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While recycling is certainly more prevalent these days; we are also consuming a lot more and therefore generating more waste per person (on average) than we were a couple of decades ago.
Something most of us can do to minimize the amount of garbage we send to landfills is to compost our organic waste such as newspapers, vegetable waste, cardboard - even coffee grinds and eggshells. There's a very easy way to do so that has minimal smell, doesn't take up much space, can chew through a heck of a lot of waste quickly and leave you with a most sought after product.
The workers you'll need to assist you are worms and the process is called vermicomposting.
Our worms, collectively known as "Bob II" have been working hard for us for a couple of years now. They require minimal care, are quiet, never go on strike and incredibly cheap to maintain. Even setting up a worm farm isn't terribly expensive; our ready-made farm cost $50 and the initial worms about $15. Since starting a worm farm we've cut down on the amount of waste we'd usually bin by at least 25%. Over a year that translates into hundreds of pounds.
Our worms spend their entire lives eating our trash, stopping only to reproduce. As far as I know, worms don't even "sleep". A pound of worms (around 4,000) can eat half a pound of organic material in 24 hours!
What's left after their digestion, called castings, is one of the best and safest fertilizers around. It's also ph neutral meaning that it's halfway between acidic and alkalinic - just like water. Castings feel and smell like good soil because effectively that's all they are; in fact, it's said that worm castings are 5 times richer in nutrients than good topsoil.
Castings aren't the only valuable product created, a fluid called leachate that seeps through the material the worms digest is also highly prized. Brown in color, it has no odor to speak of,
"Worm tea", another non-smelly popular worm by-product is made by soaking worm castings in water.
So, what can you feed your worms?
- coffee grounds - paper - cardboard including egg cartons - vegetable peelings and waste - eggshells
The general rule of thumb is if it the waste is plant based, worms can deal with it; with a couple of exceptions; being:
- pineapple - contains an enzyme that will dissolve the worms - citrus and highly acidic vegetables such as onions (ok in small amounts) - green grass clippings should be added sparingly as large amounts generate excess heat and produce ammonia which will kill the worms
You can purchase worm farms at most hardware stores or make one yourself. You'll need:
- A plastic tub with a lid - A pan for leachate runoff - Spacers to place between the tub and the catchment pan
All you need to do then is to drill a series of small holes in the walls of the tub to allow air to circulate and holes in the bottom to allow for drainage. Don't be too concerned about worms escaping as they don't like the light. If worms are escaping, it means there is something wrong with the farm; either too dry, too damp or too acidic.
You never have to worry about your worms overpopulating as they will self-regulate reproduction. The more waste that's available, the more the worms will reproduce; but bear in mind don't "overfeed" in the early stages while your population is getting established.
To start your worm farm off:
- Place a layer of small pebbles in the bottom to assist with drainage. - Add a couple of loose layers of damp newspaper, building it up to a inch or so thick - Then it's just a case of adding waste as it becomes available.
The worms will then chew their way up through the material leaving their castings behind. When your tub is full and you can fit no more waste in, don't start pushing it down as you'll most likely crush your composting pals. Remove the layer of waste and a few inches of castings as this will contain most of your worms. With what's left, put it to one side for use on your garden, add the scraps and worms back in and you're all set to go again.
If you purchase a large worm farm, you'll find that most have removable panels at the bottom of the sides to allow for easy removal of castings. It's kinder on the worms and less mess for you as well.
For castings and leachate, while you can use them as is without dilution, the recommended mix is one part leachate/castings to 4 parts soil or water.
Other vermicomposting tips.
- Use proper composting worms; garden worms won't be effective - Never add any sort of animal products to the farm, including dairy - Waste mix should be kept moist, not too dry or wet. - A sign of mix that's too wet is a methane type odor and worms trying to escape. - Dampen paper and cardboard products before adding - Keep the farm in a shady place
Have questions about worms, vermicomposting or other worm farming tips you'd like to share? Please feel free to add your comments below.
