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rfeiller
08-27-2011, 07:48 PM
http://www.cals.ncsu.edu/waste_mgt/smit ... les/A2.pdf (http://www.cals.ncsu.edu/waste_mgt/smithfield_projects/phase2report05/cd,web%20files/A2.pdf)
thought many of you would find this beneficial as for analysis as food for fish

urbanfarmer
08-27-2011, 07:49 PM
WHOA THANK YOU! :-D

rfeiller
08-27-2011, 07:58 PM
now here is something else that whose flavor would benefit from Maxi-crop!
i do quite a bit of composting usually maintain about 3 cu yds at time, i pick up about 40-50lbs of produce discards per day, 5 days a week and it of course has attracted a lot of black soldier fly larva, so with the koi and goldfish i have i found this study to be of great interest. amazing little critters.

bsfman
08-27-2011, 08:33 PM
http://www.cals.ncsu.edu/waste_mgt/smithfield_projects/phase2report05/cd,web%20files/A2.pdf
thought many of you would find this beneficial as for analysis as food for fish

The protein and fat content vary considerably with the diet of the BSF. I grow mine on a feed based diet that does not vary. They run 49.5% protein and 3.7% fat (dry matter basis). At 80 percent moisture content, it still works out to about 10% protein and 0.7% fat for live larvae. The rest is basically water and ash. If you are used to feeding pelletized food, you have to adjust your feed rate with BSF to compensate for the 80% moisture content.

rfeiller
08-27-2011, 09:00 PM
the nutritional value of live food far exceeds the proteen level, once dried the total value of the feed is diminished, don't factor in the protein and fat. there is a vast difference in the development and particularly the breeding activity between being fed live food and the same food dried.

urbanfarmer
08-27-2011, 11:17 PM
the nutritional value of live food far exceeds the proteen level, once dried the total value of the feed is diminished, don't factor in the protein and fat. there is a vast difference in the development and particularly the breeding activity between being fed live food and the same food dried.
Ain't that the truth! :D

Any sustainable practice is okay in my book! I have a bin going now and I have thrown anything I can get my hands on to see if they eat it. I'm still trying to figure out a good design for a permanent bin. They accidentally started in an old worm bin (it has drainage holes that's it) because I was storing some rabbit poo for the garden.

rfeiller
08-28-2011, 10:26 AM
UF i use a flow through worm bin, their compost is excellent for plants and they even help precompost organics that the worms can move in and finish. they will however keep the worms at bay, don't know if it's because of their activeness or that they secrete a substance not liked by the red wigglers, but the worms will move in and finish the job. if you haven't made a flow through worm bin there are a million designs and many of them on you tube and google. they will attack anaerobic material where worms won't. :)

bsfman
08-28-2011, 12:35 PM
Any sustainable practice is okay in my book! I have a bin going now and I have thrown anything I can get my hands on to see if they eat it. I'm still trying to figure out a good design for a permanent bin. They accidentally started in an old worm bin (it has drainage holes that's it) because I was storing some rabbit poo for the garden.

I had a website devoted to raising BSF (raisesoldierflies.com) . Unfortunately, it was destroyed back in July by some hackers and naturally, my web host claims they don't have a backup available. Somewhere, I have a sketch I will post (if I can find it) of an easy to build plywood bin that does a remarkable job of harvesting the larvae. I have learned though, that the tilapia (and presumable other fish) far prefer the immature light colored larvae to the darker mature larvae. Immature larvae are easy to harvest. Put a slice of bread face down on top of the bin and within 10 minutes, you can scoop them up by the handfull. I just used this technique 5 minutes ago to feed about a cup and a half to my tilapia.

bsfman
08-28-2011, 12:41 PM
I also raise worms (4 varieties) and I feed them all exclusively on BSF poop. The BSF liquid effluent I use mixed with water in wading pools for fertilizer to raise duckweed. The tilapia get a daily duckweed ration and an occasional worm treat too.

