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Breeding maggots without meat


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I've only done a few batches of maggots over the years and stopped because it was such a filthy stinkin business. And as I was using lamb hearts  - it was almost as expensive as buying the maggots from the shop.

Has anyone played around with the milk powder and bran method

https://www.naturallyforbirds.com.au/flies-without-tears-a-personal-approach-to-maggots
 

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a good method to breed maggots to eliminate the smell is after the blow wrap the blown fish or meat in 5 or six layers of news paper place in the bottom of a bucket then fill the bucket with clean dry

Hi Doobie, sorry I'm a bit late for the party. I buy the long life gents too, and have found them to be fantastic. I keep them in the fridge set at 4 degrees, and they have lasted for several months.

I have now returned to breeding my own gents for 1 pure reason - twice now, I have purchased a container of long life gents and both within a 2 weeks were 3/4 dead. Each was purchased from a diff

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a good method to breed maggots to eliminate the smell is after the blow wrap the blown fish or meat in 5 or six layers of news paper place in the bottom of a bucket then fill the bucket with clean dry beach sand, when you see wriggle tracks on the top of the sand it is time to sieve the sand you will have clean white maggots , I the pour   boiling water over the left over news paper to kill any remaining maggots then bury it deep in the garden makes good fertiliser

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I have now returned to breeding my own gents for 1 pure reason - twice now, I have purchased a container of long life gents and both within a 2 weeks were 3/4 dead.

Each was purchased from a different tackle shop and I'm not sure how 'old' the stock was or for what ever reason, but at $6 a tub for something that should 'last' for say 2 months, I was annoyed.

I used to use fish frames/head but agree the smell is pretty bad, and to also get the gents out from within the heads was difficult also.

Tip: use disposable gloves to help protect hands from absorbing the smell ;) 

Now, instead of fish remains, I use a couple of chicken thighs.  I find the smell is not as bad, but is still smelly.

Someone also mentioned to me recently, just like kelp as mentioned, to bury the 'food' within some sheets of newspaper under dry sand in a bucket.

I tried this about 3 weeks ago (with sand in bottom of bucket, then the 'ingredients', then more sand) and confirm there is no smell in the air during the process - unless you stick your nose real close.  But did notice some blowies still hanging around the bucket, a couple which even laid some babies on top of the sand.

I didn't have any gents rise to the top of the sand, probably because I put plenty of sand to making sure to cover it right up.

The bonus is, the gents are much bigger than purchased ones.

Personally I wouldn't bother going to the trouble of making a maggot trap bucket - too much hassle.

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The gents should show signs at the top of the sand when they are ready, the time factor is the temperature in warm weather 4 or 5 days in colder weather can take as long as a week or more, wait for the wriggle marks on the sand, try to keep them in a warm area, I keep mine in the tool shed it keeps wind off of them an the iron shed warms up quickly when the sun rises. in very hot weather the shed can be too hot therefore look for a cooler spot.

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1 hour ago, kelp said:

The gents should show signs at the top of the sand when they are ready, the time factor is the temperature in warm weather 4 or 5 days in colder weather can take as long as a week or more, wait for the wriggle marks on the sand, try to keep them in a warm area, I keep mine in the tool shed it keeps wind off of them an the iron shed warms up quickly when the sun rises. in very hot weather the shed can be too hot therefore look for a cooler spot.

Thanks Kelp - Now I've just got to go find some blow flies - I seriously cant remember the last time I saw one.

Might wait for the sun to come out before launching the operation

 

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11 hours ago, yellow door 1 said:

Thanks Kelp and Doobie this sand and bucket method sounds very doable - might just get a batch on the go.

Doobie - how long did you leave the chicken under the sand after the flies had laid their eggs.

 

 

 

It was about 4-5 days.  Temp was around 30 I think.

Being the first time I did it this way was a bit of guess work, so went on timings from past methods.

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9 hours ago, doobie said:

It was about 4-5 days.  Temp was around 30 I think.

Being the first time I did it this way was a bit of guess work, so went on timings from past methods.

