Reduce ~ Reuse ~ Recycle ~ Gourmet Bugs

I would like to take a minute to write a special thanks to my reader who wanted to donate to this cause and suggest a donate button.  Thank you for your help and to others who also see what I see and wish to contribute!  It means alot and adds to my "want" to do more, especially since I know others are liking what I'm doing.  So now others are involved and it has gone beyond just an idea.

Yes I want to form a business of Gourmet Bugs to better myself and family but it goes deeper.  I want to help people.  If one design should help somebody gather or produce another meal then all is worth it to me. 

Seems like this was meant to be. I say that because ever since I began this journey a few short weeks ago, everything has fallen into place and I always get what I need to complete a desired task or project right when it's needed.

Case in point, the title for this article, "Reduce ~ Reuse ~ Recycle".  I spent an entire day cleaning out junk and straightening up my garage to better be able to work.  Hauled a trailer load of junk to the city recycle yard while thinking of picking up some 2' x 4' lumber to rip and make mealworm beetle boxes. Guess what?  I got what I needed, again, and most of them are already angled on the ends...

Eh!!! This whole pile of already ripped and angled lumber just sitting there waiting for me to come by!  Many good pieces of 2" x 4' lumber also.  This will keep me busy for awhile and thanks to whoever didn't need them!

Most of the things I've built over the years have been made by using parts from the city recycle yard.  It's amazing sometimes what people toss out and is free for the taking! 

So I'm going to try something different in beetle box construction today.  Instead of installing screen by sandwiching between two pieces, I'm going to build frames of this gift wood, rip a groove all the way around on the table saw I now have clean garage access to haha, and install the screen into the groove with a screen tool just like as if one were using regulation screen frame material.  If successful, it will save from needing two layers of wood on the beetle box screen and I can use coroplast to make custom fitting boxes.  I think it will work and will update on it later.

Update!  Didn't take to long to see this is going to work great!  Each piece of wood is ripped to make two so two of these salvaged pieces make one screen frame, 11.5" x 11.5" ID.  After cutting, the corners are glued and screwed with a short screw so to not interfere with our screen spline cut shown below...

The screen spline groove shown above is cut 1/4" deep, 1/2" from the inner edge all the way around and the inside top edge of the groove is rounded slightly with one pass of a Dremel grinder where the screen is pulled so to not cause it to tear on a sharp corner.  Below we see the screen installed by pressing the rubber spline into the groove and the excess screen trimmed off.  I'm really kind of surprised it worked so well.  Much easier to install than on aluminum screen frame and the screen is very tight and flat.

I'm sure happy somebody decided to throw these pieces away.  Have enough for 34 more frames and the 11.5" ID of the frames is the perfect size for forming the upper mealworm corral from a 4' wide strip of coroplast that will have at least 2" flap leftover for wrapping around and sealing the wall.

Could not have asked for better trash haha!

Darkling Beetle Breeder Box