The cool thing about BSF is they eat all the stuff you aren't supposed to feed your worms (meat, dairy, entrals, etc.) The BSF poop makes perfect worm food.

urbanfarmer
08-28-2011, 05:52 PM
I also raise worms (4 varieties) and I feed them all exclusively on BSF poop. The BSF liquid effluent I use mixed with water in wading pools for fertilizer to raise duckweed. The tilapia get a daily duckweed ration and an occasional worm treat too.

The cool thing about BSF is they eat all the stuff you aren't supposed to feed your worms (meat, dairy, entrals, etc.) The BSF poop makes perfect worm food.
I am looking forward to making use of this synergy as well. I just finished filling a 5 gallon buck with week old rabbit poop. It was covered in house flies withing minutes, but since I have other bins in the yard with BSF I assume they will be making a visit shortly! :-D

bsfman
08-28-2011, 06:45 PM
I am looking forward to making use of this synergy as well. I just finished filling a 5 gallon buck with week old rabbit poop. It was covered in house flies withing minutes, but since I have other bins in the yard with BSF I assume they will be making a visit shortly! :-D

If you salt the bucket of rabbit poop with a couple of handfuls of larvae from your other bin, it will attract egglaying adult BSF a lot faster than just letting them find it on their own. The larvae excrete a chemical attractant quite tantalizing to adult egglaying females.

urbanfarmer
08-28-2011, 06:54 PM
I am looking forward to making use of this synergy as well. I just finished filling a 5 gallon buck with week old rabbit poop. It was covered in house flies withing minutes, but since I have other bins in the yard with BSF I assume they will be making a visit shortly! :-D

If you salt the bucket of rabbit poop with a couple of handfuls of larvae from your other bin, it will attract egglaying adult BSF a lot faster than just letting them find it on their own. The larvae excrete a chemical attractant quite tantalizing to adult egglaying females.
10-4 good buddy. I will try it in the morning! :-D

davidstcldfl
08-28-2011, 11:58 PM
Somewhere, I have a sketch I will post (if I can find it) of an easy to build plywood bin that does a remarkable job of harvesting the larvae.
Looking forward to seeing that bsfman... :)

bsfman
08-29-2011, 07:51 AM
Looking forward to seeing that bsfman... :)

Here's the completed bin and a rough sketch, davidstcldfl. I'll dig up some photos showing construction details and post them later. The dimensions are of course scalable to whatever size you choose. I raise them in massive quantities for commercial ventures and have two bins like this, a smaller home built bin, and a couple of commercially produced bins I ordered online. I have experimented with other designs as well but of all my bins, this is definitely the most effective. It features an open bottom for drainage and double crawl off ramps that funnel the larvae into collection buckets. I've made some mods on the lid and ramp design since these pics were taken, but this will give you a rough idea.

http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk306/tarvus33991/Bug%20Barracks/PC170063.jpg

http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk306/tarvus33991/Bug%20Barracks/Sketch-1.jpg

rfeiller
08-29-2011, 10:41 AM
Oh gosh, now I've got to make one of these! I should never have signed on to "diyaquaponics, next it was vermiponics, now bsflponics, vermipomicomposting, precomposting, now a bsfl hatchery, my poor dogs are left with narrow pathways to poop in.
Now how do you get the larva to go down this slip-n-slide? :D

bsfman
08-29-2011, 11:58 AM
Now how do you get the larva to go down this slip-n-slide? :D

When they reach pre-pupal stage (dark brown) their instinct is to crawl upwards. They just naturally crawl up the ramps, are funneled into a drop tube and harvest themselves. Here's a pic of some larvae doing just that in this bin...

http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk306/tarvus33991/Bug%20Barracks/bbcrawl.jpg