I live in Hong Kong but during my last trip Down Under I brought back a small amount of compost worms purchased from a worm farmer, in order to start my own small-scale worm farm. It's been two years now and my worm pals are doing a great job composting my kitchen waste. However, I notice a kind of bug (grey in colour, with many legs and a flat underside) also flourishing - sometimes I feel my worm pal population maybe undermined by the enormous amount of these bugs. How can I get rid of them without harming the worms?
Comment #2
(Posted by Michael - Green Living Tips)
Hey Regina, nice to meet a fellow worm farmer! I'm guessing that the bugs are penetrating just an inch or two down? That being the case, you could try scraping off the top layer of waste to get rid of them and their eggs and then glueing fly wire over the aeration vents to prevent a re-infestation.
I'm just curious about these bugs; they do sound like an Aussie variety I know of - do they have a dark grey shell with many segments, light underneath and do they curl up into a ball when prodded? I'm just wondering if the eggs somehow got into the original worm starter kit. If they are the type of insect I'm thinking of (name escapes me and I'm not sure if they are native) - I don't think they'll do the worms any harm, but they will certainly be competing for food - and there's also the issue of them of possibly being an insect not already established in or native to Hong Kong.
In regards to the food competition aspect, worms self-regulate their population according to conditions and food availability; but I'm sure you'd prefer the worm castings to bug poop :).
Comment #3
(Posted by Regina Chui)
Hi, Michael. Thanks for your response. Yes - these bugs do have a dark grey shell with many segments, light underneath, and they curl up into a ball when prodded. They look pretty harmless and yes, they tend to stay on the top 1-2 inch layer of the soil. They just crawl and don't have wings to fly with. I'll try your suggestion - by scraping the top layer of soil off, and see if that helps. These bugs seem to be taking over the worm farm as I see the worms getting much fewer and I'm a bit worried ending up with a bug farm!
Comment #4
(Posted by Michael - Green Living Tips)
Regina, they sound like Slater bugs to me. Interestingly, these aren't insects but crustaceans like crabs and shrimps as they have gills and an exoskeleton :). There's a bit more about them on Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woodlouse
They appear to do much the same job as the worms, although I'm not sure if Slater bug poop is as good as worm poop :). Let me know how you get on after removing the top layer of waste - I'd be really interested to know if this works for you.
If anyone else has advice for Regina, please add your suggestions!
Comment #5
(Posted by ~mo)
I don't have any suggestions, but in the states we call them "rolly polly's". I've never heard of them being harmful, we used to play with them when we were kids and watch them roll up into a ball.
Comment #6
(Posted by Ellen Theisen)
I have a pile of large Western maple logs that I'm cutting up for firewood. They have been sitting there for over two years. Between the bark and the tree, I find large amounts of black soil -- which I believe is worm castings. Sometimes it's as thick as half an inch.
Often I find red earthworms amid the black soil, too. But sometimes, the "worms" that seem to be producing these castings aren't earthworms. I've found fat pale blue worms about an inch long. And I've also found another thing that probably isn't really a worm. It's pale yellow, about an inch long, 1/8 inch wide, flat, and has legs and pincers (kind of earwig like, but not).
I've searched and searched on the Internet with no luck. My questions are: 1) what are the blue worms, 2) what are the pale yellow insects, and 3) are their castings as wonderful as earthworm castings?
Thanks for answers to any of these.
Comment #7
(Posted by Renee Cantara)
the things you mite be seeing with your worms that are a pale yellow with legs and pincers mite be centipedes... out here in Nevada. we see them everywhere they are horrlble lil buggers too mostly poisenus.. i wouldnt touch them..=]]
Comment #8
(Posted by Ash)
Hi, my name is Ash, and I work at a small indoor garden supply company Oregon. Just today, it was pointed out to me that the earthworm castings we have for sale have small whiteish colored centipedes in most all the bags. I contacted our supplier, who is local to us, to see what the deal was, and was told that they would send someone over to check it out, that it probably wasn't any big deal. Doing some research online I ran into your website, and was just hoping you could give me your professional opinion on this. Is it common to have centipedes in the castings? Will they be detrimental to indoor crops? How can I explain this to customers who are surprised to see these bugs running around when they mix into their otherwise sterile and bug free soil?
