Recently we received a question about Phoenix Worms, the trademarked name for black soldier fly larvae (BSFL) that are used for animal feed, that would be indecipherable to an average person. However, having answered hundreds of questions about larvae and worms over the past few years, we have amassed enough knowledge to intuitively grasp most questions, however lacking in relevant details they may be. In this instance, a reader wrote to us to say that she has some Phoenix Worms that smell like bleach, and she is wondering if they are “ok to use.” We were also informed that she had “taken the dead out.” If this seems like a series of incomplete, disjointed thoughts, it’s because it is, but we actually know exactly what the reader is talking about. She recently acquired Phoenix Worms to feed to her pets, but they smell strange, so she is wondering if they are safe to feed her pets, and all she has done so far is remove the dead worms from the container they were shipped in. So, the question before us is this: are phoenix worms that smell bad safe to feed to your animals?

A reader wrote to us a while ago inquiring about what types of worms smell bad. The reader and her son were in the kitchen when they noticed “something smelled funny.” After looking around for a while, they finally discovered the source of the bad smell: a small worm, or what looked like a worm. The reader seemed surprised by this – the worm smelled “awful and very strong” – and was wondering what kinds of worms smell bad.