I also have a video showing the immature larvae in a smaller bin. You can see how easy it is to scoop them up to feed to the tilapia! These were swarming on the surface because they were heat stressed, but laying a piece of bread on the surface will have them swarming inches deep just beneath the slice in like ten minutes. I just grab 'em to feed by hand and throw them in a bucket!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A6lLnzqt8wk

davidstcldfl
08-29-2011, 12:33 PM
When you first started posting here, I wondered why you went by bsfman... :idea: ... :lol:

Thanks bsfman... :D .
The design of your large bin looks well thought out.. :D You mentioned the bottom is open...?....is there hardware cloth or something like it on the bottom ?

rfeiller
08-29-2011, 01:03 PM
Amazing, up until recently I thought of bsfl as a pain in the behunkie! Marvelous, I think I can get my hands on some salvaged lumber!
Do you raise white worms also? They really put size on small to medium fish as a supplement to their diet. Not loaded with pathogens like tubifecids, and blood worms.

bsfman
08-29-2011, 01:05 PM
You mentioned the bottom is open...?....is there hardware cloth or something like it on the bottom ?

The bottom is entirely open. It rests on the ground. I sometimes shovel an inch or so of soil inside before starting up the bin just to seal off any voids between the bottom edge of the bin opening and surface of the ground. The problem most bins have that are designed to drain thru a filter into an effluent collection container is that the filter inevitably becomes clogged, the bottom layer of the bin gets soggy and anaerobic and then you have a stinky, vile mess on your hands when you shovel out the residue to use for worm food or compost. The open bottom solves that. You could add a hardware cloth screen if you felt it necessary, but I've had no problems without one. I have never had any issues with mice or moles or anything entering the bins. I find an occasional anole lizard or tree frog who has found his way inside thru the lid, but given the massive quantities of larvae in the bins, I don't begrudge them the few they may eat.

bsfman
08-29-2011, 01:15 PM
Amazing, up until recently I thought of bsfl as a pain in the behunkie! Marvelous, I think I can get my hands on some salvaged lumber!
Do you raise white worms also? They really put size on small to medium fish as a supplement to their diet. Not loaded with pathogens like tubifecids, and blood worms.

Lots of worm farmers think of them as a "behunkie pain", but actually they are quite beneficial. They'll process any kind of food except high-cellulose items - including the stuff that's a no-no to feed worms. Think of them as a worm chow pre-processor! The worms thrive on the BSF poop. If you age the BSF residue so that any remaining larvae emerge before feeding it to your worms, you can greatly reduce the issue of BSF in your worm bins because the BSF will have pre-processed the food that otherwise would have attracted them to your worm bin.

I've never tried raising white worms. Don't tempt me though! My wife will divorce me if she see's I've started another "weird hobby". (She's barely forgiven me for starting up this whole aquaponics thing.)

rfeiller
08-29-2011, 01:59 PM
As an administrator of an assisted living facility she has started treating me as one of her residents about to go over the top. I get away with murder. If she thougt I still had all my faculties (I'm not sure I ever did) she would remove me from planet earth. :lol:

davidstcldfl
08-29-2011, 02:13 PM
You mentioned the bottom is open...?....is there hardware cloth or something like it on the bottom ?

The bottom is entirely open. It rests on the ground.

Oh, OK...thanks. In the picture, it's up on blocks. You did mention it was an earlier picture. :)

bsfman
08-29-2011, 02:49 PM
Oh, OK...thanks. In the picture, it's up on blocks. You did mention it was an earlier picture. :)

It was up on blocks in the picture because it was just completed and I had just finished painting it. You might notice the 1X2 framework on the open bottom in the photo. I put that there so it could be easily replaced with a fresh 1X2 frame when it starts to dry rot from contact with the soil. (Easier to replace a few 1X2's than both sides of the bin if they were left in contact with the ground)

davidstcldfl
08-29-2011, 04:41 PM
:D

urbanfarmer
08-29-2011, 06:05 PM
OH, I think I came across your website a while back or maybe the youtube video because I did in fact see this design many moons ago! I actually have it on my list of things to build once I get my farm!!! I could have sworn I asked you (or maybe elsewhere) if I could use Polyurethane to coat the inside. I was planning to try it anyway. Great to have you here bsfman! :-D

