Proper removal of silkworm excrement can effectively reduce the occurrence of silkworm diseases

Silkworm excrement not only harbors the pathogens of viral flacherie, but is also a breeding and transmission site for the pathogens of many silkworm diseases such as empty-head soft rot, bacterial soft rot, and muscardine. Data show that when pathogen-carrying silkworm excrement from spring-reared silkworms is left for 15 days and then comes into contact with mulberry leaves, it can cause the incidence of midgut-type viral flacherie in silkworms that eat those leaves to reach 75%; when pathogen-carrying silkworm excrement from late-autumn-reared silkworms is left for 1 day and then comes into contact with mulberry leaves, it can cause the incidence of midgut-type viral flacherie in silkworms that eat those leaves to reach 60%, and after 7 days the incidence reaches 100%. Therefore, during routine rearing, the silkworm excrement should be collected promptly, mixed with 5% quicklime, stirred evenly, then added with an appropriate amount of water, piled into a heap 1 m high, and covered with plastic film so that it undergoes high-temperature fermentation. When the temperature inside the silkworm excrement heap reaches 60°C to 70°C, after about 1 more week, the pathogens in it can basically be eliminated. After 1 month, the silkworm excrement heap should be opened up and turned evenly top to bottom so that it fully decomposes, achieving the purpose of thorough sterilization. In this way, using the silkworm excrement as fish feed or fertilizer is then very safe and reliable.