Keep bugs off high meat!

[letsdoiteczema]

Keep bugs off high meat!

- insect repellent plants
- natural insect repellents, e.g. essential oils. I drip 3-4 drops of "Now" brand Lavender Essential Oil on the lid of my 2 high meat jars

I know this works because without Lavender oil, 1-2 flies are constantly roaming on my high meat jars.

I suppose this also stops insects from laying eggs on the jar lids, so no eggs will drop into the jar anymore! I've been opening my jar lids daily for nearly 2 weeks and no sign of maggots...fingers crossed 

Please report back your results! I'm very curious whether this works for you or not?

[Ioanna]

where do you keep your high meat jars? and how long do they usually go for? sorry if you've  posted this elsewhere, but have you seen maggots in your high meat jars before?... eating high meat is still psychologically challenging for me, but i'm getting there! if there were maggots i'd be back at square one i think even tho there are people who eat those too i think.

[jessica]

excellent advise!

ionna i hope this doesnt gross you out, i am pretty squeamishness and noticed little teeeny tiny baby maggots on my high meat and just kinda smooshed em into the meat and they didnt develop any further it wasnt the grossest thing ever and i kinda of justified them as extra protein

[Ioanna]

lol, no, it makes think you're awesome     i just don't know if i could do it, yet

i've been keeping my jars only one or two nights at room temp and then i put them in the fridge there on. i wonder if i'll have a problem with flies? or is that only because people leave them out at room temp? 

[cherimoya_kid]

Why not just stretch some pantyhose, cheesecloth, or some other fine mesh across the lid?

[Inger]

I never had problems with flies in my high meat?!
I posted a video how I store it on the top of this thread. I air it carefully and check out, there goes no flies in the jar when open.
Should be no problem!

Inger

[letsdoiteczema]

Why not just stretch some pantyhose, cheesecloth, or some other fine mesh across the lid?

I would, but I need to eat 1-2 tiny bits of high meat every day, so unwrapping the pantyhose every single day to take out high meat would be quite troublesome. Also, I'm afraid that when I open the lid, flies will fly into the jar when they're attracted to the strong smell. The insect repellent methods above keeps insects a certain distance away.

[Dorothy]

Flies are more of a problem in some places than others and at certain times of the year than others so what might work in one place might not work in others. I have a terrible fly and fruit fly problem here.

It's funny to hear this discussion now because I'm deeply involved in attracting black soldier flies to special composters so that I will have their maggots to feed the chickens. I keep on looking at these things that my chickens consider such a delicacy and wonder why I'm such a coward! I can't even get myself to touch them yet... but they fascinate me.

Black soldier flies will take just about anything that is carbon-based (and even some that aren't) and make it into compost in 24 hours. They harvest themselves by climbing out of the composter. When they do, they squirt out a natural antibiotic - which makes black soldier flies free of any kind of bad bacteria.

When you have black soldier flies the scent scares away regular houseflies that do carry diseases. Black soldier flies also do not bite.

I have no idea how this relates to high meat or how the information could be useful - but thought I'd add it even if it's just in regard to people perhaps wanting to eat black soldier fly "grubs" on their own like people eat other bugs. I think they are one the best. It would be high quality food that is literally free.

Even if you have carrion that might be questionable - you can give it to the black soldier flies and then eat the fly maggots. I'm doing this with meat and scraps that I wouldn't eat myself. It goes to the flies, which goes to the chickens whose eggs I then eat. When you can't get grassfed meat the black soldier flies will take the toxins and transmute them into something good to deposit in the soil and not have any of the toxins in themselves. They are really amazing little creatures. They are purifiers. 

[Inger]

so unwrapping the pantyhose every single day to take out high meat would be quite troublesome.

LOL.. I guess it would take you just a few seconds. I hope no lazyness is involved... or you will have to fight with your flies..

Inger

[letsdoiteczema]

I have no idea how this relates to high meat or how the information could be useful - but thought I'd add it even if it's just in regard to people perhaps wanting to eat black soldier fly "grubs" on their own like people eat other bugs.

@ Dorothy

Your post was full of amazing mind-blowing information. Thank you very much. Although I've been socially conditioned, like many of you, to fear bugs, I was actually thinking about the $$$ I would save if I could have my own bug/worm/grub factory.

This is why I love this forum (and its members) - so full of fascinating info.

[letsdoiteczema]

LOL.. I guess it would take you just a few seconds. I hope no lazyness is involved... or you will have to fight with your flies..

Inger

I think being a computer/Internet addict and just living in this tech age has made me very lazy . People are always looking for ways to do things with less clicks, less steps, EVEN when they're sitting at a desk for 12 hours! haha! Pretty ridiculous ...

I seem to have read that you keep your high meat in the fridge? High meat kept outside in room temperature ferments much quicker, and I make sure the good bacteria gets enough air by airing the jars daily, and not filling the jars more than halfway.

[Dorothy]

I'm sorry if I'm a bit dense - but why wouldn't you just eat some when you go to air it? Take off the rubberband/cover and eat and air all in one "click".

[Alive]

One of my high meat jars got a little fly in it, which died. I just ate the baby maggot with the rotten meat - the meat must be so full of useful microbes by this stage that for any new microbes to colonise it would be like a canoe load of pacific islanders invading china!