Very cool!

*Suggestion:* Maybe put a drum inside a water bath and inside a passive solar house. The BSF produce their own heat, and it gets stored in the mass of the water. So it tempers rapidly changing air temps, and the solar gain in the day can help when their activity drops. You could also use a tiny rocket stove to crank up the heat and store it with the water. I am not a BSF expert, but that is what I would try. Just some ideas.

Please do an update in the Spring. I have held off doing BSF for lack of understanding overwintering the buggers. Good video.

@HoneyHollowHomestead

9 жыл бұрын

I'll be watching for it as well.

Thanks,very good to know As I'm in zone 6b

Thank you for this interesting video! But I don't really understand the function of the light inside, as I thought the grubs don't like light - only the flies need light. And for the heat you might better use a direct heat source or better insulate the barrels very well. Please tell me if my thinking is wrong.

You are still doing good buddy

I'm curious to see how this works out. My understanding (open to correction if I'm mistaken) is that you might be able to keep the larvae in a juvenile state. They'll just keep on feeding and not mature into the dark larvae that self harvest and eventually hatch. The problem is once all of them do mature, they'll wait for warm temps before hatching into flies. In any case, any flies that hatch in cool weather will not mate and lay eggs unless it's warm enough. So unless you can keep them in their juvenile state, eventually all these larvae will self-harvest, burrow and wait for warm temps next year. Please post updates.

I dub thee. Larva Man! On a more serious note. Might you wrap the barrels with some insulation? And then you would need less heat. Especially in a grid down situation.

Will chickens not eat them if they are dead and or frozen?

What is the minimum temperature they can survive in before they die? Don't they survive in your compost piles?

We are in Washington state as well, I think the cold snap we had last week probably killed off our outdoor bins. I am curious to know how this goes!!

@neogeo8267

3 жыл бұрын

Did your outdoor bins survive? I realize it was 5 years ago :) Idaho here.

@tha420jesta

3 жыл бұрын

@@neogeo8267 hello, no, we have not managed to over winter our BSF successfully as of yet

Your over-wintering larvae seem to be very active and big. How do they crawl off to pupate and turn into flies or will they do that in the barrel. I was led to belive they need a fairly dry medium for the pupation/fly phase. Also, what do you feed them other than the spent graing from the brewery during the winter. I'm 200 miles NW of you (Bremerton) and having a heck of a time getting any population to make it over the winter even though they're insulated. Your thoughts?

@1zipperheaded1

3 жыл бұрын

Hi, I know this is an old video and comment, but I’m also a Bremertonian, and I wonder whether you’ve had success with overwintering your BSF?

@TNikoli

3 жыл бұрын

@@1zipperheaded1 So far I've been doing a bit than less than maintaining the same population. At least I've had some over-winter, but still boost the amount with a purchase from the post origins.

@TNikoli

3 жыл бұрын

Also, I'm using a seed starter heat mat for over-wintering, with some feeding/watering when needed.

My flies are not mating indoor, any help

Knowing only the slightest amount about BSF's, doesn't the keeping them warm, yet freezing air temps mess with their breeding cycle?

@NWRedworms

9 жыл бұрын

good question. Their survival depends on adapting, when it is warm they look for food, if they find no food they live off internal reserves. when they get cold they go into hibernation. Last year the composts were cold for a longer time so they hibernated for 8 months.

@FrancisRoyCA

9 жыл бұрын

NWRedworms said _"when they get cold they go into hibernation."_ I didn't know that. Thanks for sharing. I am now one data-point better educated.

Be careful that the paper feed bags don't make contact with the hot bulbs, potential fire hazard

um why do u need a bunch of flies