Mealworm sifter - pic heavy

[kizanne]

Someone wanted pictures so here they are. I made this cause I had trouble finding a sifter that worked well for me. And I tried a few

First I use a 3 lbs cottage cheese container from Sam's (just left over from our weekly consumption *free*)

Then I cut a whole in the bottom.

Took a second one and cut a ring.

In between these I put vent screen from Lowe's big roll $15. Probably could figure something else out cheaper but was steel and the right mesh size plus can be changed with patience.

I could have hot glued in but didn't have hot glue at the time and like being able to take apart (just me).

The frass leaves quickly

The longer I let them sit the more crawl out so I can either get a lot by dumping quick but get variety of sizes

Or leave for a few minutes and get mostly larges which I do cause only feeding a small amount each day (though this is a big bowl

 

[Kassaundra]

Cool idea.

 

[reereechickens]

Great idea! Wonderful pics!

 

[bloom_ss]

Cool! I just made a sifter today also.

 

[WestKnollAmy]

Ahhhh! I see now. So much better than what I had pictured in my mind.
I like!

 

[kizanne]

Quote:
I saw yours on the thread I love it. Feel free to post a picture and directions here so that this thread has a variety of sifters for those who are interested can find it in one place instead of sifting through the 100 page mealworm page. LOL I love that thread but can be daunting to find all the info.

 

[bloom_ss]

Quote:
I saw yours on the thread I love it. Feel free to post a picture and directions here so that this thread has a variety of sifters for those who are interested can find it in one place instead of sifting through the 100 page mealworm page. LOL I love that thread but can be daunting to find all the info.

Alright, I'll post it here too!

Here's the post from the mealworm thread:

Just made this today:

Not sure if it will work or not since I haven't tried it yet, but I hope it works. I just used some scrap wood that I had laying around (was meant to be kindling for the fireplace...lol) and some metal screen from an old screen door. I only just started my mealworm farm about a week or so ago so I haven't had to do any sifting yet.

Oh, and I used hot glue to seal the gap between the screen and the frame on both sides. The frame is screwed together on the back side.

Added info:

MATERIALS/TOOLS USED:
Eight 1 3/4 inch wide strips of wood that are 10 inches long
One square of metal screen that is about 9" x 9" (maybe a bit bigger...I didn't measure it except to make sure I had enough to fit the frame)
Staple gun with small staples
Drill for making holes and putting in screws
8 screws to hold frame together
Hot glue gun and glue sticks

DIRECTIONS FOR PUTTING TOGETHER:
Cut 45 degree angles on each of the strips of wood and place four strips together to form a square.
Use staple gun and staple the screen on to one half of the frame.
Place last four strips of wood in a square over the top of the screen.
Drill 8 small holes (two for each side of the square) and put in screws to hold the two frames together with the screen sandwiched between them.
Use hot glue to seal the gap between the two frames right where the screen goes in between them on both the front and the back.

And you're done!!

I think this size of a screen would only be helpful for someone that has a small mealworm farm as opposed to a large farm since you can't sift very much at a time with this screen. If you want a screen like this in a bigger size, just increase the measurements for the length and width of the strips of wood and the size of the screen and then just put it all together the same way. You could also get a different type of screening to put in it if you want your screen to have bigger or smaller holes.

 

[zm1161]

Hello,
Thats a cool contraption and a good idea. I was wondering is there a specific type of substrate that works/sifts the easiest? also are you able to seperate the life stages just through sifting? Thanks for your time!

Zach McKeown