I left the lid off my worm bin for a day and the BSF just moved in and have created their own community. Cheryl

Yes, but THAT doesn't help me!

I have been very successful at attracting the larvae by leaving some fruit out in a rubbermaid bin with the lid off. You might want to try that - extremely cheap.

Tell me how to ship, you can have mine free. :)

I'd also be happy to let you adopt my BSF larvae, if there's a way to ship (or if you're nearby in NC).

Mine outnumber my worms now, for a while the worms seemed to be getting more plentiful and the bsf all seemed dormant, then a huge population swing, lots of small/juvie bsf and lots more big ones too. Seems the worms have gone south, I may have to start a whole new bin.

I'm going to try to compost the fresh stuff with BSF first, then mix the resulting slurry with shredded paper and cardboard and feed the worm bin with that. I'm hoping to reduce from two bin stacks down to one with this arrangement. But I need BSF larvae first!!

I got a total of 250 worms for a total of $18.50 from AZDR.com (arizona Dendrobate Ranch) a company that specializes in frogs and frog food. They are 5.99 for 100 or 150 depending on the size of the larvae, plus shipping. I am hoping to convert horse manure to chicken food! what a deal!!

I guess my suggestion was a little bit obscure. I should have said, leave the lid off YOUR bin for a day and they will move in and set up their own community in YOUR bin. It's free for YOUR bin. Does THAT help YOU? Cheryl

leearnold, it would probably be very difficult to culture BSF in zone 5. BSF are rare in that type of environment and convenient and simple BSF culturing depends on a wild BSF population.

cassiej, BSF aren't good at processing manure from ruminants.

Hi, Jerry. Hope all is well with you, the family and your grubs. Just a gentle tip: check the date of the original post before responding. It's unlikely any of the people who've commented on this topic are still around. Doesn't mean you should not respond, just don't expect a reply.

BTW, how do YOU ship grubs in the summer months? A couple of folks in another forum tried shipping them last month and failed miserably.

Andrew

I have BSF larvae available, not sure if they are cheaper than phoenix worms.

Here is a link that might be useful: Mad River Seeds

FYI the Black Soldier Fly Blog has set up a BSF Locator map displaying the locations of confirmed BSF sightings/wild populations. If you'd like to contribute there's a 'Report BSF sighting' link in the upper right corner of the map. Only locations which are submitted with adequate documentation will be used.

Here is a link that might be useful: BSF Locator Map

The flies seem to converge on my outdoors compost bin when I dump in my finished bokashi into it. It's something about that unique smell of bokashi that attracts a cloud of female flies, ready to lay eggs.