Thanks for that Doobie - the day time temp is something I'm concerned about over the coming months - and that fact that I dont see many flies in my area over winter

 

 

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1 hour ago, yellow door 1 said:

Thanks for that Doobie - the day time temp is something I'm concerned about over the coming months - and that fact that I dont see many flies in my area over winter

 

 

Yeah YD1, the flies do seem to reduce down during colder months, but you don't need many to get the meat blown.  You don't need a lot of flies to hang around, just enough over a day or 2 (or 3) to let them do their job (compared to probably 1 day in hotter weather).   You don't want too many blowing the meat as there may not be enough meat/food for them whilst growing.

 I haven't actual tried to breed gents during those times, mainly because I am only targeting Salmon.

But whilst I'm filleting the Salmon, flies do still turn up - unless it's bitterly cold, windy and wet day, then probably not.

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Thanks heaps Doobie - you've given me the confidence to have a go - we've got some warm days coming so I'll give it a another crack.

As soon as you mentioned Newspaper a little light bulb went off - with my old technique, juice would gather at the bottom of my container and fishing maggots out of putrefyed meat soup, was never a fun task - but hopefully the news paper soaks most of that up and makes maggots separation a bit easier.

 

 

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I have found that "meat" bred gents tended to explode when putting them on the hook ?. They were definitely larger & fatter than the bought ones but looked unappetizing on the hook. I don't breed them anymore as I cannot be bothered. I too buy the long life gents now & found they do last quite some time, so for the amount they cost, more cost effective for me. I just keep the unused gents in the fridge until next time. 

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36 minutes ago, lofty64 said:

Put your fish frames in a fine chicken mesh  , let them get blown wrap in news paper, then bury , bring out and shake ,all gents come out with a little fish crap ,pick out fish bits ,easy as , can also have it on a pole if you don't like the smell .

Spot on Lofty, that's how I did mine too.. I didn't worry about the smell.  kept them jar in of bran in the bottom of the fishing bait fridge. They go into hibernation and last for ages. Did leave them in the fridge in the house once, but somehow the jar got knocked over just after I put them in it. Seeing as I had some air hole in the lid..Well you can guess what happened after that.. That;s why I finished up with a bait fridge & freezer in the shed..😜 

cheers

Adrian

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Keeping gents in Bran (as I do) will keep them as long as the shop purchased ones (that are in Bran or whatever sheldons use).

I keep them near the bottom of the fridge in a seal plastic container and each week I get it out for an hour so they can play and breath a bit.

They last long enough for me, maybe 3-4 weeks.

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mmm, does it smell?  Like you walk past it and there is 'that' aroma in the air?

I don't know how cat food goes for attracting flies - it should work, but I've never tried it.

Hopefully something turns up with tomorrows last hot day this week.

Otherwise get some a chicken leg (take skin off and put some cuts in meat) or thigh.

Keeping my fingers crossed for you - but do get that blowy from work and sticky tape it on the food :D 

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Yeah my initial concerns of lack of flies at this time of year seem to be coming true. My part of town doesnt have a lot of flies at anytime of year, So when the cooler weather sets in, theres even less.

The cat food doesnt stink yet but I reckon its the lack of flies in my neighborhood thats the real problem. Even in summer you can eat outside and not swish away a fly.

I might take advantage of some large bins near work - actually some restaurant bins with heaps of food scraps in them are what I really need to find my breeders - leave it with me - I'll work it out eventually😉

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You should let your neighbours know you are going to fix the big problem, lack of flies 😁

 

I used to breed my own once a year, back when interest rates were in the high teens and we did one ljetty based expedition to take the kids fishing in the christmas holidays.  I used whiting frames and a efficient setup and it produced big fat tasty gents that far outperform shop bought relatives.   Neighbours not too close and did it in a garden shed.  But definitely  smelly and not highly recommended 🤔  

Cheers

Rod

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Spotted a breeding pair of these units by the bins at work today - but I wasnt sure exactly what they were and what the best bait for them would be.

I got on google and finding the best bait for an "Oriental Latrine Fly" was possibly a few steps further than I was willing to go😉.

But upon further reading, the cat food should be fine.

Chrysomya megacephala, more commonly known as the oriental latrine fly, is a member of the family Calliphoridae (blowflies). It is a warm-weather fly with a greenish-blue metallic box-like body. The fly infests corpses soon after death, making it important to forensic science. This fly is implicated in some public health issues; it can cause accidental myiasis,[1] and also infects fish and livestock.

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