Your feedback would be very helpful.
Thank you for your time,
Ash
Comment #9
(Posted by Michael - Green Livng Tips)
Hi Ash, I've never seen that in my castings; but I'm in another part of the world. I don't think it's unusual to have a variety of small insects in the top layer of waste that's being processed; but in the lower level of castings that are to be used, there really shouldn't be much else except castings. It's probably more of an aesthetics thing, but in a commercial application, people are paying for castings, not extra critters so I can understand you and your customers being concerned.
Comment #10
(Posted by Chris)
Have you seen these worm observation farms for kids? http://www.worm-farming.com/ You can get the kit with live worms and because the soil had different colored layers you can actually watch how the worms mix the soil. Very educational!
Comment #11
(Posted by Christina)
I live alone but I get heaps of the leachate because I have set up a small, flip lid bin on the bench in our tearoom at work. I put a notice above the bin with a few "dos" and "don'ts". After a few eyebrows were raised, my colleagues got used to the idea of putting their "lunch waste," teabags, coffee grounds etc into the bin. Sometimes I reward the gardeners among us with a litre of fertiliser in a plastic milk bottle.
Comment #12
(Posted by Laura)
Hi I am new to worm farming and got the bin all around with news print shredded in the bottom and egg shells, went to the local bait shop and found red worms that were in a peat type soil and red wigglers that were in a recycled news print. The articles that I have red said that red worms or red wigglers were what to look for but they are not the same worms. I chose the red wigglers I hope this was correct also I have three worms that want to escape I put a screen on top to let some light in so they will stay down and a little lettuce and an apple core plus one slice of bread, buried it all in the news print. do you think that they will settle down and what should I do?
Comment #13
(Posted by Michael - Green Living Tips)
Hi Laura, red wriggler worms sound fine as these are composting worms. If the worms were trying to escape, it means there's something not quite right in their bedding - perhaps it's too dry? The mix should be moist, but not dripping wet. How deep is the bedding at the moment?
Comment #14
(Posted by Laura)
The bedding is about 3-4 inches deep I shredded news print with out color and egg shells crushed very fine put some lettuce and coffee grounds (not much), carrot peelings and some crusts of homemade bread (not much). they were OK while I had the light on but when I closed the lid they were heading south. I'd like them to stay and be right at home. Help!!!
Comment #15
(Posted by Laura)
Well they have plenty of moisture and food also some dampened cardboard. During the day they seemed to stay pt but this morning they were once again caught hatching another escape plan. I hope to get this resolved soon and without the threat of letting the boy use them for bait. Although they wouldn't believe me anyway. I am currently thinking of getting all cardboard for bedding but at this point am stumped and quite frankly beginning to think that they just don't like me (could be getting a complex, Not sure) But hey I just keep putting the little buggers back into the home that they obviously wish to leave in the hopes they will acclimate and some how be happy little workers. Any suggestions would be just loved.
Thank you
Laura
Comment #16
(Posted by Michael - Green Living Tips)
Hi Laura,... hmmm. If the mix doesn't smell sour, isn't too wet and they have plenty of stuff to chew on, my only other guess is that it's possible it's a population issue. At a guess, how many worms do you think you have and how big is the container?(length/width)?
Comment #17
(Posted by Laura)
Hi The container is a medium size plastic bin with holes in the bottom, sides and top. Yesterday I put blocks under the bin to raise it up off the bottom bin and added a little wet and squeezed peat moss along with more news print (dry) mixed it in (I think it was too wet), then added dry shredded news print to the top, put the lid on, checked later and only two worms were hooffen it out of there. I gently rescued them and this morning all was quiet in wormville. Keeping my fingers crossed that I now have it right and all will continue to be well in wormville. Thank you so much for always answering me and for your patience.
I love this site.
