In response to your first post I’ll paste a portion from the starter kit page:

The dark mature grubs will gradually accumulate in the collection bucket. In an established colony you could feed these grubs to pets, livestock or wildlife, but when starting a new colony they should be allowed to pupate into adult form (winged stage) and mate. A typical BSF unit is not a closed system which means that the adult BSF are released so they can mate outdoors and then return to the unit to lay their eggs.

A BSF unit at full capacity will have enough larvae in it to cover the surface area with few inches of solid larvae, maybe more. Until you achieve that density you should focus on building up the colony. I don’t recommend feeding any mature grubs to animals until you completely establish the colony. Each pair of BSF that you sacrifice as animal feed represents 500-900 eggs that might have been laid in your unit. I also don’t recommend scattering the mature grubs on the ground while building up a colony. I think it’s best to protect every mature grub until your colony is at capacity.

If you scatter the collected mature grubs on the ground that leaves them vulnerable to the many predators that target insects. It’s fair to assume that only a small percentage of released grubs will survive to become adults. It’s best to keep the mature grubs in a container such as a bucket with a lid to protect them. The container needs to have several holes with a diameter of at least 3/4 inch to allow the emerging adults a way to escape. The holes will also provide necessary air for the pupating BSF and also aid in keeping the temperature regulated. Like the BSF unit, this prepupae container must be completely shaded and protected from rain. Adding an inch of bedding material such as sawdust (not pressure treated), peat, etc to the container will encourage the grubs to pupate, but it must stay dry and loose so the emerging adults can climb to the surface.

For your last question; I imagine the nutritional value of BSF larvae would vary depending on diet and other conditions, but I have no specific knowledge about that. Your bucket composter will noticeably attract other species in the beginning, but once you have a dense colony of BSF established then there will be very few other species.

Just to set the record straight; “maggot” is just the common word for any fly larva, so BSF larvae are maggots also. Unfortunately the term has taken on a negative meaning and most people don’t understand that not all of the 100,000+ species of flies are harmful pests. I use the term maggot everyday when I discuss my hobby with my girlfriend, family, or neighbors, but I stick to the more technical term “larva” or “larvae” on the internet because I don’t want to prejudice people who are just discovering BSF. In the end words don’t matter, what matters is that the larvae of the black soldier fly are harmless, beneficial, and fascinating creatures.

I think the problem with ants will be less of an issue once you get a colony of larvae established. I’ve never had a serious problem with ants and I hear the same from others who have established systems. I do remember spraying insecticide on the legs of a stand I was using for a BSF unit, but I haven’t done that in a couple of years. Recently someone commented about using oil as an ant barrier instead of water. It seems like it might be effective.

I don’t think the color of the bucket is a factor. You’ll be fine if you just keep adding larvae and eggs manually, and keep the “good” waste in the bucket. One thing to consider is that BSF may be laying in the bucket and you don’t realize it. Often the females simply scatter eggs randomly on the inside wall, and these are virtually invisible. Then, once eggs are laid, it takes four days before they hatch. The newly hatched larvae are so tiny that it’s almost impossible to see them in a waste pile for several days until they’ve grown to several times their original size. In short, it takes longer than you probably expect to see noticeable results. Keep doing what you’re doing and it will happen soon enough.

The filter and drain system is a work in progress. Whatever filter is used, the larvae will crawl through it. You might want to question whether or not the larvae you observed were actually trapped or dead. The larvae are pretty good at wriggling through tight places and just because they’re motionless when you look at them doesn’t necessarily mean they’re dead. All creatures rest, and BSF larvae also go through several transformations as they develop. I think that often when we see a motionless larvae we’re looking at one that is preparing to shed its skin and pass into the next stage. The filter might just be an ideal place for them to wait while this happens. Finally, some larvae may die as a result of this process. The fact is that nature designed BSF larvae to have a high mortality rate. A single pair of BSF produces 500-900 eggs, and if they all survived then the BSF population would get out of control. Instead only two larvae must survive to successfully reproduce if the population is to stay stable. I don’t see a problem with increasing the BSF population, my point is that we’re bound to extend the life of some larvae and shorten that of others. It’s just part of the process. Having said that, you can certainly experiment with different filter materials. I still haven’t found the perfect one yet. If you look at the most recent version of the bucket composter (2.1) you’ll see that I cover the drain outlet with a halved golf ball.

Are you holding the funnel in place with magnets? The soft plastic of the water jug should be held tighly against the bucket wall if you use strong magnets. Some larvae may squeeze behind the funnel in places, but that shouldn’t be a problem. If you place the magnets by the edge of the funnel it will stay tight against the bucket the larvae will crawl around them and into the tube. Keep in mind that this diy unit does require regular adjustments to maintain a high level of functionality. Hopefully as I get feedback from people like yourself we can find ways to make it even better.

I actually stopped putting anything in the composter, and I transferred anything that the grubs seemed interested in a few days ago.

