Comments on: Worm Bin Aging – In More Detail

By: susan

susan — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 17:11:54 +0000

From this site:http://www.buglogical.com/beneficialNematodes_control_soilDwellingPests/beneficialNematodes.asp
Nematodes are microscopic, non-segmented worms which occur naturally in soil all over the world. Thousands of strains exist with different life-styles. Beneficial ones attack soil dwelling insects and leave plants alone. These predators enter the host through body openings or by penetration of the body wall. Once inside, they release a bacterium which kills the host within 48 hours. The nematode continues to reproduce and its offspring begin to seek out new host material. Beneficial nematodes are a totally safe biological control parasitic insect organism. They are so safe that the EPA has waived the registration requirements for application.

By: robyn

robyn — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 12:39:04 +0000

Whats a Nematode??

By: Susan

Susan — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 14:36:40 +0000

Hi Greg,
I honestly do not remember where I bought my nematodes, I did a fair amount of searching online to research the problem–I think they are fairly easy to come by, but my local garden shop was no help. Now–about handling the flies–my husband and I did several things. Yes, I made fruit fly traps. Take a bottle with a neck, like an empty wine bottle. Take a sheet of white paper, like copier paper, nothing fancy. Apparently fruit flies are attracted to white. Make a funnel, a cone shape — just roll the paper on the diagonal to make a cone, and drop it in the bottle. You don’t need to tape it or anything. Add vinegar, or cider vinegar to the bottle–just an inch or two, it attracts the flies. They go in & can’t get out, and drown. But I have to tell you– we also took out the shop vac, and I opened the bin, and we vacuumed as many as we could–several times. Also, one winter night, we parked the bin outside with the top off, hoping the worms would escape freezing (they did) and the fruit flies would freeze (it did knock’ em back a bit). This was not a fast process, it took us a few months to really get it under control.
I only added nematodes once, although this article says to do it regularly. I do think they helped a lot at the time, but I am certain that my adherence to no citrus (incl banana) has done the trick on a continuing basis. This article might interest you:http://www.happydranch.com/86.html

By: Greg

Greg — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 11:25:37 +0000

Thanks Susan! Can you expand a little more please? Where did you get your nematodes from and how did you make a homemade fruit fly trap?
Great suggestions and thanks again.
Greg

By: Susan

Susan — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 15:51:35 +0000

Hi, regarding the fly issue–
I have found that citrus fruit peels are the big issue–apparently, fruit fly eggs are resident on banana peels, orange peels, etc. After dealing with a MASSIVE fruit fly explosion, I bought nematodes & added them to my bin, set up homemade fruit fly traps, and have stopped adding citrus peels to my bins. I have read that microwaving your peels will kill the fly eggs, but I can’t be bothered, frankly. ANyway, I went through all this about a year ago, and my bins are fly-free.

By: Mark from Kansas

Mark from Kansas — Tue, 26 May 2009 03:17:15 +0000

In one of my outdoor bins I loaded it up with different types of melon.
I have found that if I (A) bury the food or cover it with bedding,
(B) maintain a ph of 7, and (C) sprinkle in PULVERIZED egg shells, I don’t have any bugs. I even left the lid off one night. No bugs, no harmless spider mites.
I have also found that airflow is more important than I had considered before. On my plastic tote bin system, I raised up the worm bin to increase air flow. I got the idea from this website that was posted a long time ago. As a result, that faint odor went away.

Support Global Worming

By: michelle

michelle — Sun, 24 May 2009 16:22:05 +0000

I second Rich’s question!

I have mites hanging around all over the inner walls of my bin and while they seem harmless, they give me a serious case of the heebie-jeebies. Is there anything I can do to minimize them?

By: Greg

Greg — Sun, 24 May 2009 14:06:24 +0000

Resolving fly issues.

Bentley,
Can you comment on how to address fly issues in the bins? I started mine a few months ago after purchasing some worms from you and I now have a substantial fly issue. Not sure what kind they are. I may have over fed them as we produce a decent amount of vegetable matter in our house. The worms seem to be handling the work now that I’ve backed off on what I’ve been adding but the flies persist.
I have a stacking rubbermaid bin set up. Should I perhaps try starting a new bin above and put the food in that one to encourage them to migrate up to the new bin (travel holes exist between them) and clean out the lower bin? I searched through your posts and I didn’t see anything specifically about how to address it other than using fly paper to catch them. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Best regards,
Greg

By: Rich A.

Rich A. — Fri, 22 May 2009 21:07:10 +0000

Where do you suppose the mites came from? Contamination from another bin? Eggs on food scraps? Spontaneous generation? (Kidding on the last one.)

By: Dan

Dan — Fri, 22 May 2009 16:24:46 +0000

Hi,

I’d love to see how long it takes a number of cocoons to turn into a vibrant worm population.