BTW, I went this morning to add some BSF to the bucket of rabbit poop I filled yesterday. Well I had the lid on it, and when I opened it I found hundreds of larger larva on the top. Most looked dead. I had some stuff in the bottom of the bucket before for who knows how long. This evening just before sunset I opened it again because I was going to take the dead ones and feed them to the Tilapia, but now there were 3-4 times as many and they were alive! I'm not sure if the others were dead (it was really hot), but who knows... Hopefully they enjoy the treats the rabbits made for them!

Bioritize
09-13-2011, 08:22 AM
This is just great information and ideas. You guys are the gods of Aquaponics and are creating an entire ecology.

What do you feed your soldier flies? You said you have a regimen, where you control the food source. This is a great idea for fish food.

bsfman
09-13-2011, 09:44 AM
This is just great information and ideas. You guys are the gods of Aquaponics and are creating an entire ecology.

What do you feed your soldier flies? You said you have a regimen, where you control the food source. This is a great idea for fish food.

I have two feed regimens. For the commercial production, I feed Manna Pro Horse feed (about $8.50 for a 50 pound sack). I soak it in water until it gets gooey like mush.

For household waste disposal, I feed kitchen scraps and garbage, parrot, dog and cat poop. They will thrive on just about any type of manure (cow, pig, chicken, rabbit - even human). They do not do well on high cellulose stuff like avacado peels, weeds, plant trimmings, etc. Best to just compost that stuff.

The soldier fly residue is terrific worm chow too. My worms get that exclusively. The effluent (I only co;llect it from my smaller bins) is great duckweed fertilizer when a bit is added to water.

urbanfarmer
09-13-2011, 11:19 AM
This is just great information and ideas. You guys are the gods of Aquaponics and are creating an entire ecology.

What do you feed your soldier flies? You said you have a regimen, where you control the food source. This is a great idea for fish food.

I have two feed regimens. For the commercial production, I feed Manna Pro Horse feed (about $8.50 for a 50 pound sack). I soak it in water until it gets gooey like mush.

For household waste disposal, I feed kitchen scraps and garbage, parrot, dog and cat poop. They will thrive on just about any type of manure (cow, pig, chicken, rabbit - even human). They do not do well on high cellulose stuff like avacado peels, weeds, plant trimmings, etc. Best to just compost that stuff.

The soldier fly residue is terrific worm chow too. My worms get that exclusively. The effluent (I only co;llect it from my smaller bins) is great duckweed fertilizer when a bit is added to water.
That's really good! 25% protein! I wonder if they sell that around here. I'm sure it makes decent rabbit food too! ;)

That's really great. The BSF can convert a lower quality food into a higher quality food, and for free! You lose some of it, but you can always throw in scraps to increase the quality. :mrgreen:

davidstcldfl
09-13-2011, 11:30 AM
BSF....any tips or tricks to get them to come in the 1st place ? I thought I remembered reading that a little milk seems to attract them ...?

keith_r
09-13-2011, 11:48 AM
yeah, i read something about soaking a couple peaces of bread in milk..
something about corn as well..

urbanfarmer
09-13-2011, 01:08 PM
BSF....any tips or tricks to get them to come in the 1st place ? I thought I remembered reading that a little milk seems to attract them ...?
A bucket full of shit works every time.

I have rabbits, of course. :lol: No seriously, I used rabbits. Don't piss off the wife/neighbors you crazy rednecks!!!

bsfman
09-13-2011, 04:40 PM
BSF....any tips or tricks to get them to come in the 1st place ? I thought I remembered reading that a little milk seems to attract them ...?

They are only native to the warmer climates in the US (and worldwide). North of Kentucky, it's unlikely you will have a native population. They don't do well at high altitudes either - unlikely you will find them much above 2500 feet above sea level.

