Sourcing Mealworm in Northumberland area

[Epona]

We just moved from Haldimand County to Northumberland. We’ve been using the feed store in Warkworth...with the added bonus of an awesome bakery across the road, but they don’t carry mealworms that have been freeze dried. I’m just about out of the stuff I brought with us. I’ve checked the usual spots like Home Hardware and TSC in Cobourg...but no luck. Any suggestions?

[Jaye]

Sorry, I can't help much. I went through the same thing last year when my go-to Walmart stopped carrying them, as did Home Hardware. Petsmart may have some but in tiny little containers, and at an exorbitant price. You can order some off Amazon - a bit cheaper than the pet stores and in larger quantities, but may still be a bit pricey, especially if you don't have Prime and have to pay for shipping.
If you're close to a U.S. border town, you can also try shopping there, but with the exchange rate, again, it's pricey. I've had to resort to raising my own. I sourced my live starter colony from a reptile breeder.

[ross]

Google these guys up will ship . No idea if price good or not I never have used um .

[Farrier1987]

Ask at your local McDonalds. I understand they use a lot of them to make their ground beef go further. See if the manager will tell you where they get theirs.

[ross]

Out of the waste bins don’t they Farrier ?

[KimChick]

I get mine from Chubby Mealworms, now that Home Hardware no longer carries them . They do not charge shipping, thus I find their prices fine. Here is the link:
Chubby Mealworms
Actually, I needed to buy more and the coupon code that I had received earlier, and was apparently expired, worked. And I got 20% off my order.
Here it is:
The 20% off coupon.

[Epona]

Thanks so much...with this cold weather the peafowl really need the added protein. Cheers

[thegawd]

Why not start a culture and raise them? Buy a few thousand, put them in a bucket or similar container filled with bran, oats ect and a potato or a carrot for moisture. Keep them in a warm place and that's pretty much as simple as it gets. Live mealworms are much more nutritious than freeze dried and they can be even more nutritious simply by feeding the mealworms something better than bran and "gut loading" them prior to feeding them to the birds. When i was a reptile breeder i had a few of these pails. i kept them on bran simply because i could use a strainer to sift the worms out but i keep them onoatmeal now because bran comes from wheat and its obviously not gluten free. (Something you may want to keep in mind if you are celiac, they are usually sold in bran)

There's quite a few suppliers online but i just bought a few hundred from a local pet store last summer for my sons toad. We still have quite a few, all different sizes, pupae and beetles in a tupperware container. They are super easy to reproduce but you could just put a container in the fridge where they will not grow and simply feed them off, thats what most people do.

[Killerbunny]

Oh is it a fire bellied toad @thegawd they are very cute!

[kenya]

Very interesting to know, not that I will ever do it, the thought of them getting loose, someone knocking the pail or bucket over is too much for me.