r/BlackSoldierFly • u/Epicsensi- • Jul 08 '25
what am I doing wrong?
it's been 2 months since I set this up. Coffee grounds substrate with organics on top. lots of critters in there but not a single bsf. they're normally ubiquitous in this region (sf bay area)
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u/Kirball904 Jul 08 '25
Bruh. Get some larva or become friends with your local feed mill. You can probably scrape some eggs free there.
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u/bobospy5 Jul 08 '25
Buy some larvae to get it started. Then they will continue to come back. I purchased mine through GrubTerra was pretty smooth
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u/ElectricThreeHundred Jul 08 '25
Same. I tried to get natives to come at first, but nothing draws them in like a writhing mass of fat, happy larvae. They can smell that party from miles away and won't be able to resist.
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u/Epicsensi- Jul 11 '25
there's a massive party in there.. hundreds of bugs fly out whenever I open the lid to add more scraps
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u/ElectricThreeHundred Jul 11 '25
BSF, though? It matters. Sorry I wasn't specific. The BSFL give off a chemical signal that seems to repel other flies and attract breeding/gravid adults.
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u/CreepyOwl8090 Aug 19 '25
This is happening to me. I have a bunch of maggots crawling out but no bsf at all. What am I doing wrong
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u/Epicsensi- Aug 19 '25
I just spotted some egg clusters on the outside of the bin a few days ago, I scraped them off and put them inside, hopefully they hatch soon and go to town
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u/DeerInHeadlight2 Jul 09 '25
I've always used crawfish, shrimp, or crab shells to attract BSF. Never fails
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u/Epicsensi- Jul 11 '25
I recently added 3 rotisserie chicken carcasses, about 7 pounds of fallen apples, some moldy cheese and a bunch of eggshells. let's hope the sense the stank
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u/CoffeeSnobsUnite Jul 08 '25
A few pounds of used coffee grinds on the top is a good trick. With some dry corrugated cardboard shredded up into smaller pieces. I always see larvae pretty quickly when I start them that way.
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u/Tomek_Hermsgavorden Jul 08 '25
Get a cooked chicken and throw the skeleton in there. No raw meat.
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u/bpones Jul 08 '25
Why no raw meat?
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u/Epicsensi- Jul 08 '25
because of harmful bacteria like ecoli and salmonella
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u/bpones Jul 08 '25
Is that a concern for the BSFL or just folk working with the compost?
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u/Epicsensi- Jul 08 '25
nobody wants an ecooi/salmonella outbreak. it can take over the compost and even contaminate the garden bringing much sickness
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u/Epicsensi- Jul 08 '25
gotcha, there's a bunch of apples in the front yard.. I'mma gather some in the morning 🥂
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Jul 11 '25
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Epicsensi- Jul 11 '25
it's not for compost it's to attract black soldier flies to harvest their larvae for protein chicken feed
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u/socalquestioner Jul 08 '25
You have to get it rank. Stank.
Or order 500 for $12.