They are attracted to putrescent waste. Unfortunately, initially you will have fruit flies and house flies swarming around. It takes about 19 to 21 days before you start seeing BSF larvae in your bin. Once they are established, they will drive away fruit and houseflies due to a pheromone they secrete. I use soured cracked corn (steep some cracked corn in water in a covered bucket with a cup or two of sugar added) That'll bring 'em in! Or even better, buy a sack of Manna Pro sweet feed, soak it in a covered bucket and dump it in your bin!

Gee, I wish my website had not been hacked and destroyed. I had lots of details there about raising them

Check out http://blacksoldierflyblog.com/ for some great info. Jerry, the webmaster is a good friend of mine. Also the forum at http://blacksoldierflyblog.com/forum/index.php

Another good info spot is http://thebiopod.com/forum/index.php

Most worm farmers hate these critters because they invade worm bins and compete with worms for food. But BSF will eat all the stuff you aren't supposed to feed worms, digest it, poop it out and BSF poo is the IDEAL worm food! I even save my grease and bacon drippings and feed it to my BSF! If you raise worms, these are the perfect critters to pre-digest all the stuff worms aren't supposed to have, Once it's passed thru a BSF gut, innoculated with beneficial bacteria, it becomes the perfect worm chow! It makes great compost all by itself too! I generate more BSF poop then my worms can possibly consume, so i use the surplus as mulch. Native worms will soon move in and the combination will totally enrich your soil!

davidstcldfl
09-13-2011, 05:14 PM
....you crazy rednecks!!!
:lol: ... How did you know ?.... :lol:

Thanks for the info guys !
Now, if I can just find time to build a " bug barracks ''..... :D

urbanfarmer
09-14-2011, 03:46 AM
....you crazy rednecks!!!
:lol: ... How did you know ?.... :lol:

Thanks for the info guys !
Now, if I can just find time to build a " bug barracks ''..... :D
You forget we've met, sir! :lol: :lol: :lol:

If you must know, the smell gave it away! LOL, JUST KIDDING ;)

Bioritize
09-14-2011, 10:03 AM
Bummer, I didn't even think about altitude effecting the bugs.

Any ideas on high altitude bug options for fish food? I will be moving to Paonia Colorado in Dec and would like to grow most of my own fish food, duck weed and what kind of bugs?


Thanks again dudes

davidstcldfl
03-02-2012, 04:28 AM
Back on Aug 28, 2011, bsfman wrote....
I'll dig up some photos showing construction details and post them later.
You also menetioned a lid and ramp improvements..."?"

bsfman, would you plese consider an update.."?" Spring is comming and many like myself may be starting to build one...Thanks..... :D

bsfman
03-02-2012, 05:49 AM
BSF....any tips or tricks to get them to come in the 1st place ? I thought I remembered reading that a little milk seems to attract them ...?

David, they should be easy to attract now in the St Cloud area given the recent Florida weather!

One of the best attractants is soured cracked corn. Snag a bag at your local feed store, fill a bucket up with it to about the 4 gallon level, dump a cup or two of sugar in it and fill it with water to just above the level of the corn. The corn will soak up the water and the sugar stimulates microbial growth. Snap the bucket lid on and set it in a warm place (full sun is okay). After a few days, you'll have a semi-funky slowly bubbling bucket of BSF candy! Salt your bin with the cracked corn bait and they should find it soon. Typical time from setting bait to observing BSF larvae in the bin? About 19-21 days.

The egglaying females are particularly attracted to bait that has hatchling larvae in it, so once you get eggs that have hatched out, your colony growth will really take off due to the additional egglaying the hatchlings attract!

davidstcldfl
03-02-2012, 05:00 PM
Thanks for the great info bsfman.... :D

I was interested in any 'new design changes' that you may have come up with , to the 'barracks'... 8-)
Maybe like the ramp and lid improvement you mentioned ?