I have a worm bin in the garage, which is where I initally found the larvae. Of course, I thought I had maggots! That is how I found out about the BSF (I was looking for the fastest, non-toxic to my worms, way to get rid of the “maggots” fast!). Since reading about them about a month ago, I have been obsessed! I needed to sort through the vermicomposter anyway, so I did that and sorted out the BSF larvae. Because of the increase in humidity in the worm bin (almost soggy), I began easing off high water content veggies and turned in shredded paper and high cellulose plant material. So…no BSF there as of now – although my worm population more than doubled in the few weeks that I saw the BSF. It seems that, outside of the moisture issue, they love each other! Within days of not seeing them in the vermicomposter, they showed up on the other side of the house (outside) in the tumble composter. I made your bin and began collecting larvae, as well as trying not to add to the tumble composter. However, if I put the bucket anywhere outside (even elevated), ants are seeming to find a way in. I don’t want to spray too much in the backyard because my daughter and dogs like to play out there. We are in the middle of a massive mosquito outbreak, so I am worried about putting it in water. I figured that the BSF found the worms in the garage first and seemed to be happy there, so I put it right next to the worm bin with cardboard sticking all over the worm composter (that now looks like it has a spiky hairdo from all the cardboard rolls I adorned it with)! Nothing! I have taken to putting the bucket by the composter for short amounts of time in the afternoon when I see more of the flies buzzing. This may sound crazy, but my bucket is bright orange-do you think that has anything to do with it? I can’t fit the cardboard pieces into the composter grooves because they are curved on all sides and very small/shallow-it just falls out.

I do have a few questions about the bucket construction:

My grubs had NO problem going into the filter media. They were so entangled that it seemed like they were just crawling in, getting trapped, and dying. I finally cut it apart and freed them one by one! It was horrible. As of now, there is nothing on the bottom and a golf ball is blocking the hole to the drain hose. Was this normal for them to do? Also, I have trimmed, turned, and twisted my little milk jug ramp. I cannot get the thing to lay flat against the bucket. Does a small gap matter or will they get stuck in the space behind the “funnel”? Lastly, I have a cross cut paper shredder. Do you think that I could use that vs. sawdust in the collection container. I put a few in there, and they buried themselves. I haven’t seen much of them since!

Thank you so much for your time! I appreciate any suggestions or insight you might have.
Jenn

I’m leaving the lid open today to help dry it out a bit (and hopefully attract some more BSF’s!!!) and I have several holes on the bottom and sides to help drain. I will keep that in mind about the meat scraps too.

Wow I am excited! Haha!

You will need to watch out for excessive wetness in the bin, especially if you add kitchen scraps regularly because they typically contain a lot of moisture. Standing liquids in the bin will probably lead to anaerobic conditions and the related foul odors. I would also be careful about adding too much meat. As a general rule if it takes more than a day or two for the larvae to eat something you’re probably overfeeding them. This can also lead to anaerobic conditions and with meat products it’s important to avoid that. Naturally hard items like raw potatoes, etc., will take longer to break down, but softer stuff should disappear quickly.

I did notice the random eggs on the top of the lid. Also the lack of other flying insects, only one house fly and about 2-3 fruit flies.

Unable to get a pic but upon much closer inspection of the wigglers, they look exactly like the ones you have in your photos and video. I’ll let them be as they look happy and content in my bin. I did add some more shredded paper as it was sopping wet in the bin.

I’m going to start giving them my kitchen scraps again! I just felt like a failure for not being able to compost but not anymore!!! AND it is good to know I am able to give them meat as I felt terrible not being able to compost meat scraps. What a blessing in disguise.

Thank you for all the good info and you are so nice!!! I wish more pages on the net were as informative as yours.

Most likely the larvae in your bin came from eggs laid on the outside of it. Unlike houseflies, BSF females don’t lay their eggs directly on waste which is part of the reason they are not vectors of human pathogens. Typically the females will deposit eggs randomly on the outside of the bin or in a cluster in some crevice that is part of the bin’s design. Then when the tiny larvae hatch they are able to crawl into the bin through any small opening larger than a pinhole.

It sounds like the larvae won’t have a problem exiting your bin the way it is. If conditions change and you stop getting condensation you have a few options. You can tilt the container so that one side is at a 45º angle which will allow the larvae to scale it even when dry. In that case you might need to leave the top open because when it’s dry the larvae won’t be able to scale even a very short distance vertically. You can also mist the sides of the bin with water in the evenings. If for some reason you want to capture the larvae as they escape you can set the bin on a larger tray or inside a larger bin with a shallow layer of sawdust in it. As the larvae drop from the lip of the compost bin they then land in the sawdust and because it will be dry they will be contained by any vertical surface taller than an inch or two. To separate the larvae from the sawdust you can pass it through a strainer that is just open enough to let the sawdust pass through.

The option of just letting it be is also a valid approach. I believe most of the larvae will find a way out when the time comes and those that don’t will probably survive and pupate in the bin.

And I had no idea about the “maggot” part, very interesting and makes sense. I always enjoy learning new things!

The lid i have on there is one that has two sides that fold onto each other – kinda like how you close an open cereal box at the top by folding one flap into the other. Also there is a ton of condensation that builds up and the flaps are not tight – thats how they got in there in the first place i suspect.

From what you say they will be able to crawl out due to the condensation and the loose fitting lid.

Should I just let them do so on their own? I don’t have any money whatsoever to build that nifty bucket as i’m not working and going to school right now, but maybe i can scrape up some parts lying around or just wait until i have the funds. I do have some buckets but no lids and no piping

This is all new to me and very interesting and exciting as i love science and experimenting!!!!

Unfortunately i will have to wait until tomorrow to try to get a pic, it’s nightime and my cam phone doesn’t have a very strong light.

Thanks so much for your answers!