Mealworms for Birds
Mealworms are a rich source of protein, fibre and fat for wild birds.
Here at Really Wild Bird Food, we stock live mealworms as well as dried mealworms for your garden birds to enjoy. Put some live worms in a mealworm feeder or add some dried worms to your favourite seed mix for extra nutrition!
Scroll down to browse and buy mealworms, wax worms and more.
Featured Products
Dried Mealworms 
Dried Calci-worms 
Live Wax Worms 
Live Mealworms 
Live Mini Mealworms 
Half Coconut with Mealworm Flavour Suet 
Gardman Coco-Not® Feeder with Mealworms 
Super Suet Fat Balls - With Insect 
Sparrow Seed Mix™ 
Bird Cake Mix 
Mealworm Suet Pellets 
Deluxe Robin Crumble™ 
Mealworms: Packaging & Delivery Information
Our dried mealworms are sent via our standard delivery service, but we have a slightly different procedure if you order live mealworms or any of our other live feeds.
Live worms are delivered by Royal Mail. They will arrive in a cardboard box, and inside that box will be either some plastic tubs or a white polypropylene bag with a cable-tied top. The larger quantities come in white bags, but if you are new to feeding mealworms, plastic tubs tend to be easier because you can just remove the lid and put the worms out on your bird table or ground feeder. Please don't worry if the plastic tubs don't have air holes punched in them – the lids are made of a breathable material, so the mealworms will be fine until the birds get hold of them.
We always send live feeds First Class, and they will arrive separately from any other products you order from Really Wild Bird Food. Orders placed before 11am on Monday – Thursday will be dispatched on the same day. Orders placed after 11am on those days will be dispatched the next day. Orders received on a Friday, Saturday or Sunday will be dispatched on the following Monday.
We are particularly careful when sending out mealworms around bank holidays (especially during the summer months). Heat can speed up the worms' metamorphosis, so we try not to dispatch live worms immediately before a bank holiday just in case they get held up in a warm sorting office somewhere. If you are planning to purchase mealworms around a bank holiday, please place your order a few days in advance.
For more information about how we get mealworms to our customers throughout the UK, please contact the Really Wild Bird Food team or take a look at our Delivery page.
Mealworm FAQs
- What are mealworms?
Mealworms are the larvae of a type of flour beetle known as the yellow mealworm beetle (Tenebrio molitor). They are commonly used as a bird feed – mealworms are approximately 50% protein and 50% water, making them a great source of nutrition and hydration for birds.
- Are mealworms good for birds?
Yes! Mealworms are packed full of essential nutrients that are key for muscle development in birds. That's why we use mealworms as an ingredient in several of our signature bird seed mixes.
- What birds eat mealworms?
There are many different bird species that love to eat mealworms, including...
- Robins
- Blue tits
- Blackbirds
- Starlings
- Dunnocks
- Sparrows
- Wrens
...and lots more!
- Do birds prefer live or dried mealworms?
Both live mealworms and dried mealworms provide plenty of fat, protein and fibre, so your garden birds will happily gobble them up no matter which option you go for. However, live mealworms are preferred because they offer more hydration and they're easier to digest.
We especially recommend using live mealworms during fledgling season (i.e. spring and summer). There are two reasons for this:
- Baby birds need lots of water. Live mealworms are nice and juicy, providing more hydration than freeze-dried mealworms.
- During the breeding season, small birds can be up to 100 times as active as they are in winter. This means they need all the energy they can get, which is why it's important to give them easily-digestible food at this time of year.
At other times of year, it doesn't make much difference whether you use live mealworms or dried mealworms. One benefit of our freeze-dried mealworms is that they can be added to our seed mixes for extra nutrition; in fact, we offer a number of seed mixes with dried mealworms already included!
- Baby birds need lots of water. Live mealworms are nice and juicy, providing more hydration than freeze-dried mealworms.
- What type of bird feeder is best for mealworms?
Mealworms (especially live mealworms) should be placed in unobstructed dishes that give the birds a clear view of their food. Luckily, we offer a selection of specially-designed mealworm feeders so you can easily provide mealworms for your garden birds.
Window feeders are also great for mealworms, not least because they give you a close-up view of each bird that stops by to eat.
Caged feeders are another good option since they keep out large birds, who can devour a whole pot of mealworms in an instant!
- Do mealworms smell bad?
No, mealworms give off no smell if they are kept in the correct conditions.
If you order our live mealworms, there will be some bran or clean newspaper in with them when they arrive. If they're packaged in a plastic tub, you can simply keep them in there until you're ready to transfer them to the bird feeder. If you've purchased a large bag of live worms, we suggest transferring them into a shallow, smooth-sided tub or tray.
Welcome to Really Wild Bird Food!
