Hey rmedgar, how's the BSF coming? My previous 2 attempts haven't gone very well but I'm trying a new approach and I thinks it's going to work out better. I made some BSF "bait holders" out of the ends of soda/pop/coke 12-pack cartons. This allowed me to move the bait to areas where I saw the flies. I also used only a few cups of food. I want to have a little more control over this stage of the process.
I put dog food, refried beans, cottage cheese and coffee grounds into the boxes and set them on my household garbage cans. The larvae like coffee grounds so I thought I'd try using some to attract the adults. I've kept one of our garbage cans around a few days beyond what I usually do and it's just beginning to smell a little. That worked to attract the BSF and the rest was easy. I watched as BSF landed on the bait and laid eggs throughout the day. The BSF visited the can one or two at a time. I think I'll do this for the next few days at which time I should see some larvae begin to hatch. I make a point to keep the bait/scraps moist and I think this aids the development of the eggs.
I'm sure I can refine this technique for attracting the initial flies so that we don't have to go through so much frustration at the beginning. I'll let you know how it goes. I'm putting the bait into closed containers at night, and after a few days of putting them out I'll move them to a closed container until the BSFL hatch.