I'll be building one very soon ... 8-)

bsfman
03-02-2012, 07:01 PM
Thanks for the great info bsfman.... :D

I was interested in any 'new design changes' that you may have come up with , to the 'barracks'... 8-)
Maybe like the ramp and lid improvement you mentioned ?

I'll be building one very soon ... 8-)

Use spar varnish or urethane on the entire interior surfaces. Use 1/2" ply on the ramps and lid rather than luan. Use built-in shims on the lid (1 by 2 works good) and hinge the lid in 4 or more spots. I would recommend a smaller bin than the one in the diagram, because I seem to get a denser population in my 7 sq ft bin than my 14 sq ft bins. But if you opt to do the same size as in the diagram, it's WAY easier to assemble it in two 4 foot long sections and splice it together with plywood and silicone caulk than to assemble it full size and then have to carry it to your preferred location. Seal all seams with silicone caulk. If you set the open base on pavers, you don't need to build the 1X2 frame at the base. And finally, I have discovered that adult BSF are FAR more attracted to yellow than white! I would paint the exterior bright yellow!

Use the sketch as a basic guide and innovate! :)

davidstcldfl
03-03-2012, 03:54 AM
Great ! Thanks again bsfman... :D
Maybe I'll paint it white, with big yellow smilley faces ... :D :lol: :lol:

Jeff
03-07-2012, 09:28 PM
Gee, I wish my website had not been hacked and destroyed. I had lots of details there about raising them


You may be happy to know that I found a lot of old articles from your website, so all is NOT lost!

http://web.archive.org/web/20110419235346/http://raisesoldierflies.com/

commander
03-07-2012, 09:32 PM
So what does one do if one lives above 3000 above sea level? Any suggestions for cultivated insect type fish food?

bsfman
03-07-2012, 09:37 PM
Gee, I wish my website had not been hacked and destroyed. I had lots of details there about raising them


You may be happy to know that I found a lot of old articles from your website, so all is NOT lost!

http://web.archive.org/web/20110419235346/http://raisesoldierflies.com/


Dude! You totally rock! Thanks for ther link! :)

NeverResting
11-27-2012, 09:29 PM
Wow this is probably the best thread I've come across for me. I didn't realize how easy it could be to get some good sustainable protein to my fish. I was just online searching recipes for homemade food to be made with table scraps. But I like this idea much better. With two picky kids at home and a mother that cooks a fresh meal almost daily, we have plenty of scraps that even our dog is always full. I'm going to try and get one of these bins built on a small scale and try it out.

Thank you for all the great posts!

bsfman
11-28-2012, 06:11 AM
I'm going to try and get one of these bins built on a small scale and try it out.

Thank you for all the great posts!

You know, you really don't need a special bin if you are growing BSF for fish food. The self-harvesting bins of various types are designed to allow mature, dark colored BSF larvae to self-harvest. This is great for poultry, but your fish will prefer the immature cream-colored larvae.

If you are in zone 6b or below, wait until spring when the average daily high is bumping 80F. Get a rubbermaid tote, punch a few holes for drainage in it, shim the lid up with a couple of 1X2 furring strips, dump your kitchen scraps and coffee grounds in it and viola! Instant BSF bin! It will take about three weeks until you see BSF larvae. Until then, you'll have LOTS of fruit and houseflies, but the BSF will discourage them once established.

To harvest for fish foot, put a slice of bread on the surface of the substrate, check under it in 20 minutes and scoop up handfuls of larvae!

No need for a special bin at all! :)

NeverResting
11-28-2012, 10:19 AM
Awesome that sounds good. So this is only for the Spring/Summer/Fall seasons then. I'm in Orlando.

bsfman
11-28-2012, 11:51 AM
Awesome that sounds good. So this is only for the Spring/Summer/Fall seasons then. I'm in Orlando.

