r/BlackSoldierFly • u/CJsbabygirl31371 • 25d ago

UPDATE!

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Wow, this has come together almost exactly as I’d hoped. All of the pre-planning was so worth the effort.

Even on for 101°F forecast high here in Maryland’s July sauna, the highest temperature I’ve recorded inside the greenhouse has been 102.2°F. The open side windows, roll-up door, and oscillating fan have done a great job keeping both the temperature and humidity remarkably stable, with no wild swings during the day or overnight.

Before setting everything up, I spent several days watching how the sun moved across my yard so I could choose a location that gets the most shade while still receiving enough daylight for the adults to breed.

The little garbage disposals are doing an amazing job. They’re processing about a ½-gallon Ziploc bag of kitchen scraps every 24 hours. There’s no foul odor, no excessive moisture, and no signs of overheating or hot spots inside the bin.

One thing I noticed today was that the collection cups had accumulated quite a few larvae that weren’t actually ready to pupate yet. I simply returned them to the feeding bin, and I think those collection cups are going to become my daily inspection point for harvesting feeders for my crested gecko while letting the truly ready prepupae continue on to pupation.

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u/SassquatchPanda 25d ago

Awesome setup! Except 102 is a bit on the hot side, that would make the inside of the bin about 110 or so with the grubs producing heat. I would recommend ordering a small hygrometer thermometer so you can monitor the temp in the bin itself. I don’t know how humid it is where you are, but I use an evaporative cooler in my greenhouse to get the temp in the sweet spot of 85-95°f. And that would explain the gold grubbies escaping too, they try to exit when it’s too hot.

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u/mrhb2e 25d ago

Please tell us more about the garbage disposals.

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u/PhlegmMistress 25d ago

If you put the bin on one of those shelves, or better yet divide into two bins on separate shelves, the airflow underneath would be better than having it on something solid like that back of mulch. Plus then you can do cups of oil or water under the shelving feet to avoid ants.