Mealworms

Mealworms - it sounds like something you need to call a doctor or perhaps an exterminator about.  But wild birds love these things and many people enjoy offering them, especially during winter when food is hard to find and also in the spring when birds are feeding their young. Mealworms are not really worms at all, but the larval stage of the darkling beetle.  They have been commercially grown for many years as bait for small fish and to feed captive reptiles and birds.  Mealworms can also provide a great source of nutrition for wild birds.

Mealworms are available two ways, live and freeze dried.  The live ones are extremely popular with most of the birds that come into your yard.  The fact that they are live is a plus for the birds but a real problem for many humans!  Freeze dried mealworms are not quite as popular with the birds, but are still readily taken and they are much easier to store and use.  Because of this, and also due to the recent drop in the cost of freeze dried mealworms, these treats are a great addition to your feeding program.  If you've been a little squeamish about handling the live mealworms, freeze dried is the way to go!

Here's an idea - use the bottom half of a saucer style hummingbird feeder to serve up mealworms in the winter!

If even the thought of "mealworms" makes you hesitant to try them, do the following.  Read this blog again, but replace the word "mealworms" with, lets say, "Tasty Grubs".  There, isn’t that better?  Pick up a bag of Tasty Grubs for your little bird friends today!  All we need now is a catchy little jingle and the squirmy, yucky mealworm, excuse me - "Tasty Grub", will be elevated to a must-have bird treat!