Anyone buying mealworms at present?

LRM · #1 (**permalink**) 12-05-2011, 07:23 PM

I've been thinking about buying mealworms. Looked at a few sites suggested on here. The price between WW and Live Foods seem to be quite alot, nearly double. And RSPB doesn't say what the size is. Has anyone bought some recently from these firms or any other at good value?

I presume mini would be better for the smaller birds, but large for the blackbirds, one nest of blackbirds has already fledged.

For example:

RSPB 500g £13.50 apx 5,800 worms PP£3.95 ish

Wriggly Wigglers Large worms 500g £12.70 pp free
Mini worms 500g £23.50

Live Foods Large 500g £ 6.49 pp £1.70 apx
Mini 500g £13.02

I was wondering if there is a quality reason for the price difference. I would probably go for Live Foods Mini 500g £13.02 if the quality is good.
Any suggestions, obervations?

The birds are hunting for food, but the blackbirds don't seem to have such full beaks of worms as previous years. It is so dry here, they may be having trouble. but by the time they arrive, I bet it will be raining non stop - but they will still enjoy them if it is cold and miserable.

The Woodman · #2 (**permalink**) 12-05-2011, 07:42 PM

We buy mini's from Live Foods on a regular basis and have had no problems with them at all. Good service and product. I can't comment on birds' preference - we feed ours to bats.

thewoose · #3 (**permalink**) 12-05-2011, 07:46 PM

I bought 500ml on Sunday morning - put them out at lunchtime, by Monday they'd all gone!

Amazon do 2000ml for £14.99 - Chapelwood Mealworms 2000ml: Amazon.co.uk: Garden & Outdoors

shenk1 · #4 (**permalink**) 12-05-2011, 07:54 PM

We get them from live food direct - standard mealworms - and the birds will eat as many as you can afford

Get a cage feeder to slow the big birds down as once they find a supply they will eat the lot in minutes

- just feed them seperate on the floor

We've only a small garden but lots of birds and we've gone through 14kg since the beginning of April

Cowgirl · #5 (**permalink**) 12-05-2011, 08:34 PM

I've also had from live food direct, good prompt service, best prices & mealworms looked good to me, admittedly didn't try any, but the birds didn't seem to mind

LRM · #6 (**permalink**) 14-05-2011, 05:17 PM

Thanks for prompt replies. Will give Live Foods a try.

Elizabeth B · #7 (**permalink**) 14-05-2011, 06:19 PM

I've tried some of the others mentioned here but have been using wormsdirect for some time now. Very good service, free carriage and the mealworms last well when bought in larger quantities.

captaincarot · #8 (**permalink**) 15-05-2011, 07:16 AM

one reason livefoods are cheap is they are a breeder distributor
they supply the vast majority of the British pet trade with live foods,

i don't know for definite but it's highly likely that when you buy from the rspb you're buying from livefoods indirectly.

if you want to feed meal worms on a large scale breed your own it's not difficult

Elizabeth B · #9 (**permalink**) 15-05-2011, 07:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by captaincarot

if you want to feed meal worms on a large scale breed your own it's not difficult

It takes quite a while to get going though! We bred our own for several years, and the utility room was an ideal place for them as the boiler kept the room warm. Unfortunately , the boiler had to be replaced some years ago, and the room is now too cold for breeding mealworms. However, we save a lot of money on our gas bills - and buy the mealworms.

I still have our instruction sheet - if anyone would like a copy, PM me your email address and I'll send you one.

nightshade · #10 (**permalink**) 15-05-2011, 08:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Woodman

We buy mini's from Live Foods on a regular basis and have had no problems with them at all. Good service and product. I can't comment on birds' preference - we feed ours to bats.

I buy them for feeding rescued bats but they should not be fed exclusively as they can cause problems.
I think they are sold in unbleached paper as a special bat package