I recently came across this video over on YouTube and was VERY impressed – the creator, Christy Ruffner (from ‘Worm Bin Composting‘) summarized very effectively a piece of advice I have actually been giving people as of late, relating to the often asked question “How do I get rid of worm bin mites?”. I know I tend to be ‘Mr Mellow’ about this stuff – but I have come to realize that there are indeed situations where some sort of mite intervention needs to take place in order to optimize conditions once again for vermicomposting.
Apart from the awesome info and effective visuals (now THATS what I call a mite infestation – YIKES!), I appreciated the fact that Christy took the time to inform people that the “spider mites” are not the same ones considered to be plant pests (as some people mistakenly assume), and moreover that they won’t really do all that well even if they do start crawling out of your bin!
One other thing to mention – while melons/cantaloupes are almost certainly the most effective materials for attracting mites, really any of the cucumber family (cucumbers, squash, pumpkins etc) should work quite well. Oh – and definitely make sure you don’t leave the chunks in there for too long. If you happen to forget about them, you may end up with the ‘mother of ALL mite infestations’! haha
By the way – I will definitely add a link to this post to the “Worm Bin Mites” section of the “Hot Topics” page for future reference. I have little doubt that this video is going to help a lot of stressed-out vermicomposters!
Thanks to Christy for putting it together (and be sure to drop by her site – linked above – to say hello!)
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I had same problem one year ago, but what about the tiny white mites?
This is a powerful post, thanks for share!!
That’s a very nice way of doing it (I instinctively did the same thing during the initial phase of my bin’s infestation), the only problem with watermelon might be that it’s also the favourite food of red wigglers, so sometimes you need to remove several wigglers in order to take the melons inside and rinse.
Odd question, but what do you do with the water once you’ve rinsed the mites off? Dump it down your drain?
Thanks,
Karen
Personally, I’d add liquid soap to the water and that should kill them.
What about the covered worms? Will they live after the mites are gone? I have a lot of worms covered with the mites. Can they be saved? Also, (FYI) I might mention that unknowing, I spread the mites by moving worms from one bin to another. Should I dump the dirt out and start over?
Debbie
red mites are attacking my worms . is that just because they are sick?
Thank YOU! Very helpful!
I am going through the exact same thing..red spider mites i think is what they are called…they are itty bitty tiny little things and they are in a redish brownish color and i have used this baiting method…it helped but didn’t eradicate them , i also used diatomaceous Earth and spread it all over the top of my bin and i didn’t notice if that helped at all…then i even tried Neem oil diluted in rain water and a few drops of dawn dish soap to see if that would get rid of them and nothing seems to get rid of them! Does anyone else have any other better suggestions than the ones I’ve already used and continue to use?
Thanks for sharing your findings, Rhonda!
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