Conclusion
So, there you have it: a completed Black Soldier Fly Larvae bin!
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill‘s Insitute for the Environment hosts The Black Soldier Fly How-to-Guide written by undergraduates, which I’ve read numerous times and recommend that you read. A few points to highlight from their guide and for starting a bin:
The adults fly only during the warm months of the year, beginning in April and lasting through October.
The Black Soldier Fly How-to-Guide
A native colony of black soldier flies can be started in the warm months by attracting the female black soldier flies to lay their eggs near a source of food with a strong odor. One method to attract the black soldier flies is to start a compost bin using a mix of kitchen scraps that are a couple of days old. This mix of kitchen scraps can include any kind of vegetable scraps, corn on the cob, rotten potatoes, coffee grounds, fruit scraps or other types of putrescent compost. The females ready to lay eggs can detect in the air the chemical signal of a future larval-food source.
Alternatively, you can order Black Soldier Fly Larvae from here in Texas. If this is the route you choose, dump the larvae on top of the scraps in the bin when the container arrives. Please ensure that you’ve mitigated the ant risk because they will come, and they will kill your larvae. In an upcoming article, I’ll cover the year-round breeding chamber that I’m building for maintaining the life cycle of Black Soldier Flies through the Winter when they’re normally dormant (November – March).
Do you have additional questions that I may or may not know the answers to? Please comment below, and let’s figure it out.
Did this article save you time or money? I'd love a coffee!
Did you find this useful?
Please share with those who you believe would find this useful too!
See also
Table of Contents