Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations Black Soldier Fly project

Hi Jerry, I'm closing mine down this weekend. I'll save about 100 larvae for next year and dispose of the rest. They been a great source of food for the fish. I've still got 1000s that I'm trying to separate from the compost to feed today.
Hope all is well.....

I'm doing very well thank you Randy. I've had a busy summer trying to keep up with a growing number of questions about BSF on my blog, the BioPod forum and emails. Interest in this technology is increasing steadily.

A very nice article about BSF was written by Harvey Ussery for Backyard Poultry magazine. Harvey is a regular contributor to BYP and also to Mother Earth News. BYP prints 90K magazines for each bimonthly issue and now Harvey has given me permission to publish the article on my blog. You can read it HERE. Harvey has worked with blowfly larvae as a free source of chicken feed but has abandoned that pest species for BSF. He plans on testing BSF and writing several more articles about them. I'm happy that Harvey is using me a source of information and I look forward to sharing ideas with him in the future.

I have an idea you might want to try for separating the BSF from your compost. I'm picturing a bucket full of the compost with a plastic garbage bag (black) inverted and covering the entire bucket. This would set on your dock, maybe on a board so the deck doesn't get too dirty. The bag would serve two purposes; it would hold in heat so the grubs would become more active and it would hold in moisture which would create condensation on the wall of the bucket and inside the bag. The condensation would allow the larvae to climb the vertical walls. If the compost gets warm enough in the daytime it might encourage juvenile larvae to crawl away, and at night the mature larvae will migrate out. Just something to think about. It can be a challenge to convince BSF to leave the compost, unless of course you don't want them to.

GW, I'm in the process of cleaning out my BioPod and wondered if I should try to save any of the black grubs. I have a worm bin that will over-winter ok, and I have quite a few in there. Will they "keep" until spring? I've tossed quite a few BSFL into the woods as I take them to feed the fish, and I hope they will hatch next spring. That was a very interesting article linked above.

Randy, you really don't need to save any of the mature larvae unless you feel like experimenting. I don't know if the worm bin will be adequate for their survival. During the summer I keep a pupation bucket to protect the mature grubs from predators, but lately I've been releasing them because I assume they'll have a better chance of surviving winter if they choose their own spot.

I put about 50 in a milk carton with some dirt and leaves. I'm going to keep them in my shed (unheated) this winter and let them go when/if they hatch. I don't know what this will prove because they will be in the same environment as their brothers and sisters outside. When I cleaned the BioPod today, I was surprised how easy the area under all of the compost/crap cleaned - just like Teflon. Maybe we have finally found a use for the "tea".

I also was impressed with how well my unit cleaned up this spring. There were a few issues with the first run of BioPods like the knob and drain jar, but I'm very happy with the quality of the mold and the plastic. After two seasons my unit looks as sturdy as when it was new.

I made a video recently of a load of mature BSF larvae that I collected from two DIY units I threw together about a month ago. Those units are really very crude and inefficient, but they served the purpose.

(click the player to view video)

I have a biopod I've been using now for 4 months. I was putting as much as 10lbs of food in the bin but getting less then 1lb of grubs a day, mostly 1/2lb. For the last several days I've been getting nothing. I live in Hawaii and feed them mostly bananas and papyas. The grubs are active but I'm getting nothing in the bucket. Biopod is almost completely full of digested compost, I feel like I'm going to have to empty compost soon. Pederator? Geckos get in the biopod. Any advice whats going wrong?

Hi capt.,

I would have responded sooner but I've been overloaded with non BSF stuff lately.

I personally have never processed close to 10 lbs per day in my unit. I think I averaged about 2-3 lbs per day since I began this season in the spring. ProtaCulture used to cite a possible rate of 11 lbs per day but revised it down to 5 lbs. I believe they achieved the 11 lb rate but that was probably under optimum and not average circumstances.

I've seen reports of waste-to-larvae conversion ratios everywhere from 7% to 24% and for most of this summer I was averaging about 15%. There are a lot of variables involved. Your relatively low yield might be due to the water content of the waste you're processing. There is a big difference in nutritional content between a pound of papayas and a pound of cornmeal for example. As a matter of fact, the 10 lbs you're adding might be about the same nutritionally as 5 lbs of average household food scraps. (A substantial portion of the waste I processed this year was fish)

Predators might be effecting your yield as you pointed out, but it would take a lot of very fat geckos to make a significant difference I think. Something else to consider is the possibility that some percentage of larvae are escaping your BioPod. If condensation is forming on the walls of your collection bucket then it's likely the mature grubs are getting out. I live in a fairly humid area and I control this problem by always having 2-3 inches of sawdust in my collection bucket. That defeats the larvae from escaping almost entirely. It also helps them to settle down while they wait in the bucket instead of constantly churning.

I've also seen periods with little or no mature larvae crawl-off. You might have much more regular cycles with your colony due to more consistent environmental conditions than I have. I can go a week or more with a BioPod full of juvenile larvae and get no harvest of mature larvae. Then I might get a full bucket for a few days in a row. This is a new science/hobby and we have a lot to learn. I don't believe anything is wrong with your system, I think you're simply learning the limitations of the waste you're processing and the area you live in. I appreciate you posting your experience as it helps everyone who is interested in BSF culturing.

I wonder if anyone as far north as Kansas City, MO has tried raising BSF and what their experience has been.

I'm very interested in them, but I just don't know if I'd have any luck.

