How to Breed Lots of Mealworms

Place approximately 2 inches of fresh, clean wheat bran into the bottom of your 22-gallon Rubbermaid container. Add 1/4 cup of water and mix until the water has been absorbed by the bran. You can purchase wheat bran at any feed store and at many supermarkets.

Slice a potato into 1/4-inch slices and spread the slices around the top of the container to help keep the bran moist.

Drill 24 1/8-inch holes in the lid of the 22-gallon Rubbermaid container.

Place mealworm eggs or mealworms themselves into your container. Put the lid on the container and set your mealworm farm in a warm area out of direct sunlight. Your mealworm farm will work best if kept between 45 and 80 degrees F.

Remove dried slices of potato every few days and add new slices to keep the bran moist. Harvest your mealworms as you need them.

Fill the bottom of your 14-gallon Rubbermaid container with 1 1/2 to 2 inches of clean wheat bran and mix in 1/4 cup of water to dampen the bran just slightly.

Drill 24 1/8-inch holes in the top of this container as well.

Place any beetles that mature in your mealworm farm into this second container and put on the lid. After two weeks the beetles will die.

Carefully remove about half of the wheat bran from your 22-gallon farm and put the brain from the 14-gallon container into the larger farm container. This new material will be filled with mealworm eggs. Place a few slices of potato in the 22-gallon farm container and replace the lid. Within a few days you will see hundreds of tiny mealworms.

Put new wheat bran into the 14-gallon Rubbermaid container and mix in 1/4 cup of water so the container will be ready for new beetles as they mature. Just keep the cycle going and your mealworm farm should produce several thousand mealworms every week to 10 days.