Comments on: Mystery of the Disappearing Worms

By: Bentley

Bentley — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 14:13:41 +0000

Hi Kevin
Hot weather – especially hot weather combined with fairly heavy feeding can be a MAJOR culprit when people are using outdoor systems. Even before the temps themselves become a hazard, just the extra warmth can accelerate the breakdown of the wastes, creating a richer, wetter environment – this can attract various types of flies, a prime example being Black Soldier Flies. Their larvae are MUCH more tolerant of hot, rich conditions so they really thrive, and further degrade the habitat for the worms. This plus temps that push past the worm tolerance threshold (somewhere around 94 F) creates a “perfect storm” of hazardous conditions and if the worms don’t have anywhere to escape to worms will start to die – which can create even more issues for the survivors. This is a big part of why I recommend use of systems that at least include some form of in-ground zone.

By: Kevin

Kevin — Thu, 24 Jun 2021 19:00:44 +0000

This is all very interesting as it has also just happened to me. I’ve had the same family of worms for about 6 years now and they have been through a lot! as ive lived in many different places with different conditions but they’ve always seemed so resilient. Today, I went out to feed (worms are currently inside a school bus) and opened the lid and many flies flew out. Not very surprising as I did see some larvae last month. I went to mix up the bin expecting so see all my little friends and no matter where I dug I could hardly find any! And there was an incredible amount in there!! From reading this page, I can also support the theories that between HOT weather, flies, and even the smell of ammonia, I have lost most of my worms. Vanished. The pile was moister than expected but not compacted. Lots of both shredded paper and food waste.

By: Cohen

Cohen — Sat, 13 Mar 2021 19:17:42 +0000

Hi I purchased some worms and I noticed a rove beetle on the top of the pile of worms. I discarded the beetle but I’m sure there are eggs or larvae in the worm pile somewhere. I read they are predators, should I be worried they’ll kill the red wrigglers? Thank you

By: Pam

Pam — Thu, 28 Jan 2021 22:44:31 +0000

I did the same mistake: put in lots of scraps and some grass clippings before going away, weather was super hot on the long weekend and I came back to an empty worm bin. Stupid question – how do I know whether they died or just escaped? I had a LOT of worms prior to leaving (ie. spaghetti load lots) but now can’t see any. Dug around and didn’t seem to find any “bodies”. Do they just melt away? I have my fingers and toes crossed that they just escaped (I have an underground outdoor bin).

By: Bentley

Bentley — Mon, 28 Dec 2020 16:07:58 +0000

Hey Andrew
For years I’ve suspected that what people refer to as “protein poisoning” (what leads to the string of pearls) is simply the result of excess nitrogen, which leads to ammonia release. This is a deadly toxic gas for worms, even in very small amounts. Adding raw manures – especially something like chicken manure – would absolutely expose the worms to ammonia, which is why I always recommend using well-aged material (in smaller home worm bins anyway – larger outdoor systems can easily have fresh stuff layered on top). You are right – this is something that isn’t discussed enough (although I have certain written about the hazards of ammonia gas plenty of times over the years)

By: andrew

andrew — Thu, 24 Dec 2020 09:42:34 +0000

Why don’t you make an researched article of why earthworm died of “string of pearl” ? a lot of ppl don’t know there such thing happened.. because a lot of worm died and rotted in the compost itself. If we don’t dig around we will most likely won’t see this suffering of worms.

What happened ? when we put in raw food waste from kitchen, these happened to the worms.
When we put in raw animal manure, be it from sheep or chicken.. the worm number reduced. Don’t tell me it is because the compost is heating up.. because it only heating up in the core of the pile, the outerside of the pile are perfectly good temperature for the cold winter..
What’s the secret here ? to precompost the waste before feed to worm is the secret to success ?
There is no such article in the internet , all being misled to “too dry, too wet, too hot, too cold…” all B.S. While there are the factors of course, but not the main important reason.

By: Greg Dommert

Greg Dommert — Mon, 09 Dec 2013 02:58:14 +0000

I think I have BSFL in my vermiculture bin. This past summer my wife suggested that I move the worms outside of her house….. I thought it was our house, anyways thats another discussion, right!! So I put them inside the Rabbit House which is an enclosed shed, good air ventilation. I had a tower about 5 stacks high and one day I layered the top bin with old bread. I looked in the bin several days later and the bread was moving and undulating. It looked like a horror flick scene. I lifted one of the pieces of bread, what was left of it and it seemed like thousands of maggots were under each piece of bread. in my research on this issue I came across articles and videos about the BSFL. I feel pretty certain that’s what I have but these larvae are white in color and what I have seen in videos looks chocolate in color. Could this be something other than BSFL? I emptied all of my worm trays into a recycled bathtub around the 1st of November and it appeared that the larvae were dead and the temps have been hovering around 45-50 dipping late at night into the 30’s. Now that everything is in the tub, it seems like the larvae have come back to life. It seems that I do have several hundred worms but not as many as I expected. I am doing Aquaponics so I am excited to have BSFL if that’s what it is. How well will the Red Wiggler and the BSFL coexist?

By: rik tiki

rik tiki — Sat, 14 Sep 2013 20:12:18 +0000

Large area covered with decomposing wood chips. Worms by the thousands. I do not feed them. They vanished. Heartbroken.

By: Bentley

Bentley — Thu, 22 Aug 2013 13:00:06 +0000

BAMBI – what you’ve described sounds exactly like black soldier fly larvae (although they don’t have legs). While I’d likely avoid the term “bad” in association with most of the critters that can pop up in a vermicomposting system, BSFLs can be challenging, especially since they are often appearing when it’s already quite hot. They process wastes really quickly, likely increasing microbial activity (which also increases temps), and basically reduce habitat quality for the worms. One helpful strategy is to cut back on your feeding and instead to add lots of moistened bedding.
———-
BEN – that seems to be a common scenario. Hot temps + too much food + going away on vacation = increased chance of a mass die off. Yes moisture can be helpful IF we’re talking about a system that is very well ventilated. But moisture itself can actually amplify the effects of hot temps if there is not enough air flow (or if weather is very humid with little or no wind).
What I would personally recommend before going away is add loads of bedding with a little food. I might also suggest setting up a very small “insurance bin” that could be kept indoors. This way you have a back-up stock of worms in case something goes wrong.

By: ben

ben — Thu, 22 Aug 2013 04:51:34 +0000

I too went away for 10 days and all the worms gone… it’s an outdoor worm inn.

About 2x a week, I feed ~1lb of carrot/apple pulp, but the day before we left, I probably did about 2lbs..

Still, it’s been HOT, so you would think the moisture of the pulp would have balanced out the heat..

In short, aside from not going on vacation, what’s the recommended steps to take before/after leaving for a couple weeks?