Question 1

How do I feed live mealworms to garden birds?

Accepted Answer

When your worms are weighed and packed here at the farm they are sent with some bedding of wheat bran. As they eat this the resulting material is called frass and needs to be sieved (a normal small kitchen sieve is perfect). Because live mealworms are a bit wiggly the key to feeding them to your birds is to use a steep sided dish so that they can’t crawl out. The ones on sale are all steep sided but they also have the benefit that you can lower the cover section which stops the rain from getting in and also means that only the smaller birds can access the feeder.

https://www.wigglywigglers.co.uk/products/i-love-robins-birdfeeder

Question 2

How do I store Live Mealworms?

Accepted Answer

Don’t worry about your mealworms wiggling a bit – we promise you will get used to them and you will be rewarded by you garden birds.

The best way to start to buy live mealworms is to start with 3 x 40g tubs. The tubs have a serrated lid which is breathable and this means they are easy to keep. If you want to keep them for more than a few days – sieve the frass out and add some bran or mealworm food to keep them going, and pop them into a cool dark place (a garage or shed is a good option).

Question 3

Is my garden a great place for garden birds?

Accepted Answer

It depends… most gardens aren’t ideal for birds as it is difficult to find a lot of natural food if the garden is a mixture of paving and lawn. The perfect garden will be a haven for wildlife and in particular an invertebrate paradise… Native hedging, wildflowers, a pond will all make a huge difference as will feeding live mealworms – they are of course natural food packed with liquids, protein and also fat which will help your birds in really cold weather.

Question 4

Can birds on the nest eat mealworms?

Accepted Answer

As the adult birds feed their young they are looking for food rich in protein and liquids. Baby birds have no access to water and it’s needed to sustain life so this is provided by live food of one form or another.

We all know there has been a general decline in natural invertebrates so there are two key steps to take that will help. In the shorter and medium term supplement your birdfood with live worms (especially in the Spring) and for the medium to longer term plant native wildflowers, dig a wildlife pond and plant a native hedge to make a major difference for your birds and wildlife.

Question 5

Which birds eat live mealworms?

Accepted Answer

Lots of birds are attracted to live mealworms including

Blackbirds

By the way whilst you may want to deter larger birds it’s well worth helping out your starling population with some live wigglers as their numbers have been in decline for some years.

Question 6

When is the best time to feed live mealworms to garden birds?

Accepted Answer

Your birds will benefit from feeding all year round and live food is important. There are times of year when it is more important than other times though – in particular feeding adults and young in the breeding season is key as live food is critical to the survival rates of the whole family.

Outside of the breeding season because there is a decrease in natural food and invertebrates and there is no better food than live mealworms so if you want to all year round is a good idea. If not live mealworms are particularly beneficial when there is dry weather or drought and in the moulting season so summer and late summer.