Laura
Comment #18
(Posted by Michael - Green Living Tips)
Thanks for your kind feedback Laura :). Good luck with the worms, there's always a bit of fiddling to start off with to get conditions just right - it's great that you recognized The Great Escape as an indicator that something was up.
Comment #19
(Posted by Laura)
Hello again, I now have the worms under control with only one casualty. However I now have some kind of mite, at least that's what I believe it is, or maybe a small spider. Its very small (like the tip of a needle) and is a light tan/red color, crawls around the top of the bin and on the lid. I rinse them off the lid and crush as many as I can but they must multiply like crazy. Any Ideas? Oh and here's a tip, I recycle my pizza boxes in the worm bed. First I put them in my utility tub and get them damp, this will allow the layers to release from one another and I don't use the parts with printing then I find the grain that tears easily and in the damp state they rip up nicely plus by the time you get them ripped they have just about the right amount of moisture. This works on any corrugated cardboard.
Laura
Comment #20
(Posted by Jason)
Hi, on the liquid layer of my farm there seems to be a population of white tiny insects. they look like dandruff but have legs and little antanae. Do you know what they are or hav a suggestion on how to get rid of them
Comment #21
(Posted by Michael)
Woodward Gardens has added vermicomposting to the composting demonstration garden with signage explaining how to do it. Check it out at: http://www.betterlivingshow.org/Metrocompostingdemonstrationgarden.asp
Comment #22
(Posted by Laura)
I still have the little red or light tan spiders/mites. I keep hosing them off the lid by the thousands every day. They are very small like an aphid but have legs and move quite fast. dose any one have an Idea what these are and are they bad for the worm bed????
Comment #23
(Posted by pam)
comment for laura #12 i was told when starting our worm farm that they did not like shreded newspaper but scruched up newspaper
Comment #24
(Posted by Laura)
Hi Pam, I have news paper in the bin ripped up and scrunched up and they kept heading for parts unknown until I put the cardboard into the mix. I have been reading a lot about it and some swear that cardboard is the best ticket. I'm still learning so I'll try anything but since the pizza boxes I haven't had one worm try to hit the road and for me that's progress. Now on another note I still have the little creepy crawlies (mites/micro spiders) and would love some in site into that can o worms. (couldn't resist)
Comment #25
(Posted by David)
I live in Malawi I am interested in starting a worm farm but am a bit at a loss as I don't know what local worms might be composting worms. Can you help me or do you have any contacts that might be able to advise me?
Comment #26
(Posted by Vern)
Hi - I have just started worm farming and things seem to being going good. I lift the lid of my rubbermaid bin and the worm vanish in a second. But my question is I have moisture on the walls, some mold, and fruit flys. Is the best way to fix all this to add more sheaded news paper - covering the waste, and dring out the moisture? Thanks Vern
Comment #27
(Posted by pam)
Hi Vern we also have a problem with fruit flys even though we keep it covered with a piece of carpet, I did read that by turning and mixing up what you have in your worm farm helps the fruit fly problem I have done this and it does help a bit.
Comment #28
(Posted by Michael - Green Living Tips)
David, in Africa, the African Night Crawler is used as a composting worm - it's likely fishing stores will sell it as bait if hardware stores and nurseries don't have them.
Pam thanks for your suggestion - Vern, something else to try is very fine gauge mosquito netting over the farm. The problem is that once they are in there, they are hard to get out as they carry out their full breeding cycle; so you might not see a marked improvement until the cold weather sets in.
Comment #29
(Posted by Pam)
We have a layered worm farm and have just started the second layer the bottom one is pretty full and we have started putting food scraps in the top hoping the worms will start coming up through the holes they didnt so we scooped some out and put them up top but they keep going back down into the bottom container,we have had the bottom one going about 2 and a half months, any sugestions.
Comment #30
(Posted by Adil)
Hello Regina,
I understand that this posting is a bit too late. I have a solution to your problem, over here in Malaysia, the bug(or whatever that is) is called 'hama'. In order to get rid of it, try to put your compost under direct sunlight for a few hours until you are rid of them and place a mosquito net on your container to get rid of them.
