Home grown bait? [Archive] - Alberta Outdoorsmen Forum

Geezle

11-16-2009, 06:02 PM

Just wondering if anybody out there raises their own bait...i'm thinking particularly of dew worms and superworms.

I kind of have a twofold interest in this as I have a handful of lizards who would also eat these bugs.

I haven't really done my homework on this yet, but I'm wondering how much effort would be involved and if it would even be worthwhile or not.

ULTRAlite

11-18-2009, 10:46 PM

Until this year my father had a worm farm in one of those big 20L or so Rubbermaid containers (lid with lots of holes). Started with dirt, some commercial worm bedding, and about 6 packs of dew worms. Didn't do much with it for the first few months, kept it in a cool place, and fed it with veggie scraps and some commercial food. Within a few months there were worms of all sizes in the container... they breed like rabbits. Used out of the container for winter fishing trips for 3 or 4 years. Last summer he didn't feel like changing out the bedding, and the lot went into the garden.

Didn't seem like too much work...

Geezle

11-19-2009, 07:02 AM

Cool, good to know that it's not a ton of work.

I did a little reading, and it sounds like it takes quite a while to get the 'colony' really established and breeding though. I'm not sure if I have the patience to wait several months before I can start harvesting :o

It's also looking like it would be very easy to breed meal/king worms, which might also be worthwhile :)

fish-man

11-19-2009, 10:26 PM

When I was a kid I used to dig up worms in the back alley or collect them when it was raining out, and then put them into a big metal bin in my back yard. Put some dirt and some cardboard in there and it worked great, just had to collect more when they came out. One big rain storm can supply at least a half dozen fishing trips.

Geezle

11-20-2009, 06:34 AM

WayneChristie

11-20-2009, 07:22 AM

Im hoping to get into worm ranching next year too. I can dig them up in the yard but I want big ones for walleye. have to find a source of nightcrawlers to get started I guess.

jusfloatin

11-20-2009, 07:37 AM

Right now I'm an apartment dweller so raiding the back yard isn't really an option :o

I'd also like to make sure the worms are 'clean' (no pesticides, fertilizer etc) so I can feed them to my lizards.

Hopefully by next year I'll be in a living situation where I do have a back yard to raid for bait :)

Depending on how many worms you require would dictate the size you need. A properly set up and tended farm will produce thousands of worms in a standard kitchen sink.

hillbillyreefer

11-20-2009, 10:49 AM

The wife gets pretty p'od when I grow my worms in the sink!

Dougie55

11-20-2009, 01:29 PM

I have been raising dewies for years in my basement, and to be honest guys, it is not worth the hassle. I have had them reproduce, etc, but you need a BIG bed to raise most of them, and then secondary beds to help the younger ones grow. Unlike out east, we do not have the really big dewies, so must either buy from a store, or use the ones we can catch on lawns etc. I have helped others to set up farms as well, and the cost in the end is far more than you will reap, and one boo boo could cost you your whole farm.
If you are on a farm with lots of compost, etc, and a large area to work with the worms, it might work, but otherwise, it is just hard enough to keep them through the winter, and healthy.
Contact me if you want or need help, as I might be able to give you some info, but for the most part, it is really tough out here due to our changing temps, and the difficulty in keeping them at a good growing temp.
Doug

Elohim

11-20-2009, 02:27 PM

I used to have a monitor lizard and bred kingworms for him, it was fairly easy. They have a much faster metabolism than mealies, so you will always have plenty of good breeder beatles (you will probably actually start tossing alot of the beatles to your lizards to cut back on how many you are producing).

If you toss some of those recycled paper egg cartons in there they will eat that stuff like crazy. But since you are intending on feeding some to your lizards as well, I recommend putting a bowl of fresh fruits and vegetables in with them 24-48 hours before your lizards next feedings so they are full of vitamins and nutrients etc, otherwise your lizards are pretty much only consuming protein.

It would also be wise to put a calcium puck in with them.

-James

fish-man

11-20-2009, 03:04 PM

Im hoping to get into worm ranching next year too. I can dig them up in the yard but I want big ones for walleye. have to find a source of nightcrawlers to get started I guess.

You might have to go through a lot of small ones to find them, but I've found a ton of big nightcrawlers in the back yard. Also caught many walleye on smaller worms.

DarkAisling

11-20-2009, 10:28 PM

I'd also like to make sure the worms are 'clean' (no pesticides, fertilizer etc) so I can feed them to my lizards.

Do you routinely feed your lizards worms? We've got a lizard in our office, and when the gent who owns him feeds him some kinds of worms (or crickets) he becomes rather, ummm, "fragrant" (the lizard, not the co-worker). :sick:

He's a really clean little guy, and his habitat is kept in pristine condition, so it isn't housekeeping that results in the odour.

