Meal worm shortage????

Question

i live in bethlehem pa and if anyone who lives there and has a reptile please tell me why there has been a meal worm shortage

i have not seen any meal worms and i am forced to give my pet cricket which it does not like eating

Answer 1

At my Petsmart location in Virginia we were also told of a mealworm shortage. Oddly enough we have continued to receive them at our store. But we have stopped getting in waxworms, which are what I need.

Answer 2

Hey i live in illinois and we also have a mealworm shortage, it's just about ending though as I found mealworms the other day for the first time in months! The mealworms were actually all dying, they had some sort of disease so petstores obviously stopped selling them until they have the problem fixed. There are a lot of other foods you can feed your lizard..I have two geckos and they have been eating calci worms, wax worms, and gut loaded crickets. I hope you gut load your crickets otherwise they have absolutely no nutritional value. Check out the alternatives to mealworms and hang in there, they'll be back eventually!

Answer 3

Wow...we have been having a meal worm issue in California also! Must be something with a major distributor.

Nationwide, major companies producing or selling Tenebrio molitor are limiting new orders or halting them altogether. It’s creating a pinch some herpkeepers are feeling online and at the local pet store.

Production issues appear to be main culprit. Fred Rhyme, owner of Rainbow Mealworms, said his worms have been dying when they’re young. Once the chitinous insects get big, however, they do fine.

In business for more than 50 years, Rhyme said it’s the first time he’s encountered this problem. Unsure what is causing his mealworms to die, he said it might be the grain in which he keeps the insects. “We’re testing everything,” he said. “I’m trying different grains from different granaries.”

Whatever the cause, Rhyme said he’s more than 200 million worms behind in his orders, yet he hoped production would be back to normal by late July. “We’d better,” he said, “or I’m out of business.”

Companies experiencing production issues appear to be few, but the problem has had a trickledown effect on other mealworm suppliers. Obviously, those buying directly from businesses such as Rainbow Mealworms are feeling the pinch, and other mealworm producers have encountered more demand than their current stocks can handle.

Yet some companies are using the shortage to remind herpkeepers that mealworms are rarely their only option for feeder insects. Todd Goodman, general manager of Timberline Live Pet Foods, said crickets are a great protein substitute. “In most cases crickets are not a new part of certain diets but only take a larger role during limited mealworm availability,” he said. “Continuing to feed other foods to attempt to maintain a well-rounded diet still remains very important.”

Answer 4

I think the large supplier experienced problems.. why, I don't know. Although, I live in suburban Philadelphia and we recently have been receiving some again at Petsmart.