DIY BSFL Bin

Mike
#1. April 11th, 2010, at 3:38 PM.

Bentley I find the whole BSFL composting idea fascinating too.

Looking forward to you having all related info in a new “Soldier Fly Larvae” category on the blog

Bruce Westfall
#2. April 11th, 2010, at 11:57 PM.

I think BSF are an excellent addition. After all, you have a group of people here fascinated with worms eating their garbage, right? Do you really think a page entitled “Fly Maggots eating rotting things” is going to attract some higher class of people??

Go Worms! Go Maggots!

I guess our team colors are red, white and black now.

I live in southern Ohio where the temperature is not known for tropic breezes in February. Last year I found a BUNCH of wiggling black things in a barrel with old compost and chicken manure. ( Wish I knew then what I know now ) They must be around here – just not sure when to start trying to attract them again.

So I’m trying now. And will try to let everyone know when the little bundles of joy arrive.

P.S. Oh yea, my worms are doing great!

Jerry
#3. April 13th, 2010, at 1:53 PM.

This is a good thing. People working with worms will often find BSF in their bins so understanding them is a good idea whether you want to specifically culture them or not. Worms thrive in BSF castings resulting in the most efficient process for handling putrescent waste. In the future I think we’ll see a lot of people culturing both species and a DIY BSF unit will help to introduce BSF to a wider audience.

Mark in SB
#4. April 13th, 2010, at 8:56 PM.

This ought to be a good discussion, and a good time of year to start it. There are not many discussion groups on BSFL.

I live in climate zone 9-10, (So-Cal coast), but so far the BSFs haven’t visited my DIY BSFL bucket. What about other sightings?

- Mark in SB

Werner
#5. April 24th, 2010, at 10:51 PM.

Dear people,

I live in Europe, in the Netherlands, not really the location where to find BSF, however, im going to try to get them to reproduce in a Greenhouse. If you all got some tips or suggestions, please, let me know

If people are interested ill keep you all updated on how things work, and go.

-Werner

Jerry
#6. April 26th, 2010, at 12:12 AM.

I recently uploaded a video to YouTube demonstrating how my DIY BSF bucket composter operates.

Part 1

Part 2

tony
#7. April 28th, 2010, at 10:11 AM.

i live in dayton ohio do i have a native population of bsf here?
or could i get a starter culture.

tony
#8. April 28th, 2010, at 7:44 PM.

hi jerry the last few weeks i have read a few of your web links and like your 5g bucket diy bsf project and plan to make one this week.is there some were i can get a few bsy to start off with or are they here in dayton ohio native?

Jerry
#9. April 29th, 2010, at 3:29 AM.

tony, BSF might be in Dayton but I haven’t hear any reports of them there yet. I did hear of wild BSF in Champagne, IL so that’s a good sign. You can always get “Phoenix worms” which are a brand name for black soldier fly larvae. Phoenix worms are raised specifically as food for exotic pets so the cost is high if you want them to seed a BSF unit.

I will be offering starter kits on my site in a few weeks. There might be a few other sites selling them too, I just don’t know at the moment. Even with a kit it’s difficult to culture BSF where they don’t exist in the wild. If they are there then a kit is purely optional. Also, it wouldn’t be efficient to get a starter kit before your weather is warm enough to support mating. I’m close to Tallahassee and here mating begins in mid April when the days start to get into the 80’s.

tony
#10. April 29th, 2010, at 2:27 PM.

ok thanks, i will wait untill mid june when its warmer.i culture meal worms and wax worms in the house over winter for bait and chicken feed but the number are way lower then bfs so i thought i would try them out here,is it posible to seed a area then get them started in a new micro area?

Jerry
#11. April 30th, 2010, at 1:05 PM.

Starting a population in an area with no wild population is possible, but I think it would require a lot of effort. I can only guess because I haven’t tried it. If you don’t have a wild population it’s probably because the BSF can’t survive the winter where you are. To build up a micro population you might need to overwinter larvae/pupae in a semi-protected area that stays above freezing.

To be clear; a starter kit and is not designed to be the only source of BSF for building up a dense colony. Its primary purpose is to speed up the process of attracting females from the wild population. The theory is that even a tiny colony like that from a starter kit helps guide the local BSF to your unit via a distinctive but very mild scent.

Bruce Westfall
#12. April 30th, 2010, at 1:55 PM.

Tony – I’m just acroos the state from you near Athens and I know we have a very similar climate. There are most definitely BSF here, though I don’t know if they are active yet. They are apparently a very widespread species, but little known since the fly is rarely seen and only people with compost piles seem to notice them.

If there is a farmers market around, take a picture of the larvae and see if some of the eco-farmers ( we call them hippies still in Athens ) have seen them. You might get a bucket of them for free.

Bruce Westfall
#13. April 30th, 2010, at 2:22 PM.

Tony – I’m just across the state from you near Athens and I know we have a very similar climate. There are most definitely BSF here, though I don’t know if they are active yet. They are apparently a very widespread species, but little known since the fly is rarely seen and only people with compost piles seem to notice them.

If there is a farmers market around, take a picture of the larvae and see if some of the eco-farmers ( we call them hippies still in Athens ) have seen them. You might get a bucket of them for free.

Jerry
#14. April 30th, 2010, at 3:54 PM.

Bruce, that is good information and advice. I always suggest that people interested in finding BSF talk to anyone in their area who does traditional composting or raises animals. Cow and horse manure aren’t great for BSF but they are commonly attracted to chicken, pig, and rabbit manure. If you find some material with BSF larvae in it try to get both the larvae and some of the material itself (compost or manure) to start your colony. That material will probably have the remaining scent of other BSF larvae and this will help attract your local BSF.