Geezle

11-20-2009, 11:33 PM

Do you routinely feed your lizards worms? We've got a lizard in our office, and when the gent who owns him feeds him some kinds of worms (or crickets) he becomes rather, ummm, "fragrant" (the lizard, not the co-worker). :sick:

He's a really clean little guy, and his habitat is kept in pristine condition, so it isn't housekeeping that results in the odour.

Sounds like you've maybe got a bearded dragon in the office :) He probably eats a lot of fruits/veggies regularly with some bugs thrown in?

None of my lizards really eat fruit/veggies, so it's pretty much straight bugs, and the odd small mouse here and there for the ones that are big enough for it.

I have a Timor monitor and after I got him I actually started to breed cockroaches because he was costing me waaay too much in crickets, and since then most of my critters have been eating roaches, but my water dragon has become picky and refuses the roaches, so worms are a good alternative, without resorting to crickets.

As for the smell, most of them aren't too bad, but the monitor can lay some pretty big ripe ones :sick::o

DarkAisling

11-20-2009, 11:49 PM

Sounds like you've maybe got a bearded dragon in the office :)

Nope . . . he's some type of chameleon. I don't remember what type, though. He's a really interesting little thing. He wasn't thriving in their house (too cold), so he was moved into the office where he is doing very well. I'm not sure what he normally eats . . . I just know when he's had something his wee digestive system isn't thrilled with.

Geezle

11-21-2009, 08:16 AM

Nope . . . he's some type of chameleon. I don't remember what type, though. He's a really interesting little thing. He wasn't thriving in their house (too cold), so he was moved into the office where he is doing very well. I'm not sure what he normally eats . . . I just know when he's had something his wee digestive system isn't thrilled with.

Cool :)

A chameleon is the one type of lizard that my wife *might* let me get in the future (she hates all my creepy crawlies :o) but I seem to keep acquiring other critters anyway

Geezle

11-22-2009, 02:25 PM

I picked up some mealworms earlier this week, not intending to breed them, just to feed them off, but I noticed that I've got a bunch that are starting to molt into beetles already...not sure if they're worth breeding since they're sooo small. They may be good for perch though?

Might pick up a pile of kingworms today and make an actual effort to get them breeding. Seems like it should be easy enough :)

Geezle

11-22-2009, 05:05 PM

No dice with the king worms today, I guess I'm stuck with these stupid little mealies...

fisherwoman

12-01-2009, 03:58 AM

Geezle

12-01-2009, 06:15 AM

I have heard mealworms are easier than earthworms. I tried the earthworm thing, but just made a smelly mess. And wasted bait. Also, not sure what kinda lizard you have, but I have a beardie and earthworms bum her up pretty bad.
I have a number of different lizards, but the only ones that get the big fat dew worms are a chinese water dragon, and a timor monitor...and trust me, neither of them have any problems with them :)

I'd really rather breed superworms, but from what I've read they're a little more work than the mealies.

fisherwoman

12-01-2009, 01:10 PM

I have a Timor monitor and after I got him I actually started to breed cockroaches because he was costing me waaay too much in crickets, and since then most of my critters have been eating roaches, but my water dragon has become picky and refuses the roaches, so worms are a good alternative, without resorting to crickets.

I looked into feeding my beardie roaches, alot of folks in the south seem to be doing that. None of my other Canadian beardie owning friends have ever fed roaches, but it sounds like they are a snap to breed. Which variety are you breeding? Do you ever fish with them?
Also Timor Monitors are SWEET, but I bet he ate u outta house and home on crickets!

nicemustang

12-01-2009, 03:28 PM

I've also tried raising my own worms. It's a hasselholf IMO.

WayneChristie

12-01-2009, 06:07 PM

Geezle

12-01-2009, 09:12 PM

I looked into feeding my beardie roaches, alot of folks in the south seem to be doing that. None of my other Canadian beardie owning friends have ever fed roaches, but it sounds like they are a snap to breed. Which variety are you breeding? Do you ever fish with them?
Also Timor Monitors are SWEET, but I bet he ate u outta house and home on crickets!

Roaches are great feeders and *super* easy to breed. They have a very high meat to shell ratio which is another reason a lot of people like them as feeders.

I have Discoids (Blaberus discoidales) which are non-climbing, non-flying, reasonably prolific and get quite big (2"+)

And yeah, the timor ate a TON of crickets! When I first took him in (he was a rescue) he was very obviously underfed and was eating at least 250 crickets a week plus worms, f/t fuzzy mice, and big shrimp. Financially breeding the roaches just made sense after that!