From being reported to the ward to becoming a place to consume garbage for neighbors

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.

Nuôi ruồi lính đen trong thành phố: Từ bị báo phường đến thành nơi tiêu thụ rác cho hàng xóm - Ảnh 1. — Mr. Huynh "These guys process organic waste very quickly"

At first, Mr. Huynh raised the flies and his neighbors reported them to the ward because they caused a bad smell. The ward officials invited him to work. He brought the idea of researching the model of raising black soldier flies 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 he did not fine him but advised him to deal with the bad smell to avoid disturbing his neighbors.

Nuôi ruồi lính đen trong thành phố: Từ bị báo phường đến thành nơi tiêu thụ rác cho hàng xóm - Ảnh 2. — 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 whole 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 go to that place to buy vegetables again."

When he first started raising them, it was the dry season so it was quite good. When the rainy season came, Mr. Huynh fed the flies organic waste and asked for bean dregs to feed them. That day, Ho Chi Minh City had a heavy rain. Water splashed into the larval rearing 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 make an awning to prevent water from splashing in.

Nuôi ruồi lính đen trong thành phố: Từ bị báo phường đến thành nơi tiêu thụ rác cho hàng xóm - Ảnh 3. — Mr. Huynh: "These fish love black soldier fly larvae"

If 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 grown 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 garbage, it will turn into resources. 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 one is harvested 10 out of 10, without throwing anything away. I just make a 60cm x 40cm box with a cage on top and a pair of cages for 500,000 - 600,000 VND and bought it once, so it's been almost 2 years now, so I don't have to buy new varieties."

Nuôi ruồi lính đen trong thành phố: Từ bị báo phường đến thành nơi tiêu thụ rác cho hàng xóm - Ảnh 5. — 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 realized that it was useless, so he decided to share the solution he researched with friends and neighbors to contribute to protecting the city's environment.

Nuôi ruồi lính đen trong thành phố: Từ bị báo phường đến thành nơi tiêu thụ rác cho hàng xóm - Ảnh 6. — Mr. Nguyen Van Dung, National Innovation Expert, Ministry of Science and Technology

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 learned that it is quite economically effective, because firstly, it can treat the waste remaining 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 understand 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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