Another way of getting rid of them is try to place lemongrass (the stronger the scent the better) or if you could get them in Hong Kong, lemon grass extract. The sweet smell will repel those bugs and remember to place mosquito net as to avoid future problems. Good luck with that.
Comment #31
(Posted by JR)
What I'm finding in my work farm is other worms! I have many white/gray worms, about 1 inch long, that are larger/fatter (compared to the red wigglers). Are these OK? Any idea why they appear?
Comment #32
(Posted by Maggie)
I started the vermacompost a few weeks ago. My box is filled with the little tiny spider/mite type critter. They sound like Laura's little creatures. No one seems to be replying on how to address this little nuisance. They aren't fruit flies, they don't fly at all.
Any ideas out there on what these might be or how to get rid of them?
Comment #33
(Posted by Fiona)
Hi,
Just started a new worm farm of 1000 worms. Followed instructions exactly but worms aren't eating. Is there something wrong or am I impatient?
Thanks.
Comment #34
(Posted by andre madeira)
TO Regina !:
hi,i have tried a couple of worms composting with no luck .
i live in Macau and would like to know if would be possible to sell/share
some of your hungry worms so i can start a system over here!
ive oredered worms from uk,brought worms from hong kong organic farmers,harvested some in Macau but none of them worked properly!
Can u Help?
Thanks to everyone,great info !
Comment #35
(Posted by andre madeira)
hi everyone?
By harvesting worms on the wild,i got some worms mixed up(red worms and earthworms)and some are hard to identify properly.
Is there any problem having earthworms on a compost bin?
really ansious to get this working!!! Thanks again
Comment #36
(Posted by Snell King)
Would like to start a large red worm farm (I think the size of an acre) utilizing the windrow method to convert 23 acres of conventional farmland using vermicomposting to naturally fertilize a 23 acre organic farm and produce enough worms to support a small to medium poultry farm. Do you think one acre will be enough? Do you think the farm should be inside or out? Do you think I should use cement to construct the windrows and how much would it cost. Do you have an example of a business plan for a project of this nature? Please get back to me as soon as possible. Thank you.
Comment #37
(Posted by Patrick)
Hi there,
Firstly congratulations on a very user friendly and informative website. I have an established worm farm - 18 months - it is made up of three layers - bottom layer with a tap for liquid, middle layer with established castings and top layer for new waste - it is doing fine but I have noticed of late that in the middle layer worms are forming a massive pack - for want of a better word. Literally hundreds of worms are slithering in a pack on top of the castings. Is this normal? I would have thought they should be spread throughout the bin, especially in the top layer to consume the new food. I should add that there are no bad smells coming from the farm and the food is being broken down at the usual pace. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Comment #38
(Posted by Julie Riley)
#21 Michael I also have the tiny white egg like little creatures. They look like white eggs and there are thousands of them, but if one looks closely they have lots of little legs and move. Did you ever find out what they were, do they do any harm and how can one get rid of them? I'd appreciate and answer anyone. Julie
Comment #39
(Posted by Laura)
H: I still have the tiny mites and if I hose of the lid and run my hand around the top to kill off the mites, I can get the population down a lot but when I don't keep up on the process they just come back. When I stated my farm I used a little peat moss, it was one of the things I put in that helped to keep the worms at home. I wonder if the mite were imported then? I believe that the next bin I make I will sterilize any earth that I am going to put in by running boiling water through it and then cooling it down before putting it in with the worms. This is the method I use when starting seedlings in the house to prevent any bacteria or mold from growing during the germination and as the young plant takes hold. I also boil my egg shells then put them in the oven on low to dry them out then process them in an old coffee grinder for the worms as the grit they need for digestion, by boiling the shells this eliminates the risk of the worm getting salmonella from the egg shells. I any one has ideas about the mite critters I would just love to here about it.
Laura
Comment #40
(Posted by Ann)
I have may farm in the basement, Even though the odor is slight, I am attratcting fruit flies. The flies are now in the basement and all through the house. How do I kill the fruit flies without killing the worms?
