Deformed Worms
Hi folks – sorry for the lack of posts lately. I’ve been working on something new and exciting (worm related) recently and thus have been pretty focused. More on that fairly soon!
Anyway, I thought it might help to get back into the swing of things here with a reader question. Cindy is wondering what is wrong with her worms.
I’ve had my red wrigglers for a week now and have basically been
letting them settle in. Today when I had a look, I found some were
deformed looking … all lumpy, like someone had tied rubber bands all
up and down their bodies. Some looked like they had been travelling
along the bedding and stuck to it and tore on half … too dry? I
found some very short stumpy worms … 2mm long … babies? And two
stuck together … ok … I know what they were doing.Anyway, I put some banana skins in that I stored over the winter,
might they be too dry?Any info would be great!
Love your website!
Cindy
Hi Cindy,
Thanks for the great question. Unfortunately, the shipping process can put a lot of stress on your worms, so it is very common to have at least a few casualties along the way.
I’ve heard of worms developing bulges from being fed too much protein, but I suspect in this case it is simply some of your worms dying due to trauma from the shipping experience.
When worms approach death they get very lethargic and go quite limp – I’ve also seen the bulging (and accompanying ultra-thin) sections as well, and have found that they are much more prone to breaking apart. Often, this seems to be when the shiny round mites appear and cover the dying worms. Many mistake this for the worms being attacked, whereas it is actually the mite scavengers simply taking care of the dead (or at least almost dead) worms.
This is part of the reason I strongly encourage people to set up their systems ahead of time, and to not add any new food for a week or two after the worms arrive. It is an important time for the worms to recuperate and rehydrate, so the last thing they will need to deal with is too much food in the bin etc. Of course, I’m not suggesting this is what’ happening in your case. As mentioned, it is just inevitable that some worms are less durable than others. This may sound harsh, but it’s actually probably better to eliminate them from the gene pool anyway to help your worm population becoming stronger overall.
Moisture is definitely important in your bin – everything should be nice and moist, but not with water pooling in the bottom. If you are using a rubber bin without drainage you need to be especially careful.
Anyway – hope this helps Cindy!
Written by Bentley on May 7th, 2008 with
7 comments.
Read more articles on Home Vermicomposting and Reader Questions.
Bentley
Mary
1937 lb of Organic Waste, and Counting!
#1. May 10th, 2008, at 8:09 PM.
Cindy – What Bentley and you describe, is something new to me. I experienced it for the first time this week. About two weeks ago I received a pound of Eisenia hortensis (Euro’s) and added them to an aged bin. Anywho, the bedding they came in was a combination of peat, something that looked like small pieces of paper egg carton and other unknown doodads – the moisture level was good. The worms were plenty moist upon arrival and acclimated quickly. The second batch I ordered came from the same company but was in pure peat moss. These worms were a bit dry and weather beaten. I found a few worms that looked like they had been twisted in different places by the guy at the fair, who makes animals out of balloons. A few others were a bit chewed up or in pieces. I don’t know if it had anything to do with the moisture content (the first batch was better hydrated) or the bedding material – I would think the pure peat would be less brutal on them in transit than bedding that was of different sizes and hardness’s but it wasn’t. The few I found in the second batch that were less than worm-like, I discarded. Once I wet down the rest (before I added them to the bin) they started to recover well and seem to be doing fine. I don’t have an explanation as to why one batch was moist and “alive” yet the other a bit homesick and tattered. According to my shipping email notice, they were both in transit the same amount of time. All I can say is I have taken a look the last couple of days and I can’t tell the difference between the “haves” and the “have nots” – the second batch must have spoken to the first batch about their traumatic traveling ordeal and it looks like they won’t need therapy after all.
I do understand how disconcerting it can be when the worms arrive in less than “good” condition but the ones that make it are well on their way to a life of eating, pooping and cocoon making. If the bin is properly set-up for the worms I think they will do fine in their new digs.
Regards, Thomas