Comments on: Worm Inn Journal-08-27-10

By: Rosa

Rosa — Fri, 24 Jun 2011 16:29:20 +0000

Thanks!
I soaked the dunks in water then watered Plants and sprayed the bins. So far it seems to be working.
I’ve also rid my bins, with DE, of fruit flies and also of a long shiny but tiny black critter which I believe may have been a rove beetle. I am left with a teeeeny black bug coming out of the bins. It is similar to size of fruit flies and gnats but not airy. Small oval body with legs and wings quite compact. Are these immature rove beetles or what I thought were rove beetles or something else altogether?? They are numerous and crawling all over the compost. Crawl/hop/fly out of bins though they don’t fly very well – quick but erratic. I’ll go back to DE when I’m done the BTi application but I’d like to ID these things.
Any suggestions are welcome. My pics Only look like a tiny black blob.

By: Kator

Kator — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 12:30:23 +0000

Hi Rosa

I’ve never used the dunks, but I believe that Bentley has. I acquired the Aquabac 200 G/CG strength (10/14 mesh granule size) bacillus medium (BT israelensis) direct from the manufacturer. The value of the product wanes within a relatively short period of time and there should be a proscription date on the container. I originally purchased the product locally from a flower shop – the container did not have a date on it and when I checked the lot number with the manufacturer, I discovered that it was proscribed by about four years.

My amature experiments resulted in a 100% kill of the fungus gnat larvae. I mixed the product in collected rain water and sprayed the mix. Repeat application is necessary but the effort is worth it if you have a hardy infestation. Good luck!

By: Rosa

Rosa — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 16:23:39 +0000

Hi Bentley, hi Kator!
Your comments about the lack Of knowledge of Bti is totally true!!
I fnally found some Mosquito dunks here at Ritchies Feed andSeed in Ottawa. I’m not sure how to use them in the bin though.
Where did you find the Aquabac?

By: Bentley

Bentley — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 13:55:28 +0000

That’s COOL, Kator! Thanks for sharing.
I suspect that Bti will be more effective against fungus gnats than it seems to be for fruit flies, simply because mosquitoes and gnats are in the same sub-order (Nematocera) of the order Diptera, whereas fruit flies are in Brachycera (along with most of the other things we think of as “flies”).

I love the fact that you are an experimenter, Kator (and always happy to provide inspiration any way I can)! Please keep us posted on your progress!
8)

By: Kator

Kator — Sun, 05 Sep 2010 21:33:07 +0000

BENTLEY – Thanks for the URL link. That led me to a brand called Aquabac 200 G/CG strength – 10/14 mesh granule size bacillus medium which is the BT israelensis. I was unable to locate a local retailer for the dunks but did locate 500 grams of Aquabac. What I found most interesting was the lack of knowledge of nursery folks about the product and its potential use against the crafty and destructive fungus gnat – that common household pest – as mentioned before – often confused with the fruit fly.

I’m experimenting with strength and application methods and inoculating a small sample test bin of wigglers with gnat larvae (continuing your experiment which used fruit fly larvae), to test for toxicity. A friend tells me that her vermicompost bin is now infected with gnats after she recently purchased a flowering plant from a large retailer. If indoor bins become infested and untreated, then almost every houseplant is at perpetual risk and pesticide use is not an option.

I feel like I’m taking on the life of a mad scientist. See what you’ve started ??? 🙂

By: Bentley

Bentley — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 14:52:08 +0000

GRAHAM – Cool idea (lady bugs) – I would have thought that it would be too dark for them to thrive in that environment. Interesting!
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KATOR – Good question. The only Bti products I’ve been able to find are mosquito dunks. This is where I bought them from:
http://www.natural-insect-control.com/

By: Kator

Kator — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 14:16:12 +0000

Where can the BT israelensis bacillus be acquired in Canada? Several BT bacillus for various varmints (other than the fungus gant) are advertised but I can’t find a source for israelensis.

By: Graham

Graham — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 21:46:05 +0000

I’ve had fruit flies in my worm inn for a while now. A month or so ago I tossed in a bunch of ladybugs to hopefully eat them up. That took care of most of them, but I can’t seem to get the number all the way down to zero. Still, at least I can open the worm in without being engulfed in a swarm of the things. 🙂

By: Bentley

Bentley — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 14:50:27 +0000

GEORGE – I assume you meant “not as good for the Worm Inn…”? One thing that’s important to point out here is that “homemade manure”, just like “compost” or “vermicompost” for that matter, is a term (and a made up one at that) that can refer to any number of different mixes of wastes and bedding materials. [Whoops – what I was trying to get at here is the fact that all these are just words, but they can refer to a wide variety of different materials]. Don’t get me wrong, George – I definitely see how it could potentially dry out pretty badly, but in the case of my “vermicake” (which was basically just HMM flattened down) I was amazed to still find a hint of moisture in it weeks after I’d left it to sit in my hot shed. Glad you mentioned that though, since it’s definitely important to keep an eye on moisture levels in outdoor Worm Inns in general, during hot dry weather!
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LARRY – Not sure if the Trojans heard any laughter, but as per usual, you certainly made me snicker with your comment! I definitely agree re: fruit flies and grocery produce. I was just at the supermarket recently and found them hovering around some musk melons they had for sale (I actually bought one – haha)
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JILLIAN – It sounds to me like you had a fungus gnat infestation rather than a fruit fly infestation since fruit flies are never associated with soil (while fungus gnats can be commonly found in moist potting soil). Fungus gnats can be really bad because you can’t get rid of them as easily as fruit flies. They have a much broader range of food sources.
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KATOR – Good suggestions! I use (and often recommend) the ones with the saran wrap and small holes and it’s amazing how many of them can accumulate in a single trap!
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GEORGE – Uh Oh!!! Sounds like I need to do an experiment. I would be shocked if fruit flies (even the eggs) could withstand the cold of my deep freezer – but I guess there’s only one way to find out! Thanks for mentioning that!

One other really effective method is vaccuuming up the adults. If you remove excess food (and feed only bedding for awhile), vacuum adults daily, and set up your traps, you should be able to bring about a fruit fly population crash fairly quickly!
8)

By: George

George — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 18:48:26 +0000

About the fruit flies. I had some fruit that went south and was covered by fruit flies. I placed the fruit in a baggie and froze it for three days. When I defrosted the fruit a number of the fruit flies came to life!

I use the saran wrap and jar with vinegar and soap. Very successful but does not get them all.

Bentley, I amend my comments about the worm bin. I put it outside, just fed the heck out of it and the herd has flourished. Looking forward to my first harvest.