice combination. Maybe I'll have to get some red wigglers and see next summer. In the spring I remove the compost from the soldier flies and then let it sit for a year before using in my garden. I'll bet with worms it would be ready to go. I haven't had earthworms into my soldier fly larvae and I kind of wondered if I would. I didn't want to mess with the liquid that comes out of normal soldier fly compost bins, so I drilled a bunch of holes in the bottom of a rubbermaid garbage can and then dug a hole in the ground and buried the can about 2/3 deep. That way the liquid can just go into the deep underground. This was on the shady side of my house to keep sun off the can. I've always kind of wondered if earthworms would come in through those holes, but they never have- maybe I am deeper than earthworms live?

Flux and 112, are living they guy code. Worms for fishing and flies for the kids. TCB! (wish I had a composter, pretty hard in a townhouse. )

Crap, I don't have any reptiworms because last month I tried to get rid of them and it worked. Ugh