Comments on: Tiny White Things in Worm Bin

By: Michele

Michele — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 16:11:11 +0000

I have been doing some research and reading all of these comments. I believe what I have is an infestation of springtails. They are so small, though, that it is hard to tell by the descriptions I read. My biggest problem is that I live in the mountains and simply cannot have my worm bin in the garage at this time of the year. It is too cold. Consequently, I have it in the house and the bugs are driving me crazy. There is a constant supply of fresh “whatever-they-are” on the floor surrounding my bin. They look like tiny greyish black specks against my natural colored tile. But if I look closely, many of them are moving. I continue to vacuum them up (perhaps I should mop with a disinfectant instead?), but they just won’t go away. I’m guessing that the teeny-tiny white things flourishing in my bin are just an early form of these greyish bugs? Funnily enough, when I went hiking the other day, I saw these exact same bugs covering the snow where I was hiking… upon research, they’ve been called “snow bugs”, but I think that’s the same thing as springtails. ??

In addition, there are flying (albeit very SLOW flying; easy to squash with your thumb when they land on the wall) insects. I need to open my bin to add food (obviously), but ever time I do, I let out another supply of these annoying pests. I WISH I could keep this bin outside… any suggestions? Bentley, I read your newsletters all the time and would love to hear from you. Thank you for all that you do for us worm people.

By: Scott

Scott — Sun, 11 Sep 2011 18:49:34 +0000

I also have these tiny white bugs in my bin. They seem to be in the bottom tub more then in the main tray with the worms. When I disturb the thin layer of soil that they are crawling around (very fast) they seem to jump an inch or more in the air.

By: Danielle

Danielle — Thu, 28 Jul 2011 06:21:44 +0000

I have the extremely small tiny white bugs also but my bin is indoors. I have cats and fish. Should I be worried?

By: Ann Duncan

Ann Duncan — Mon, 13 Jun 2011 17:28:02 +0000

My worm bin has become absolutely over-loaded with tiny white thread-like worms.

When I harvested last time I tried to bring as few as possible along when I transferred the worm herd to their new bin. This time I did the ‘easy’ harvest and let the worms migrate on their own to the new bin. Tons of the tiny white worms have managed to show up there already.

What are they? Do I need to be concerned about them?

Blessings…

By: Teri

Teri — Fri, 10 Jun 2011 03:17:32 +0000

I’ve been reading this thread about the various other creatures tagging along with worms when they are delivered. I’m just starting out and plan to keep my bin in the garage–hopefully without a lot of troublesome “other” inhabitants in the bin. Should I rinse my new worms when they arrive?

By: tom

tom — Thu, 02 Jun 2011 04:48:48 +0000

i have tiny tiny red bugs about the size maybe smaller than a mustard seed. what are they,can i get rid of them,and how

By: Amanda

Amanda — Fri, 22 Apr 2011 07:48:07 +0000

I have just found loads of tiny white things in my bird food bin. There is a sack of wild bird seed and one of chick crumb in there and when I opened the lid, they were everywhere. I am going to clean the bin out but I also found them in the food so just wanted to make sure they are not going to be harmful to the wild birds or my chickens, or should I throw it all away? please help

By: Bentley

Bentley — Fri, 15 Apr 2011 11:34:21 +0000

Hi Rox,
A fair number of them likely end up in the finished material – although, if you let your system sit for a couple of weeks (no feeding etc) and/or dump the material and let it dry some, quite a few of them should vanish.
When the material is actually used, the vast majority of the critters will end up dying off I suspect – their ideal living conditions are in a moist composting system.

By: Rox

Rox — Fri, 15 Apr 2011 06:14:13 +0000

So what happens to these mites and creatures when its time to harvest? Do they die off or do they migrate to something else. I have my worm bin on the porch where I also have potted plants.

By: Bentley

Bentley — Sun, 13 Mar 2011 18:21:09 +0000

Wormer – definitely NO need to be worried!
Not sure I have EVER had a worm bin that didn’t end up with white mites in it (and all my current worm bins also have springtails in them). While I can’t
provide you with a “definitive” answer without seeing them myself, I am almost 100% positive your white critters will be one of these two invertebrates.
Absolutely (PLEASE) do not start over! Very important to remember that there is an entire compost ecosystem at work here – not just worms! Many of these critters simply come (often in form of eggs or young) with the worms – totally normal and nothing to be worried about.