Comments on: A Mite is a Mite is a Mite? Not Quite!

By: Stankie's Organics - Page 170 - Grasscity.com Forums

Stankie's Organics - Page 170 - Grasscity.com Forums — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 07:43:30 +0000

[...] save me typing time I agree 100% Here's an article from Bentley at Red Worm Composting titled A Mite is a Mite is a Mite? Not Quite! Photos are included to help identification. LD __________________ "Less than 15% of the [...]

By: jen

jen — Mon, 18 Jul 2011 14:33:59 +0000

i’ve been “wormsitting” a bin for a few months now. just within the past couple of weeks i am noticing mites are actually leaving the bin and crawling around the vents and on the exterior of the bin. i’ve got lots of worms that seem to be healthy and happy and very reproductive, so i’m not worried about them, but i don’t like the idea of mites making a pilgrimage away from the bin which is in my basement. should i be worried? could i get an infestation in my basement/house? any info would be appreciated.

By: Steve Murphy

Steve Murphy — Fri, 08 Jul 2011 12:35:49 +0000

I have quite a few of the red mites in some of my worm/compost bins and have been worried that if I put any of the castings on my roses that the mites may be the ones that are considered a “pest” to roses? Is that likely to be the case?
I also have a lot of the tiny white springtails in some of my bins and would love to know how to get rid of them, as they seem to be competing with the worms for the food.

By: Bentley

Bentley — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 00:48:58 +0000

Dawn, Bryon – that’s really interesting. My take on the situation – and really ANY situation involving critters in compost etc – is that these guys are adapted for basically feeding on waste materials. It is very unlikely that compost tea is going to be an ideal breeding ground for plant-attacking invertebrates. I personally think you are totally fine using it (and I would certainly do so).
NOW, that being said (haha) – the fact that you’ve ended up with a huge abundance of these mites has me wondering how you made the tea. Or are you referring to the leachate that drains out from the bottom of a worm bin with drainage?
In that case I would likely aerate the liquid for a couple of days before use.

By: Dawn, Bryon

Dawn, Bryon — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 03:30:00 +0000

I just found the worm tea loaded with the white mites? Is it safe to use on my plants now?

By: aegzandra

aegzandra — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 21:23:31 +0000

Last night my vermi composter had so many mites (the very fast brown ones) on the lid I didn’t even want to touch it. I did a few things and it seems to be much better.

1. The book that came with my composter suggested this. I soaked a toilet paper roll in milk and left it on top of the mound. When I removed it 24 hours later I also removed a lot of the mites.
2. I tried the cucumber thing suggested above – not sure if this was as effective because I didn’t see many mites on it but removed the cucumber anyways.
3. To catch fruit flies I put some rotting apple in a cup, covered it with plastic wrap and punched a few holes in the top. I was hoping this would catch some mites too but they are so small they went in and out of the holes no problem.

I’m not going to add anymore food for a few days to let the worms work away at what is in there.

There are much fewer mites today then there were yesterday though so thats good news!

By: Bonnie Van Meter

Bonnie Van Meter — Wed, 20 Apr 2011 21:30:41 +0000

I’m using cardboard boxes for my worm bins, BECAUSE THEY EAT THEM. I set them inside a rubber tote. The cardboard wicks excess moisture and allows more air than just filling up a rubber tote. I don’t like ruining a good tote with holes if I want to repurpose it. I fold the tops down on the cardboard box and it provides darkness for the worms. As the bottom fills up and they’ve eaten the bottom out, I lift the box up a little. It works REALLY WELL. My problem is filling totes up too heavy then not being able to work with them. I solved my mite problem by letting them dry out a bit and the mites all disappeared. Worms are great. Cheers!

By: Jan Mullen

Jan Mullen — Wed, 20 Apr 2011 05:03:02 +0000

Bonnie,
I have had white mite infestations in my bin and solved the problem with the watermelon rind lure (leaving it in the bin 12 hours, rinse off the mites and repeat). Just today I found red mites covering banana disks that I had put in a bin I’m trying to remove worms from, so apparently the red ones love banana. Perhaps that would work for you – rinse the mites off the banana chunk and replace the lure. Maybe the red ones like melon rind too – I haven’t tried that. In my case, I didn’t even know I had mites until I checked the banana disks, thinking I would have baby worms crowded around that I could remove, which I did, but I also had red mites covering the banana. I must say that my bin seems quite healthy, so I don’t think these mites are doing anything bad to the worms. Why are you using a cardboard box for worms? They EAT cardboard – perhaps you should switch to a plastic bin – just drill some holes in the bottom and sides for air flow. Good luck getting rid of the excess mites.

By: Bonnie Van Meter

Bonnie Van Meter — Mon, 28 Mar 2011 13:26:39 +0000

I had a potted oregano plant from the nursery that I put into my chick brooder for a couple of weeks. A couple days ago, I noticed it was getting puny/beat up, so I set it on top of my white cardboard worm box under the light. The next day I was watering my wormbins and noticed HUNDREDS of tiny fast moving red spider mites. Thinking that wet conditions GOT RID OF THEM, I sprayed them all down with water and squished any that reappeared. Looks like I shoulda let the bin dry out. What I watered them with LAST WEEK was the dirty chicken water from the brooders that was full of chicken feed, chicken poop, and wood shavings. So I am thinking that A) that bin had too much water, B) the chicken water was acidic, or C) the plant contaminated the bin? I checked all the chicks and found no mites on THEM, but when I was working with the bin and squishing mites, they got on ME!
I’m going to Reset the box up in a new cardboard box and throw the white one outside. I’ll add DRY torn cardboard to the bottom of the bin to help soak up excess water, a tablespoon or so of ground eggshells available. Then I am going to go buy some melon and see if that will help trap them. I do NOT WANT mites in my basement with the baby chicks on one side of the room and the worm bins on the other! HELP????

By: Jorger Cubas

Jorger Cubas — Wed, 13 Oct 2010 15:55:50 +0000

Thanks for your quick response! Long time reader, 1st time caller btw.

There is no leachate, and I have actually been using the following report from ROU in Australia to better guide me in the feeding methods –
Recycled Organics Unit
. Although, sampling has shown that we have about 15-16 kg of worms in a 2m^2 bin, so I think you’re right, as I’ve been feeding on avg. 14-17 kg of waste per week.

Here at CUNY Brooklyn, we’ve been trying to work with the dining staff to get as varied a feed as possible – it is difficult, however, and the worms have been mostly raised on grits, bread and coffee grounds. I’m guessing my C:N ratios are out of whack b/c of this.

-Jorge