Thousands of little white critters in farm

[Nienke Kortbeek]

Hi guys,

I have thousands and thousands of very little white critters in my farm, they are all over the food, the paper and deep into the farm. Anyone know what they are and how to get rid of them? My worm population is not thriving, not doing badly either, but certainly not thriving.

I've tried to start the farm all over again with fresh bedding etc, and rinced the farm, but they were back in no time. They are all over the worms as well, but don't seem to harm them.

Cheers,

Nienke

[Matt Moir]

Problem Cause Solution
Rotting food Too much for population Feed less
Fruit/vinegar flies around farm, or small white bugs and worms Too acidic Cover food with damp paper. Add lime to increase pH
Worms climbing up sides or worms very fat and pale Too wet Add paper products and dry leaves, gently fork holes in the working layer
Ants Too dry or acidic Add water/lime. If your worm farm is on legs, place each leg in a container of water to stop such pests from getting in
Food rotting and not eaten Too much or wrong food/pieces too big Add less food, break into small pieces
No worm tea Not enough water Add water

[Nienke Kortbeek]

I'll try and put lime on there now eventhough I add crushed egg shells regularly?

[Dan Richardson]

I thought eggshells gave calcium for the worms which was crucial to breeding. Is that right? Unless you add too many citrus fruits, black tea, or coffee, I don't think acidity is usually a common problem. My farm is too wet and yet still doesn't produce worm tea. I re-made it to allow better drainage, but still have seen much. I think I might add a bunch of sand.

[Dan Richardson]

Not sure if it's the same critter, but my friend had the same thing going on and my diagnosis was that the critters were harmless, but probably indicative of too wet of an environment. So I would address the moisture level and see if that levels the playing field. Does the bin drain? Do you ever add water? The bin I got from Vancouver's official worm farm program didn't seem to drain nearly enough, so I drilled about 4 times as many holes, and I still have to add lots of dry bedding to overcome the moisture, and I never have to add water.

[Nienke Kortbeek]

Yes, the bin has good drainage and I do add water now and then. It doesn't seem to be too wet, no rain gets in where it sits.

[Matt Moir]

What worms like
Most fruit and vegetable scraps
Coffee grounds and teabags
Aged horse manure
Dirty paper
Crushed eggshells
Vacuum cleaner dust
Hair
What worms don't like
Spicy food, chilli, onion, garlic
Meat and milk products
Flour products
Large amounts of cooked food
Garden waste
Shiny paper
Citrus and other very acidic food

[Megan]

hello Nienke, they sound like pot worms which aren't harmful and are sought after as tropical fish food :) I have them in my dog poop worm farm which is fed exclusively on dog poop and vacuum cleaner dust & dog hair! Our dog is fed eukanuba biscuits and occasional tidbits (well maybe once a day...) so acidity shouldn't be an issue and the pot worms still find their way in.  We have a wood burner so I add small quantities of ash from time to time if the farm gets too wet.

[Dan Richardson]

Wood ash is alkaline. I looked it up and found this:

Limit your application to 2 pounds per 100 square feet

 

Not sure if you're using your finished dirt for your garden, but might wanna consider that. Too high of pH reduces the accessibility of the nutrients in soil to plants.

[Megan]

Thanks Dan, I don't put ash in my worm farms that often, it mostly goes into my beds at the community garden and is being layered with grass clippings, sawdust and horse poo in the beds that I haven't cultivated yet. It all gets topped off with wet newspaper and mulch & I grow the most amazing crops of couch grass :)

[Nienke Kortbeek]

Hi Megan,

Checked out that website, it looks like I have springtails though. Definately not potworms. Would you know if they are harmful in big numbers?

[Megan]

Sorry, can't help you there, haven't come across them (yet) in our worm farms.

[Matt Moir]

this link may help   http://www.allthingsorganic.com/How_To/12.asp