Making a Mealworm Feeder Part Two

NOTE:-If you are using the same dimensions of wood as I did then these measurements will work.  If your wood is wider, then the end pieces will have to be shorter so that the piece of pop-bottle plastic will reach around it.

1.) Cut the top and bottom from the bottle and then cut it lengthwise to have a curled piece of rectangular plastic.

2.) Mark the wood so that the base of the feeder is about 20cms long and the end pieces are about 12 or 13cm tall.

3.) Draw round a can or circular lid to mark the arches on the ends. Cut with a jig-saw or a coping saw.

4.) Sand to smooth.

5.) Use a hole cutter to make the holes.  I make my holes one inch (22mm) as I am so mean that I only want to feed my bluetit family and not the flocks of sparrows and several robins that visit my garden.  I also put the holes near the top as I have found that some sparrows are able to reach in and snatch the worms from the base.  Some are even small enough to get in, anyway!

6.) Before gluing the end pieces to the base, check that your piece of plastic will fit.

7.) Glue and pin the end pieces to the base.

8.) Lay the plastic over and staple along one edge.

9.) Stretch it over and staple the other edge and then the ends.

10.) Trim off the excess plastic.

11.) Attach two small eyes to suspend the feeder.

Photos of the Process


An empty pop bottle


Draw round the ends.  The clamp is to hold both together when you cut them

The ends cut and sanded
The two entrance holes are cut

The ends glued and pinned with small panel pins
The plastic is stapled before trimming

Trimming the plastic
Attach the eyes

The finished feeder

I buy a kilo of mealworms in the Spring from Livefoodsdirect.co.uk
These are kept in a large, plastic shopping box in the garage.  They are fed with a handful of bran, which I buy at the local Health Food shop, and an occasional handful of Tesco Value Porage oats.
I add lettuce leaves, a slice of apple; carrot; cucumber or potato from time to time.  These provide moisture for the worms.
Periodically, they need to be sieved.  Their waste is a dry, very fine powder called 'frass'.  This is allowed to fall into a waste bin for disposal.

Over the next several week, some of the worms pupate and I remove the pupae to another box to hatch into flightless beetles.  These also get the same food and are left to do their thing and lay eggs.  As they die, they are removed.
Eventually the eggs hatch into microscopic worms which take weeks to grow large enough to be seen.
I am now on the third generation of eggs and I am out of worms for the time being.

Each morning I add about a tablespoon of worms to the feeder.  I repeat this as necessary throughout the day.  Once the eggs have hatched, I am kept pretty busy as it may be refilled every hour or so.

Some of the worms climb up at the corners of the feeder and make a dash for freedom. They are generally picked off by enterprising sparrows and robins.  They rarely even reach the ground!!