Green Living Number 42: Raising black soldier flies not only cleans the house but also raises pets
While working as an administrator of a hydroponic vegetable growing site, Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Anh Huynh in Ward 15, Binh Thanh District, Ho Chi Minh City accessed a source of information about black soldier flies. Seeing the benefits of raising black soldier flies, which would provide a clean and proactive food source for the ornamental fish and shrimp that Mr. Huynh was raising both for fun and for business, Mr. Huynh decided to buy black soldier flies to raise.
Mr. Huynh "These guys process organic waste very quickly"
At first, Mr. Huynh tried to raise black soldier flies, but his neighbors reported it to the ward because it caused a bad smell. The ward officials invited him to work. He brought the idea of researching the black soldier fly farming model to solve the city's garbage problem, along with documents that had been verified by foreign countries. His story was immediately met by a ward official who had knowledge about black soldier flies, so instead of fining him, he advised him to deal with the bad smell, avoiding disturbing his neighbors.
Mr. Huynh: "Using IMO or MeVi can handle the bad smell when raising black soldier flies."
Mr. Huynh went to find an expert to learn how to deal with the bad smell.
"Black soldier flies in the wild are very strong and easy to survive. There was a time when a swarm of flies suddenly died, including the larvae. I sat and thought, two or three days before, the ward had sprayed insecticide, and they all died. Another time, I went to the market to ask for fruit peels for the larvae to eat. There were too many pesticides left on them, so I brought them home for the larvae to eat and they all died. Every time I ate vegetables and saw them die, I didn't dare to go buy vegetables there again."
When he first started raising them, it was the dry season so it was quite okay. When the rainy season came, Mr. Huynh fed the flies organic waste and asked for bean dregs to feed them. That day, it rained heavily in Ho Chi Minh City. Water splashed into the larval breeding tank and spread all over the rooftop. At nearly midnight, Mr. Huynh's mother discovered it, "When she screamed, I ran upstairs and swept and caught each one." After that, Mr. Huynh stayed up many nights thinking of ways to set traps in the system and build an awning to prevent water from splashing in.
Mr. Huynh: "These fish love black soldier fly larvae."
Once successful, the system is completely automatic. Put trash in, the larvae eat, then the larvae crawl out of the jar to feed the chickens and fish; the larvae's liquid flows down to the jar to fertilize the plants. This model is a closed cycle, the farmer puts kitchen trash in for the larvae to eat, the larger larvae will go out into a separate jar. The farmer takes the cocooned larvae and puts them into the system to turn into flies. The flies live in that system, they need sunlight and water to drink and mate, then lay eggs, and hatch into larvae.
Thanks to this model, the city's garbage collectors will have less work. Mr. Huynh's family has dedicated 1 square meter to raising black soldier flies, and for the past 2 years, every day they have consumed about 3kg of organic waste from his family and 2 neighboring households. Mr. Huynh excitedly said: " Instead of having to throw away the trash, it will turn into a resource. I can raise chickens, birds, fish, shrimp, ... all kinds of ornamental animals that eat larvae, so I don't have to go out to buy them; and I also have some fertilizer to fertilize vegetables and crops. If I don't grow vegetables, I can grow ornamental plants on the terrace. In general, this animal is harvested 10 out of 10, without throwing anything away, just make a 60cm x 40cm box with a cage on top and a pair of cages about 500,000 - 600,000 VND and buy it once, so far it's been almost 2 years without having to buy new breeds".
Mr. Huynh: "Once the larvae are released, they work very quickly."
Mr. Huynh also intended to register intellectual property for a useful solution for the model of raising black soldier flies in townhouses to treat waste and raise pets, but realizing that it would be useless, he decided to share the solution he researched with friends and neighbors to contribute to protecting the city's environment.
Mr. Nguyen Van Dung, National Innovation Expert, Ministry of Science and Technology
Photo provided by character
Mr. Nguyen Van Dung, National Innovation Expert, Ministry of Science and Technology commented: "I see that the black soldier fly farming model is quite new and especially it is related to the treatment of organic waste for people. I have researched and found that it is quite economically effective, because firstly, it can treat the waste left over in households after being filtered and the flies will eat all the waste. In addition, during the farming process, the larvae of black soldier flies can turn into food for other creatures. I think that this model can be tested in big cities because the amount of organic waste from households every day is very large. In particular, this model can start from small scales so it is completely suitable".
However, for it to be widely developed, Mr. Dung said that safer steps are needed. That is, it is necessary to ensure hygiene and safety requirements and farmers must be knowledgeable about the technical process to ensure that when the larvae turn into food, the animals are not affected. "If those risks can be handled, I think that replicating this model is suitable for large cities and completely feasible."
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