Wax worms in the fridge

[Bartman44]

Just reached in the back of the fridge for a beer a while ago and noticed one of my little Tupperware containers from last ice fishing season in there. Well I opened it up and the waxworms were doing just fine (from March)

How long can you keep these things in the fridge?? (Obviously a lot longer than the beer in there)

[fishincrazy]

I've never kept was worms in the fridge, they are suppose to be kept at room temp.  Thats cool that you have had them that long.

[big big rdg]

Thats crazyy, ive never kept them in the fridge before but you bet I will be now

[icy mike]

I usually find a container in my coveralls that sat in my garage all winter.  Kinda cool that they lasted that long.  Or maybe your wife is fishing on the side without telling you!!

[fishingking]

I find that waxies and Mealworms last the longest. The spikes will die off especially if you dont pick out the dead ones

[Bean]

If there is a spot in your fridge that's only around 50* Fahrenheit, the waxies will last a long time there.

[perchnut]

I usually find a container in my coveralls that sat in my garage all winter.  Kinda cool that they lasted that long.  Or maybe your wife is fishing on the side without telling you!!

Ditto......I usually fish with the white grubs, maggies(?), and they generally dont last too long in the fridge before they turn black...maybe too cold, I dont know...and i'll have to check at my wifes next tupperware party for the 'waxie container - theyll last for months'  you could be on to something there.

[Strike Lead]

I found a plastic container on the window ledge in the garage that had maggots in it. As I looked I saw that the whole thing was black. I thought that they were rotten. Out of curiosity I opened it up and found a couple dozen of the biggest blow flies that I had ever seen in my life? They were really sluggish and slow.

My question is......where do they get all of these maggots and what kind of fly are they anyhow?

[BUCKSKI]

Yep used waxies this spring fishing for crappies and gills. Buy em by the 1000 for the ice season. They do last for a long time.
Spikes always die quicker and are more sensitive to temp changes.
Saw a great article last year that dave genz wrote on bait storage. Confirmed much of the info found here!
One suggestion is to find a thicker plastic container for transport and storage. Found some plastic boxes from screws I used on the house and will be using them this year. Last few year i used old chew cans but they don't hold that much.
Reason being I usually crush them out fishing or walking to the ice.

[winchester 88]

Commercially maggots are raised from fly eggs laid on turkey meat and then collected as they hatch.
 Euro larva the large colored version of our maggots are raised on dyed turkey meat and take on the color of the dye in the meat.
 These can be very effective at times if the fish are being particular about a certain color. They are expensive however and this prohibits most local bait stores from selling them
 For newcomers to this site there is a lot of information in the tips and techniques section under "baits"
 I have kept maggots in a plastic zip loc bag in the butter keeper compartment for several months.The trick is to change the wood chips that they are sold in when it gets damp as this causes the maggots  to "go to seed" as I call it when they turn hard and brown.The other trick is to keep the wife from grossing out over having maggies in the fridge which can be accomplished with a nice fish fry as a reminder of the potential reward for putting up with them in the fridge.

Gettin ready for ice....
Winchester 88

[LoneWolf]

I keep both waxies and maggies in the fridge for ice season. I store them in old coffee cans with a few holes punched in the top. By keeping them in the fridge they remain dormant and last longer.

[walleyechaser]

learn something new everyday.  I've always thought waxies would die in the fridge.
I usually keep them on a window sill in my basement.  They seem to last forever as long as you keep the dead ones out and fresh sawdust in.

[PIKEGUY]

I've kept waxies in the fridge as long as I can remember...that's what grandpa did so I followed suit. But I didn't know they could last THAT long 

[LoneWolf]

That is a very long time. I do as walleyechaser said and pick out any dead maggies or waxies weekly and change the saw dust every few weeks as well.
If I remember correctly maggies like it around 40 degrees and waxies around 50 degrees. I purchased a refridgerator thermometer years ago and during ice season  try to keep it at 45 degrees .. middle of the road.

[icejunky]

The palce I buy my waies from keeps them in a semi frozen state, as they start to thaw they becme livley, they told me whennot using them put them in the back area (coldest part of the fridge) of the fridge. It has woked well until the wife spots them

[rangerbull]

I don't find that unusal, I own and operate a bait and tackle store and keep my beemoths at 40 degrees. this renders the beemoths in a dorment state. they last a long time. moisture in the containers will cause a loss as will warm weather. I also raise my own beemoths and would share my info with anyone wanting to know how.

[shancooper]

Ranger,  I would like to know how.  I've lost a bee hives due to waxworms.  I've wondered how you would raise enough of them to fish with.  I also ran into a creature called "wigglers" in Michigan and wondered what they were the larvae to, and how you could farm them.

[CrappieGuy]

Wigglers are Mayfly larvae and are harvested from the mud in the bottom of lakes or streams.  They have gotten very expensive in Wisconsin because of some tree hugging judge thought that the harvesting caused too much damage to the streams and lakes.  There were some law changes that made the the harvesting very costly so the price went up tenfold.  Used to be the best Perch bait you could buy, now you can't afford to buy them and if you do they are junk because they have sat around too long.