The thousands of springtails I had in the ewc I extracted. I freaked. I won't add anything else. When my worms stopped acting like they usually did I thought something was wrong. I read my books and it said too many mites and it looked like it too. I will let them eat the compost and food that they still have in the soil. This thing is in my house so I'm trying to be extra careful. I know all these are beneficial, to a point then they become the opposite. Lifta
I check my moisture in my bin every few days due to my condensation. Ive put more ventilation in the top of my bin,left the top open a little,sealed the top off by putting weather striping on but still cant get rid of it 100%. I just stick my hand under the cardboard gently pushing a finger down in the bedding as far as I can. So far so good. Makes me wonder now if the condensation might be helping keep my bedding from drying out. The cardboard is getting a little more moist but is far from being soaked after being in there for a little less than a month.
I use recycled soil the same way. Thanks for the observation. Never had a problem, yet, but now I'll be more observant. Cd
Like, heavily? Or just a few here and there? Pic'? If they are hanging on the side of your bin "en masse", either your bedding is too wet, or they don't like something that you've added recently to the bin (high acidity). Usually when they voluntarily move from the bedding, it's too wet.
Ive been wanting to set up a bin for a while. I have access to a worm bin and worms for around 20 bucks. I've been reading this thread and the one thing that concerns me is some guys are getting more than worms in their bins (larva and such). If I decide to do this it will be kept inside my house for winters and I would rather not have any issues.. So my questions are Do these other bugs Always come? Or under certain circumstances? What can I do to avoid it if anything? If not Can these other bugs escape easier then the worms? Are they harmful to my plants? Do they stink? Thanks for your help
Clarify, please. "Bugs" are part of the soil food web, and are ubiquitous in any worm bin. I currently have three worm bins working inside my home. Soil borne insects do not/will not leave the worm bin unless the environment of said worm bin has become inhospitable to them. Same goes for worms...
Sorry let me try and clear up what I was trying to say. The insects I was referring to were mites, types of larva and fruit flys. Basically I dont want a bunch of insects running buck wild in my house because I was too busy to clean my worm bin that week. Would you mind taking me through your worm bins and how you run them? Maybe in a PM? I dont want to threadjack lol
No threadjacking here my friend. This is the vermicomposting thread... I know this thread is very, very long. But I would suggest reading as much of it as you can. I've raced back many pages, and I think that you might find this post (and ESPECIALLY the PDF's contained within) to be a very good place to start reading. There are many ways to skin a cat, so to speak. My experiences and what I've learned from books and PDF's are in there (linked post to now)... http://forum.grasscity.com/organic-growing/334921-vermicomposting-make-your-own-worm-castings.html/page-157#entry20936647 Read, read, read. Get a bit of knowledge base on, and THEN hit us with the questions. Welcome to GCO!
The insects you'll find in your bin are almost exclusively detritivores and stay there because there is a food source. Fruit flies or gnats on the other hand, can be problematic. If you're going to be feeding your worms produce scraps, its best to cover the scraps with some kind of bedding material. The most efficient way to control an outbreak of gnats IME is to have neem cake on hand and dust the surface of the media regularly. Neem has larvicidal properties and will prevent the gnat larvae from becoming adults. I rarely have problems with flying critters in my bin using neem but occasionally some eggs will hitch a ride on my compost inputs. I teach vermicomposting classes in my community and one of the intro classes we do is a simple worm bin build using a tote with holes drilled in it nested in another tote without holes. We use a blend of hydrated newspaper strips, cardboard, and compost as our initial bedding material. Our mission with this kind of instruction is to teach the class the value in recycling food and household wastes and not so much in vermicompost production. Keeping these materials out of the waste stream is goal. Here at GC, we're more oriented to producing top shelf vermicompost so our inputs are a little different. I recommend to the students that take the class to cover any produce they put in these tote bins with bedding to minimize / eliminate the possibility of hatching fruit flies or gnats. At the end of the day, your worms will turn whatever your inputs are into vermicompost. As for your question about smells, as long as you don't let your bin get to wet, you will not have any smells. Worms actually eat the bacterial slime created as the food stocks break down which further eliminates any odors. You're in the right place to make your worm farm happen and there are several talented folks that can help you along the way. Just ask and someone will be able to guide you. All the best, Chunk
I don't care what you're avatar nomenclature sez'... You're a Super Duper Moderator in my book! Nice friggin' post!
yhanks Chunk. Sounding like as long as you do your research and plan ahead its not an issue. Alright waktoo Ill graba coffee, bowl and sit down for a good read.
Mornin vc'ers. Hey JDO, I have a 65 gallon smart pot in my basement full of compost and worms. Been close to 4 months now and not a single smell or wandering bug. My biggest challenge is keeping it hydrated.
I have a horizontal flow through in a 10x10 insulated shed never had issues with bugs or smell. What little produce scraps I feed I make sure its well broken down and covered with bedding as Chunk mentioned. above. I also try and keep my bedding on the dryer side of wet. I live in Mi and the shed was heated but due to cost needed to try a different way of heating my bin (bedding). Waktoo posted about using soil heating cables to keep some compost warm (which produced worms post #3228 ) so I decided to give it a try in my bedding and so far its working great. My bedding in the middle stays between 74F- 78F usually hanging closer to 78F . Just another option for you in case inside the house would stop you.