Comment #41
(Posted by shnoz)
hi i have been growing a worm farm and i put some pumpkin seeds in and they started to grow! suprisingly the worms ate it.is this ok to do again
Comment #42
(Posted by Nadine)
Hi there, we have a bin under our worm farm collecting their juice and there are these strange things that look like a giant maggot with a tail that are wriggling around. They are up to an inch long and transparent.
Are these a problem?
Thanks
Comment #43
(Posted by Trish)
to get rid of fruit flies in your bin, try putting a little beer in a cup and then cutting the corner off of a sandwich bag and putting the cut corner in the cup and folding the rest around the cup with a rubber band. Place the cup in the bin. The flys go in and then cannot get back out.
Comment #44
(Posted by Claudia)
Hi there.
I've started my farm 6 weeks ago and still nothing has drained out. I took some worms from another worm farm in their casts. The worms look fine a bit pale like whitish though and not very wiggly when I look at them. They are not eating very much either, however the soil looks quite wet, I appreciate your comments.
Comment #45
(Posted by marty)
Laura and Maggie, I feel your pain. As I carn't seem to find any info on the little red or tan mite problem sofar, because I to have a masive problem with them, I will keep serching the net and let you know what I find. I live in Queensland Australia and was woundering if the 2 of you are in hot or cold climates.
Comment #46
(Posted by Rick)
To Laura, Maggie and Marty,
It sounds to me like you have Red Spider Mites. They are barely visible, 0.3 - 0.5 mm long, have 8 legs and fine hairs on their bodies. Two possible solutions for you: Natural predators are lady beetles and lacewings. A spray that will suffocate the little buggers is 4 cups of wheat flour, 1/2 cup of buttermilk and 5 gal. of water. Mix and apply with a handsprayer. I don't think this will harm the worms, but I am not positive of that.
Comment #47
(Posted by Jana Botha)
Hello
I'm trying to find out if it's possible to add khaki-bush (botanical name: Alternanthera pungens) and weeds to the Worm Farm? Will they eat it or is it too oily when it's green? Should it be green or dried?
Thank you!
Comment #48
(Posted by Annette Manders)
Was wondering if worm farms are effective for dealing with dog and/or cat poop.
I live on a farm with a bunch of dogs and cats and like the idea of making use of their "left overs." Thanks
Comment #49
(Posted by EngSin)
I'm from Malaysia and thinking of starting a worm farm in an 5 acres orchard land, but don't know how & where to get the starting worms.
I wonder those regular weed cutting & branch trimming in the orchard are suitable to feed those worms? And we have to spend money to buy fertilizers for the plants, casting from he worm farm would probaby help save some.
Anyone can help on this?
Comment #50
(Posted by Stacey)
I am thinking of starting a worm farm and I have access to a lot of horse poop from a large horse barn, would horse poop make worms be happy or sad? Thanks so much
Comment #51
(Posted by dean)
hi i was wondering if its ok to use regular earthworms. i have an iguana that eats fruits and vegies and he leaves leftovers. could i just use regular worms to make sure the exess food doesn't go to waste
Comment #52
(Posted by Alexandra)
Hey!! I started a earth worm farm and at first the dirt smelled great and it seemed rich. Well its been about 4 months and the dirt has started clumping at the top and becoming dry, also it has become infested with these small flying bugs. I thought that the bugs only appear when you have too much food in the bin, but I wasn't sure.
Comment #53
(Posted by charles day)
Started my worm farm in an old florida type bath tub sort of round about 6 months ago, anyway i puta layer of dry grass cuttings a layer of dirt in repetition untill I filled the tub, put in food scraps from resterant, looked in on them, that is the worms the other day and I got hundreds of baby worms amd some of the biggist red wiggelers I ever seen only put if maby 100 worms to start Man O man
Comment #54
(Posted by Jackie Hutchings)
Hi Im a teacher at a school and we are doing composting and worm farms. I was just wondering what is the best amount of worms to go into one bathtub?
