New Vermicomposter

i have these white mites everywhere in my bin, they seem to stay in there and they dont seem to be hurting my woms at all, figure if anything they are aiding to decomp in the bin so no need to get rid of them. at some point in time you WILL find other critters in there, most of them are fine and are actually benificial.

some critters that can be a pain in the ass are gnats and other flying critters because they will get out and be in your home.

I have them too, and they appear when I introduce things like banana peel. I haven't bothered identifying them, but assume they're harmless.

yeah i have tried to identify them and came up with mites or aphids, but not the kind that harms plants like your spider mite...these are found in manures and composts


at first i thought they were springtails but after closer inspection found them to be more resemblied to the mites in on this page

http://www.redwormcomposting.com/reader-questions/white-lice-in-my-worm-bin/

They can be easily trapped with wet news paper. Usually other critters will bloom with PH or moisture imbalances. I've had the mites before, mine were red through, but I just kept putting a small piece of wet paper on the top layer of my bin. They collect on it, and I throw it away, burn it, or flush.

Matt- them's the ones! White mites.

from what i understand they dont hurt anything so i just leave them be. to his thier own i guess.

I like 'em!

I noticed the worms had pretty well worked through the first tray, so I mixed up a bunch of stuff for the top tray.

I was concerned about whether or not the worms could come through the holes if I covered them all up, especially since this layer was thicker, about 3". So I left 2 holes exposed.

This morning when I checked, I saw 2 worms recoil back into the holes from the light. I don't know if they can come through blocked holes, but I do know they come through un-blocked holes.

Just thought I'd share that info.

Love the totes!

Redbird1223 said:

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Boom! went to wal-mart and picked up 3 10 gal roughneck containers as specified @ $6 = $18
and 3 cups of worms from the fridge over by the fishing/hunting stuff (make sure they're alive, bought a bad cup, pweew!) @ $4 = $12
so 30 bucks and I'm in! they're not red wigglers, but I'll get some more worms later. Uncle Jim's Worm Farm
I don't have a spigot on the bottom tray yet either, but I will!

Drilled 20 holes in each and mixed up some
used Roots organics soil (with home made bio-char!!)
pulled apart some old root balls (should be an event in tough-man comp)
Kellogg's soil w/ big white fungal web
a little alfalfa meal and 2 coffee cans full of fruit/veggie pulp from my juicer

Click to expand...

well everything has been mixed up for 2-3 weeks now. A week ago, I opened up the bin and it smelled SOOOOO bad. I think it was the broccoli pulp. I'll avoid that from now on.

anyway, I tossed the worms around and set the bin in the morning sun for a half hour to try and air it out some, and it smells much better this weekend. while messing around last weekend, I pulled a chunk of fruit/pulp from the bin and it was moving!!!! like constantly shimmering and radioactive!!! I took a video but found out you have to upload to youtube to upload it here. lame but I did. and it was tall and skinny and it sucked, you couldn't see anything....can someone help me fix that so it's fullscreen? pleeeeease it was sooo cool, I gotta show you guys!!

today I had the bin out in the sun again and I have MAJOR bug issues. Only one seems to be exploding though. they look like little ticks or spiders, but they're not mites, they're about the size of aphids. some tan, some reddish color, but equally frustrating. one jumped on me. i was pissed. remedies?

I had a bright idea. Ladybugs are expensive, and Ive always wanted to raise my own in a terrarium, but never tried because I figured they'd run out of food and the population would never bloom like I wanted. and they escape. howeva....with a seemingly endless supply of bugs that need to go away.......maybe a person could farm some ladybugs in the top bin. maybe use a clear tote upside down with a cfl or something? like a makeshift terrarium that fits on top of the bin what about a pet dragonfly lol seriously though

I pulled another chunk out to see if would still do it, yup. ANNNNDD....it was full of worm babies!!!! already. they're everywhere. I counted about 50 tiny white babies and found 1 teenager (1 1/2") I think they ate all the coco in my soil first because the mix resembles compost much more than old potting soil. there's a lot less root balls in there so they must be getting comfortable.

I started a bin with red wigglers about a week ago and not sure if it is going well or not. Followed general instructions for paper and cardboard bedding and dumped in a bunch of recommended food scraps. Worms have moved to a couple other locations in the bin, but I don't see them in the food itself very much. I've found several dead worms in the bin and quite a few being very lethargic, while some remain clustered together and seem more energetic. I don't think they are thriving, but I am not sure why. Now have significant mold growth in the food. Not sure whether to just let it go or try to change something.

Get some compost in there quick.

I don't have any composted material around here, just potting soil, forest soil out side under the snow, sawdust, and cooking supersoil. Is there something you suggest I can buy locally?

Can you access forest soil and let thaw out? any potting soil that currently / recently had a plant in it?

Yes I can get soil from outside. Will do.

Let it warm up nice. Make sure your medium is just moist. Like when growing a plant. If you have a little Neem or Crab shell, I'd get some of that rockin as well. Kelp

I know they like forest leaves from the fall too. (while you're at it)

what do you guys think about my ladybug idea?

I'd get some neem and crab shell going. Lots of bugs will eat pests. Jumping spiders were always a cool idea

I periodically have dead worms. I wouldn't worry about it. (get the dirt in there though) Pics would help us help you. I'm actually starting bin #3 tomorrow. I have one full, one full of composting material they haven't finished moving into yet and am starting the third AGAIN. I need to figure out a means of getting the tubs from sticking together with the amount of weight inside them. I'm thinking a couple bricks in the bottom one will do it nicely. I'm also going to build a little rack for it to sit in so that the bottom is up off the floor. Strictly aesthetic, but it can't hurt to have easier access.

OK, added a bunch of warmed up soil, we'll see how it goes.