A group of friends and myself are moving in the same direction as you are (aquaponics, BSF, and Red Wiggler Worms), but we are only now getting the materials together and it will be while before we have any successes/failures to report to the community. Still, I wanted to write you a comment just to let you know that we are interested in your progress – we are in El Paso, so any climate adaptations that you make for your systems of fish, veggies, flies, or worms would probably be appropriate for our climate as well. Good luck,
-Paul

Wild BSF are found in Arizona so attracting and culturing them should be fairly straightforward. Since it gets pretty hot there you would need to carefully monitor the internal temperature of a colony. On very hot days it’s often helpful to leave the lid off of whatever container you’re using. Of course you would need to keep the unit in full shade at all times. The larvae do need a humid environment inside of the BSF unit. Normally the food waste will provide sufficient moisture, but if your waste is on the dry side you may need to add small amounts of water. In most areas we have the opposite problem with the compost being too wet.

Why not try operating my DIY unit until you can find a used BioPod? I’m hoping that a lot of people will test this new design out and help refine it.

I’ve heard of wild BSF populations in TN and also KY so you should have a relatively easy time attracting and raising them. Good luck!

Clearly you would have an easier time if you a little further south. While I’ve seen photos of BSF from central Illinois and heard of populations in Idaho and Washington state I can’t say for sure that they are found in your area. Of course it’s still possible to culture BSF where they aren’t already present, but it’s more difficult.

I sell BSF starter kits which should be available in late April or May. With a short summer you would need to begin as early as possible.