Thanks
Comment #55
(Posted by Kate)
First I love this website. After reading all your postings I have a couple of insights for some of your readers. One solution to the fruit flies that worked for me was filling a cup half full of apple cider vinegar and adding 3 drops of dish soap. It is amazing how many flies are caught in this stuff. I went from swarms to just a few here and there... until a spider moved in and I haven't seen a fruit fly since. I really don't like spiders but he is doing a job I am very happy for.
The other thing is that many people mention that their new worms arn't happy or eating like they expected. I was informed that if the worms were raised on sawdust or something other than kitchen scraps it may take a generation or so of worms to get them to learn about the new food. I was told by a veteran worm farmer to hang in there and they would learn.
Comment #56
(Posted by Carrie)
I started my worm farm back in February and have had enough worms to share with family and friends! I have been researching a problem online, but I still have found no good answers. Here is my problem: I have grub worms in my worm bin. I am using a large rubbermaid bucket with holes drilled in the bottom to drain excess water, and open holes in the top. We have Japanese Beetles here and the websites all say June is the month for grubs. Is there a way to get rid of the grubs without pesticides, or do I just wait it out until they become grown beetles and I can catch them in beetle traps?
Comment #57
(Posted by Leah)
Hello all,
For all the questions regarding mite problems (red, brown, etc.)- there's a very easy solution- put your worm trays, bins, in the sun for a few hours, with the lid off. The sunlight simply kills the mites. Works like a charm. I had a major mite problem last year (one that was really affecting the health of my worms), and it solved the problem immediately. Afterwards you'll still see the mites in the bin, but no longer moving, dead as a doornail. I also have learned that if I start seeing reddish-brown dots around my bin on the floor (dead mites) it's a warning sign of an infestation. Also good to note that mites thrive in wet acidic conditions- so control the moisture, and try regularly adding ground up eggshells (calcium) to control acidity. (I keep eggshells in my freezer, grind them in batches in a coffee grinder, and keep my stash of calcium near my bin.)
Personally, I'm having a major fruit fly issue this year. And some sort of gnat as well. I saw the tip on putting a cup of beer with the small opening in the bin- any issues with worms crawling in and drowning too? I've been using a similar kind of trap outside my bin using anything sweet smelling, but it's not doing the job. These guys are definitely attracted to light (vacuumed them all off a sliding glass door today) and put the bin outside in hopes they'll fly away. However they definitely reenter the bin at night, so I'm not sure how much impact my efforts will have. Any other suggestion?
Thanks all for a great site and comments. Cheers.
Comment #58
(Posted by Deborah )
I was digging in my worm bin today to mix the soil a bit and check for moisture and I came across a huge clump of cutworms. I picked out as many as I could find but I assume that I did not get them all. Does anyone have a solution to this problem? What would get rid of the cutworms and not harm my composting friends?
Comment #59
(Posted by Sam Carterson)
Hi,
Great post. I'm a big fan of worms and vermicomposting, so much so that I started my own blog just on that: redworm.com Anyway, its very cool to see so many other people interested in it as well.
Cheers,
Sam
Comment #60
(Posted by Debz)
These Flies !
WOW... have I got a swarm of fruit flies in and around my worm farm - I'm new to this, I have had a worm farm for just over 2 months now. But I think I have more flies than worms.
I've read about the mosquito netting - I'll give that a shot.. but how do I get the little buggers out. Will plant some lemon grass and mint around the place to see if that may deter them.
Any other suggestions?
I got my farm from the council, it has 3 bins.
Comment #61
(Posted by )
Hi, I am a newer worm farmer, only doing this for a couple of months, but I have done a lot of research and thought I would share something that I learned. I saw a couple of comments on here where only black and white newsprint is being used and seperating the parts of cardboard boxes were being used. I heard that the ink used to color these boxes and newsprints were made of vegitable color, so it should be harmlesss to the worms. I rip up all kinds of colored cereal or snack food boxes, as well as use the non-shiny adds and comincs in our newspaper, some paper junk mail, ect.. and I have not had any issues yet, my worms eat it all and thrive. Again this is just what I learned so I may be wrong, but it has not been a problem for me, and way easier then using only plain boxes or paper. Hope this is correct info and makes it more convienent for everybody to recycle.