You might be able to go year round in Orlando, NeverResting, but you'll have the most success March through November. You won't get much egglaying in Dec-Feb (if any), but if you have an active colony going into that time, they will over-winter okay. Their metabolic rate and growth will slow - along with their appetite - so you probably won't harvest many during winter. In late Feb when the daily highs are hitting 78-80 is a good time to start up a new bin. By mid to late March, they should be rocking and rolling!

NeverResting
11-28-2012, 05:12 PM
Awesome that sounds good. So this is only for the Spring/Summer/Fall seasons then. I'm in Orlando.

You might be able to go year round in Orlando, NeverResting, but you'll have the most success March through November. You won't get much egglaying in Dec-Feb (if any), but if you have an active colony going into that time, they will over-winter okay. Their metabolic rate and growth will slow - along with their appetite - so you probably won't harvest many during winter. In late Feb when the daily highs are hitting 78-80 is a good time to start up a new bin. By mid to late March, they should be rocking and rolling!

Thank you I'll start one in February. I'll utilize the winter to increase my tank size and fish population. Then I'll worry the BSFL bin :D

francois
11-29-2012, 11:42 PM
Thanks for the great info bsfman....
:D

francois
11-30-2012, 03:48 AM
Looking forward to seeing that bsfman... :)

Here's the completed bin and a rough sketch, davidstcldfl. I'll dig up some photos showing construction details and post them later. The dimensions are of course scalable to whatever size you choose. I raise them in massive quantities for commercial ventures and have two bins like this, a smaller home built bin, and a couple of commercially produced bins I ordered online. I have experimented with other designs as well but of all my bins, this is definitely the most effective. It features an open bottom for drainage and double crawl off ramps that funnel the larvae into collection buckets. I've made some mods on the lid and ramp design since these pics were taken, but this will give you a rough idea.

http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk306/tarvus33991/Bug%20Barracks/PC170063.jpg

http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk306/tarvus33991/Bug%20Barracks/Sketch-1.jpg

Hi Bsfman
This is a very nice bin and I want to copy and build one the same/or smaller to try.
I have one or two questions if I can pleas...
If you are successful with this bin ...totally closed except for around the top edge for the fly to enter
Why are others adding lights into their bins?
am i not overlooking something

davidstcldfl
11-30-2012, 05:19 AM
If you are successful with this bin ...totally closed except for around the top edge for the fly to enter





You mentioned the bottom is open...?....is there hardware cloth or something like it on the bottom ?

The bottom is entirely open. It rests on the ground. I sometimes shovel an inch or so of soil inside before starting up the bin just to seal off any voids between the bottom edge of the bin opening and surface of the ground. The problem most bins have that are designed to drain thru a filter into an effluent collection container is that the filter inevitably becomes clogged, the bottom layer of the bin gets soggy and anaerobic and then you have a stinky, vile mess on your hands when you shovel out the residue to use for worm food or compost. The open bottom solves that. You could add a hardware cloth screen if you felt it necessary, but I've had no problems without one. I have never had any issues with mice or moles or anything entering the bins. I find an occasional anole lizard or tree frog who has found his way inside thru the lid, but given the massive quantities of larvae in the bins, I don't begrudge them the few they may eat.

bsfman
11-30-2012, 05:26 AM
Francois, I have no idea why someone would add lights to a BSF bin unless it was being kept indoors for a captive breeding environment in which case lights are used within the building to simulate sunlight to stimulate the mature flies to breed. But in that case, the room is lighted - not the bin. The larvae are photophobic and will burrow down into the bin substrate to avoid light.

francois
11-30-2012, 05:50 AM
Francois, I have no idea why someone would add lights to a BSF bin unless it was being kept indoors for a captive breeding environment in which case lights are used within the building to simulate sunlight to stimulate the mature flies to breed. But in that case, the room is lighted - not the bin. The larvae are photophobic and will burrow down into the bin substrate to avoid light.
:D