Whatbird.com

Hi,

I would like to know where I can find live meal worms. I have read that Buntings love them. I get them for only a few days in the summer and they don't stay long. I have bought the freeze dried meal worms from Meijer or Petsmart and that doesn't work. I can't seem to find any local bait shops. I was wondering if Pet smart or petshops sell them live. I would appreciate any advice as to what you feed them. Thanks for any info.

Try Petco. They have all kinds of pets and all kinds of pet food to go with them. Surely you can find some mealworms there.

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"You can cage a bird, but you cannot make him sing."
Andy

I imagine most pet stores would carry live ones, as certain reptiles eat them, as well as hedgehogs.  You can keep them in the fridge - the coolness will keep them dormant until you need them.  You can also look for them online and in catalogs for pet supply type places. 

http://www.ehow.com/how_2246998_buy-mealworms.html?ref=fuel&utm_source=yahoo&utm_medium=ssp&utm_campaign=yssp_art

That's an article on how to store, keep, and feed mealworms. 

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...somewhere in a peaceful mountain range, a rabbit plots to take over the world....

Thank you so much for the link. It is very informative.

Oh, good! Let us know how it works out. I saw my first indigo bunting recently and nearly squee-d from the blue overload! (I love blues/purples, etc), and would love to coax more to visit.  I haven't seen him since, either.  I also read that meal worms can attract blue birds.

 Hey, if I can get used to storing wilty-greens in my fridge for the wild cottontails, I could probably get used to storing meal worms there... I think.... 

 When I was a kid long ago and far away I had a horned lizard that ate meal worms... but we had a "storage" type fridge that I was able to use to keep the meal worms in.  Come to think of it, I can't BELIEVE my mom allowed that...

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...somewhere in a peaceful mountain range, a rabbit plots to take over the world....

StealthBunny:

Oh, good! Let us know how it works out. I saw my first indigo bunting recently and nearly squee-d from the blue overload! (I love blues/purples, etc), and would love to coax more to visit.  I haven't seen him since, either.  I also read that meal worms can attract blue birds.

 Hey, if I can get used to storing wilty-greens in my fridge for the wild cottontails, I could probably get used to storing meal worms there... I think.... 

 When I was a kid long ago and far away I had a horned lizard that ate meal worms... but we had a "storage" type fridge that I was able to use to keep the meal worms in.  Come to think of it, I can't BELIEVE my mom allowed that...

 

I know what you mean. We have a fridge/freezer that is kept in our garage. I think I will store them in there.

Hi---I know this is an old thread, but I've been away for a while and just saw it. Another place to try is WalMart---I'm not a big wally world shopper, but we buy our worms there for bait, so I'm thinking they may have meal worms.

Your thread reminded me of one of the reasons I got interested in birds---I observed a male cardinal feeding a live meal worm to his mate. Sweet and charming and it drew me into the addictive world of birdwatching!

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Everything under the sun is in tune
But the sun is eclipsed by the moon.

Hey everyone, there's a nationwide shortage of mealworms, and I'm not sure if it's been overcome yet, or when it will be.  The major mealworm breeders had something happen that wiped out their stock.  I haven't heard if it was a virus, contaminated feeds/bedding or what.  This has gone well beyond affecting the individual consumer like us who look for mealworms at our local pet shops.  Zoos and rehab facilities are impacted, too.  I have a bearded dragon lizard that I buy crickets and mealworms in bulk for, so for those of you who are interested in bulk mealworms for serious wild bird feeding, you might try wormman.com; reptilefood.com; and drsfostersmith.com.  I apologize if this is in violation of any forum terms - and will happily edit to delete these online vendor references if so.  It's not a plug for any of them - just a suggestion where to look for live mealworms in the future when supplies are replenished. 

 Happy birding!

Thank you Stealth Bunny for the "how to use" link.  I wanted to try meal worms at my feeder--but have procrasinated due to lack of knowledge having the same hurdle to overcome as mint5jf .  I am going to ask my wild bird supply store about what they know about shortage from suppliers issues that was mentioned by geminiluna and see if they know when the supply will be reinstated. 

Back to everyone soon on this.   

Aunt Lanie 

 

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Aunt Laney

Hey all! I can't find mealworms anywhere! I have checked Petsmart, Walmart, Meijer and two petshops. The only baitshop in town has closed. No one is selling live mealworms. Meijer no longer sells the dead ones I used to buy either. HHmmm, I'm still checking out of town. Will let ya know what I find.

3:45 pm 7-7-08 I just now called Wild Birds Unlimited and they said that the shortage is over--the occurance was only for last month.   They have some in stock in Indianapolis.  If you need their national locations --- the website is www.wbu.com.  

Elayne May (Aunt Lanie)

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Aunt Laney

Thanks for the update!  The online suppliers I order from either still face a shortage or haven't yet updated their websites, but I'll be looking forward to feeding the bluebirds if they show up again!

what is the best way of "serving" mealworms so that they wont climb out?

The bird feeder store showed me a glass dish with vertical sides about 3/4" high.  I had an old butter dish that had similar sides and no worms escaped.  I tested it for 4 hours.  Maybe it's the glass surface, but the meal worms do not seem to be able to climb out.

My store also suggests placing slices of carrot in the dish and in the keeping container in the refrigerator for the worms to feed on. 

For anyone leary about the keeping the worms in the "fridge"--I was squeemish at first.  But, they really aren't all that icky--they are cleaner than I imagined--and the cold keeps them fairly immobile. I place them in an open bag just to keep a second surface between the worm box and the refrigerator shelf;

I was told that chickadees and robins also like the worms.  ~ ~ ~ ~ ~>O 

 

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Aunt Laney