How to build a dung beetle nursery on your property

Once you have worked out what dung beetle species you have on your property you may identify seasonal gaps when there are no dung beetles active so animal dung is remaining unburied. This means you will not be accessing the important ecosystem benefits such as reduced soil parasite load, improved water infiltration and increased pasture productivity that dung beetles provide when active.

Many livestock producers recognise these benefits and choose to introduce new species to their area. One way of doing this in a cost-effective manner is to buy a small number of beetles that will fill your seasonal gap and breed up their numbers in a Dung beetle nursery. Here is one easy and cost-effective way to build an on-farm dung beetle nursery.

Be sure to care for your beetles as if you were caring for any farm livestock.
• Check your beetles daily for signs of activity
• When they are active you will need to feed them untreated dung daily. (Introduced dung beetles love cattle dung as it is nice and moist).
• Make sure they are not too hot or too cold. Put them in a semi-protected area.
• Check that the nursery is draining freely regularly so that your beetle young do not drown.
• Release into a paddock with livestock when numbers reach around 1000 beetles.

Link to where to purchase beetle species in Australia Buying dung beetles | Dung Beetle Ecosystem Engineers