How does everyone keep their spikes (maggots) alive

I have trouble keeping my maggots alive longer then 4 days. I bought 1000 count on Saturday and they all turned brown on Tuesday already. I normally leave my waxie in a strike master puck container, same with the maggots stored in the fridge at the bottom. My waxies normally lived to summer but the maggots die within a few days. Is it just me or what.. maggots are quite expensive so please help

Here’s my 2 cents worth. Waxies like it warmer than spikes. A cool place in the basement might be the best place for storage. As for spikes, the white ones last the longest. They must be kept in the coldest place in the fridge, as close to freezing as possible, without actually freezing them. I like the red spikes for fishing, but usually buy a small amount at a time, as they do not seem to survive long at all. Anyway, just my experience.

Amos wrote:

Here’s my 2 cents worth. Waxies like it warmer than spikes. A cool place in the basement might be the best place for storage. As for spikes, the white ones last the longest. They must be kept in the coldest place in the fridge, as close to freezing as possible, without actually freezing them. I like the red spikes for fishing, but usually buy a small amount at a time, as they do not seem to survive long at all. Anyway, just my experience.

I thought that the reds were just dye.. I’ll try that the next time I buy some. Being unsuccessful I was afraid of buying a large quantity and waste money. Thanks for the help

I was able to keep a large amount of them alive for a couple months in the fridge. They were in a ziplock bag with wood shavings, I had the fridge set near the coldest setting. It was one of those small dorm fridges, great place for bait if you don’t want em in the fridge with all the food!

I order 100,000 spikes every winter and distribute to a bunch of friends. The place to keep them the best is the crisper low moisture at 34-36 degrees in your fridge! They come in double ziplock baggs from the supplier I buy them from. I have no problem keeping them months at a time this way! I have tried the big puck and other ways of storage. The double ziplock bags seem to be the best option for extended storage!

Yes, cold, ziplock bags, change sawdust every other week and Take as much air out of the bag as possible. Do not take more out of fridge than needed for the day.

I have been giving up. I just buy MORE.

I just fill up a couple of those strike master bait pucks and leave them wherever I end up leaving them whether it be in the garage or in the truck usually really cold and they are always alive!

I found that once I took spikes out of the very cold fridge they should not go back in the bag again if they are left over. It seems that once they are exposed to even a slightly warmer environment they will go thru the change and pupate. And when a few start to pupate, they all tend to take off in that direction. Someone once said that mass pupating was a hormone thing that goes rampant when a few begin to change….something goes thru the whole mass of them. Spikes are fussy, fussy, fussy.

I use bait pucks. The waxies will live longer in the puck in the fridge spikes I put back in the small plastic container they came in. They die fast if I leave them in the puck.

I question the bait pucks ability to allow the bait to breath. I too have had trouble keeping them alive but find plastic containers with holes in the lids seem to help.

My plastics never seem to die.

Fridge for larvae and usually a window sill for my waxies. Pick out any dead ones every day.

Here’s one that doesn’t work. Somewhere near my wife tends to get the bait killed and me put on death row

Didn’t get a couple in to my bait puck last year and a couple got “free”. Still trying to live that down.