Weissguy, a member of the BioPod forum posted a photo of BSF larvae from their compost pile in Champagne, Illinois. It's also a well known fact that BSF are found in Vancouver, B.C. so I wouldn't be surprised if BSF are in MO. IIRC Bruce thinks he may have seen a BSF adult in his area (Lincoln NB?) also.

You don't necessarily need to have a wild population to succeed in culturing BSF but it makes it much easier. I think the simplest way to test for wild BSF is to start a traditional compost pile making sure to regularly add fruit and vegetable waste and also coffee grounds if you have them. This is the most common way that people discover BSF larvae. If you know people who compost I would ask them if they've seen large larvae in their compost piles.

If BSF are in your area already it's easier to raise them than it is to manage a pond. By a long shot.

Well, it's almost that time again... I usually see my first black soldier fly adults around mid April. If anyone here thinks they might want to try their hand at raising them this year I just published plans to a full function BSF composter made with a 5 gallon bucket, plumbing fittings, and other common and cheap hardware. It can't handle the amount of waste that the original BioPods could but it should be relatively efficient and convenient.

BSF Bucket Bio-Composter v2.0

I think I'm going to give it a try this year. As far as I know there aren't many BSFs native to this area, so I would need to order a starter kit from you. When do you think I would be able to do this? I just checked the average April temps for Atlanta and Savannah, both were about 72 degrees. We usually average that kind of temperature beginning in May. Is it a temperature thing or is it attributed to something else? Thanks!

Oh yeah, how did you make the cut for the ventilation?

EDIT: LR, I forgot to address the starter kit. If you decide you want one I should be collecting kits some time in mid May.

Hi LR Bob,

It's mostly a temperature thing I think. I wouldn't be surprised to find BSF in your area though; last year someone uploaded photos of BSF larvae from a central Illinois compost pile. If you talk to folks around you that compost or raise worms you can probably find out if BSF are present. You might also find someone willing to share some larvae with you. In that case try to get a bit of the compost also because it will have the attractive scent in it and might also have the tiny newly hatched larvae. Starting a micro population separate from any wild BSF is possible but more difficult.


It involved razors. The bucket I used is made of fairly soft plastic and that might not work on a heavier gauge bucket. I also tried using a circular saw but it was awkward and even more dangerous. I sure hope nobody hurts themselves making this composter. Any suggestions on safer techniques would be great.

Hi Jerry, I haven't seen any BSFs yet, but I'm ready to go - got some food out.
Also, I saved a few larvae from last year - they haven't hatched yet, but should pretty soon.
I'll let you know when I see some.
Randy

Hey Randy,

I haven't seen any yet either. We've had a few days in the 80's and I'm getting impatient. Do you have a prefilter in your pod? This year I'm going to try something other than coir. There's a hog's hair A/C filter material sold at big chain stores that might hold up better to the churning of the larvae. That's what I used in the new DIY unit and I'll also use it in the BioPod. Two layers stitched together is what I'll be trying first.

Thanks for keeping me updated about the BSF scene up north!

No I just have the filter that came with the unit. I think I'll modify it a little because my unit stayed pretty damp (more like pudding) once they got going. i expect to see some in 1-2 weeks.

A pre filter is a must in my opinion. After I installed a layer of coir in my BioPod last year I could pour a gallon of water into it and see it drain in minutes. Soupy compost makes it likely you'll get anaerobic bacteria and the related bad smells.

GW,

I will likely be putting a unit together in the next 2 - 3 weeks. I will start asking around if people have seen the BSF up here, but I'm still pretty new to the area and am not aware of anyone that I know that composts or raises worms. I will keep me eye out though.

If the starter kit is the only option what extra precautions do you suggest I take from now until I introduce the micro population to the unit?

In regards to the ventilation, I was going to just drill several holes consecutively to make a vent similar to what you achieved and then sand the edges down for a more even look. Seems like it should be pretty easy to achieve. If I try it out I will let you know what happens.

The only thing I can think of is to try attracting them even if you're getting a kit. The sooner you can attract a wild population the better. At the moment I have several buckets in different spots for that reason. In the buckets I have two things; whole dry corn kernels and water. I'm keeping the water level a few inches below the top of the corn. I've used cornmeal as an attractant in the past but someone suggested whole corn to me and I think it will be easier to work with. As the corn ferments it's giving off a smell that I think the BSF will respond to. If you have a way to keep critters out of the corn you wouldn't need a cover. A little rain will just replenish the water as it evaporates.

I know that I have plenty of BSF on my property but I still want to attract them ASAP.


I've tried drilling overlapping holes in a bucket with a paddle bit without much success. When I tried it I ended up tearing the plastic around some of the holes. Please let me know if you find a technique that works.

I posted a video on YouTube showing the basic features of my DIY BSF bucket composter.

Bucket composter part 1

Bucket composter part 2

GW, try it with a hole saw instead of a paddle bit. Make sure the center pilot drill is sticking out far enough. Try spinning the drill slower, sometimes fast isn't the best. You might have to speed it up if the hole saw gets hung up on the plastic.

Esshup, I usually just think of larger hole saws and I didn't even consider trying a smaller one for this project. Next time I'm in the hardware store I'm getting some!

Thanks

Another hole saw trick is to replace the pilot drill with a solid drill blank.

Drill your pilot hole first, then use the hole saw with the solid drill blank.

This will produce a much rounder hole as the drill bit is not wallowing out the pilot hole.

Been doing this for years. Works especially well in soft materials like plastic.

What an excellent tip JKB. Thanks!