How many out there buy the bulk tub of 250? It’s a better deal, either 30 or 36 for around 2 bucks, or 250 for $8.50, you do the math. Well anyway with these big bulk tubs how do you guys find the most effective storage method is for waxies? I am normally just a let them sit in the fridge and they stay just fine kinda guy, but is there a better way?
I don’t know the exact temp range, but cold is good. Don’t let them freeze or get too warm. I’ve had best success in the card board snuff packs and not plastic. I break them down to smaller quantity right a way
Hard to find the cardboard ones any more. But I’m sure they are a better insulator than plastic.
I use the bait pucks! Work pretty good. Even euro larve last a while in those but wrap them in actowel.
I always left my bulk waxies in the original container and parked that up against an outside wall in the basement where there weren’t any heat ducts warming the area. A closet on an outside wall would work too as long as the worms are kept on the outer perimeter. I’d go thru them every couple days to remove any that were starting to get dark and to give the sawdust a shake to fluff it up. When I wanted to fish I transferred what I needed into a bait puck.
Waxies will keep in the original container for a long time as long as you keep the dead ones out, the sawdust loose and not allow any moisture to get in the sawdust. Moisture will kill those things in a couple days. Keeping them in a dark area too will prolong their shelf life. I wouldn’t want to let them get much under 40 degrees but 50-60 is ok, they’re tougher than most people think.
Euros are a whole different ballgame. They need to be refrigerated and be kept very dry. Refrigerator cold is sufficient. These I always kept in a larger sized puck way back on one of the shelves in the fridge. These need to be picked thru about every day as the dead ones emit ammonia and the whole container will go bad in a heartbeat if they aren’t kept clean of dead bugs. When I was going fishing I put what I needed for the day in a separate puck from the waxies and when I finished fishing I just fed any remaining euros to the birds or put them down the ice hole. Once these bugs have been allowed to get “sort of” warm they’ll pupate within a day and be no good. Putting them back in with those in the fridge can wreck the whole shooting match in a couple days because pheromones are exuded when they pupate and all will begin the process.
The euros are a whole lot more cold tolerant than waxies when you’re in the field. Still, those bait pucks make handling them much neater and cleaner.
If you want a more accurate temp. range answer, I’d suggest doing a search for suppliers. They list all that info on their sites. They give good recommendations and have several different options and suggestions. Just some food for thought.
Butter Moth larve. Best temp is around 55 degrees. Fridge will kill them after long time. Warm and they mature and become Butter Moths. Vexilar sent me a thermometer one time. I never put it in water as I have electronics on my boat and never thought about checking the water temp while ice fishing. If I am fishing from shore, well it’s in a farm pond and we all know how that is. F.U.N. is right. Anyways, I stuck the thermometer in a plastic grocery bag and hung from a basement window and guess what. Temp between 50 and 55 during Winter. The thermometer was against the paneling in my basement, not the window pane. It would have been much colder against the pane I am sure. I store them here. I still go through my waxies once a week or so and remove the dead or dying and the survivors last a long time. Funny side note. At our local Farm and Fleet they keep waxies in a mini fridge with the redworms and crawlers. Anyways, long story short the fridge ceased to work for whatever reason. There were no redworms or crawlers in there, thank goodness it could have stunk something awful. Well I must have been the only one to open that fridge to get some waxies for some time, or I hit the hatch just right. When I opened the door a large cloud of unexpected small white moths found their freedom. I just stood there giggling. You can probably imagine. Good fishing everyone!
Spikes or euros I have kept these for over a year in a ziplock bag with all the air out.Put this inside another air tight bag and leave it in the refrigerator.
Thanks for the tips. I am in an apartment as of now so the fridge is still my best option. As far as them becoming moths I at one time looked up if it was possible to raise them and remember the month part but that’s about it,(hence the posts title) thanks guys.
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