Mealworms are one of the easiest feeder insect to house and can take up very little space.  Many people opt to keep their mealworm colonies in:

1. Small glass aquariums
2. Plastic storage boxes
3. Plastic storage drawer systems
4. Plastic food containers

For your colony, you will want to use a container that:

1. Has smooth sides to prevent the worms from crawling out and escaping.
2. Is easy to disinfect periodically.
3. Allows ample ventilation and air to circulate freely to avoid the buildup of potentially harmful mold and bacteria.

For providing the necessary ventilation you can:

1. Use a screened lid for your aquarium.
2. Cut a large section out of a plastic lid (you can also cover this with mesh).
3. Or leave the lid off the container completely.

Its important to provide roughly 3 inches of high-quality and nutritious substrate for the worms to burrow in and eat.  Many people keep their mealworms on a simple substrate of oat bran.  We prefer to maximize the nutritional quality of the substrate since the mealworms actually eat it.  We include a mix of:

We also sprinkle in the following items to boost the nutritional quality of the substrate even further:

You can also keep some mealworms in the fridge if you wish for several weeks (be sure to provide ventilation holes in the storage container).  When kept cooler they will not grow quickly and will be quite lethargic. Otherwise, your mealworms can be kept at a range of temperatures between 75 and 80F (room temperature is often sufficient).  

Its always a good idea to periodically replace and replenish the substrate as well as remove any fecal matter that has accumulated on the bottom.  We do this at least every 2 months here.  You should also remove on a daily basis, any dead mealworms/pupae/beetles that you might see.