Comment #62
(Posted by Letitia Shen)
I have found that when I reset a worm farm that peat moss is the best. Newspaper is considered food. I also throw my scrap in the freezer to help break it down. All my worm bins have had fruit flies. Will have to try the apple cider vinegar trick. Opening the top in the sun keeps the mites out, but then fruit flies get in.
Comment #63
(Posted by Claire)
About the brown mite infestation - I searched for answers a couple of days ago and tried the solution: moisten a piece of bread and put it on top of the compost, inside the bin. The mites are attracted to it. Pick up the bread and throw it away, loaded with mites, and repeat until the problem is gone. After a couple of days this is helping. But I can see that my compost is too wet, so I appreciate someone's suggestion about that being a cause. I'll try to control the acidity with more crushed egg shells. I'm wondering though if an overpopulation of worms is a cause of the problem. I'm still curious about the cause of the brown mite infestation. Any more thoughts about that?
Comment #64
(Posted by az)
i have these spiders just inside the lid , they don't seem to be attacking the worms but im not sure if they are good or not ive removed them heaps of times but to no success they are light brown almost translucent and have a big abdomen
Comment #65
(Posted by Melody)
Great advice regarding the red mites they are taking over my worm farm's top shelf too. The guy I bought my worms from in Qld advised that if the farm starts to smell sour sprinkle it with a handfull or two of Gypsum which adds the calcium and grit the worms need. I bought a small 3 kilo bag from the nursery. Kmart sells it too. After all the rain we've had my worms nearly drowned so Im about to shred some newspaper and put it on top. Hope it works for you guys.
Comment #66
(Posted by Shelly)
Hi, I've had my worm farm for a couple of years but now I have many black spiders living in my worm farm and breeding like crazy. I live in Australia and I've not yet established what kind of spider they are but they do look scary. I cleaned everything out once before and sprayed the bin and started my worm farm again but I would perfer not to have to do this and am concerned they will just come back again to set up home. does anyone know what I can do to keep the spiders away??
Comment #67
(Posted by Melody)
Shelley, With the spiders reappearing despite the odd clean, could it be you are keeping the farm in the same area and that may be the original scource of the spiders?! They could also be dining on whatever flying bugs are attracted to the farm. I keep a folded hessian bag over mine which helps keep flies to a minimum so far. I also ensure, if Im putting in alot of fruit stuff that I put in paper or dry mulch to soak up some of the fermenting juice to prevent fruit and vinegar flies being attracted. Hope this helps.
Comment #68
(Posted by larry moore)
Troubleshooting
Problem
Probable Cause
Solution
Worms are dying or trying to escape
Too wet
Too dry
Bedding is used up
Add more bedding
Moisten bedding
Harvest your bin
Bin stinks!
Not enough air
Too much food
Too wet
Drill more ventilation holes
Do not feed for 1-2 weeks
Add more bedding
Fruit Flys
Exposed food
Bury food in bedding
spider mites There is a popular way among worm ranchers to get rid of these little pests. They seem to love cantaloupe and watermelon. Place the rinds on top of the compost (after you have enjoyed the fruit of course). Leave it over night and the next day you will have mites covering the rind from top to bottom. Wash the mites off over the sink. Keep repeating the process until you are satisfied with the results. When you're done leave the rinds in for your worms to enjoy
doing these simple things will help ya in a lot of stress free hours
larry
moorebait.com
Comment #69
(Posted by Alex)
Hi there,
I know that worms eat shredded paper, but could they eat disposable paper cups?
Thank you,
Alex
Comment #70
(Posted by virginbroadband.com.au)
I go away for 6 weeks every year, and in previous years have almost lost my worms, can anybody suggest what food to leave for them that will last them for 6 weeks, I have tried lucerne pellets, they go mpouldy, paper doesnt have enpugh nutrtion and dries outI have a 3 tier and liquid tray and can empty 2 trays to use to supply food
