Where, oh where have my little worms gone?

After a 1/2 hearted and unsuccessful attempt with vermicomposting back in 2007, I decided to give it another whirl and set up my Worm Factory with 2 lbs. of red wigglers a month ago. I noticed lately that I wasn't seeing too many worms. A few days ago I poked around the bin with a garden shove and today I decided to dump my bin and dig through it. I found less than a hundred worms. From the worms I did find, some appeared to be very healthy and lively and others were pale and barely moving (two or three appeared dead all together). What I was surprised to find was a bunch of cocoons (probably a couple hundred of them)! There were a TON of what I assume are springtails though they weren't springing (these were tiny, pinhead sized bugs and were crawling all over the place and moving rather fast. They ranged from a white to brownish red color)

I am really at a loss at what caused such a demise of my worms. I set up a bedding with damp coconut coir topped with damp shredded newspaper. While the coconut coir seemed ok, I would use a mix of damp shredded cardboard and newspaper in the future. I didn't have the bin set up before the worms arrived and would change that next time but would be surprised if that caused so much trouble. The bin resided in the stairway to my basement where the temperature is usually around 65 degrees. There had been no evidence of a mass worm exit from the bin. The moisture content seemed appropriate as I was getting a small amount of leachate (approx a tablespoon every day or two) in the collection tray. The bedding was definitely damp but not soggy. I read that it takes a while for the worms to adjust to their new environment and that overfeeding is a common problem with new bins. I added small amounts of organic matter in one corner of the bin, being mindful not to overfeed.

So, does any one have any ideas as to what may have gone wrong? I am not sure what to think about most of the worms being gone yet having so many cocoons. I am not sure where to go from here - if I should see if the worm population will increase on its own or if I should order more worms for the bin. I'd hate to add more worms to the bin without any idea of what the original problem was. Suggestions?

Thanks! :)

I had the same thing happen about 2 months into the worm project. I crushed up some egg shells
(very fine, maybe a handful or so) and distributed them throughout the worm box (covered with damp shredded paper and a month later I had more worms then I could shake a stick at.
Not sure if this will do it, but it may be worth a try.
Good luck

Are they in a consistent environment (temp wise)? I raise mine indoors to make things less stressful though when I first started this it was stressful for all of us (my DW was not crazy about the idea of raising worms in our laundry room!).

Jimmy,

My worm box is indoors in the stairwell to my basement so it is about 65 degrees there. If crushed egg shells worked for you, I am willing to try it! Hopefully whatever the reason for the demise no longer exists and the cocoons will hatch and I will have a bunch of small worms.

...There were a TON of what I assume are springtails though they weren't springing (these were tiny, pinhead sized bugs and were crawling all over the place and moving rather fast. They ranged from a white to brownish red color)....

Sounds like a mite bloom. A bloom is where there are seemingly millions of mites--not good for your worms, and fatal at times.

Causes of mite blooms are (1) bedding too wet, (2) overfeeding, and/or (3) acidic conditions in the bin. My personal observation has been that when I added used (wet) coffee grounds the mites came back in full force. When I stopped adding coffee grounds my mite problem diminished considerably. My observation is that mites seem to really like cardboard, too.

Solutions are (1) dry the bin, (2) withhold feeding until no visible food is left, and (3) neutralize the acidic conditions.

Crushed egg shells help with the acid problem, making the bin less desirable for the mites and more desirable for the worms.

HTH

This is just a general suggestion that might help in addition to the egg shells. youtube and wormcrusader.com has a slew of vermicomposting videos and recycleminnesota.org has a v. good handbook with some troubleshooting suggestions. In addition to the eggs I'd review those to see if I were missing anything obvious. Also, garden soil, as opposed to shady and forest soil, is usually more towards the alkaline. You might add a bit of garden or from-under-the-lawn soil to your bin, it might help with the acidic conditions. Once the worms digest the bedding some, their digestions will correct the pH, shifting it more toward the middle...what I wonder is whether the spot you've chosen for the bin might be contributing to the mite problem. I ask because all leaf litter(thier natural bedding)/paper/cardboard is acidic. If it's the acidic conditions alone that's doing it you'd think we'd all have those mite things. Perhaps some geographic areas are more infested than others? Palmer, AK, do you know the answer to that one?--Melis

Perhaps some geographic areas are more infested than others? Palmer, AK, do you know the answer to that one?--Melis

No, I don't know the answer. I don't know for sure where those little buggers come from in the first place. The only thing I can think is there must be mite eggs in some of the raw vegetable scraps we put in our bins.

I think that because I did a very limited 6-week experiment.

I normally use shredded newspaper for bedding. So I put only dampened shredded newspaper in a separate bin right beside the worm bin. I kept it moist and checked it once or twice a week. After six weeks, the newspaper-only bin had not developed mites.

That told me that the newspaper did not harbor mites/mite eggs. And that the water I was using to dampen the newspaper was not the problem.

That only left the food scraps. Or the worms themselves--but I don't know how I'd ever prove that.

So...I know that the recommended time to freeze wild game to kill whatever undesirables is in the meat is 3 to 6 months. I forget the exact time/temperature--but it has to be at least at zero degrees for the entire time.

What I suspect is that raw fruit and vegetable scraps should also be frozen for 3-6 months to kill mite eggs, but I haven't done any experiments yet to prove that.

I do freeze the scraps, but until now it was for my convenience. When the container was full, I would thaw it out and put it in the worm bin.

Now I think I will make sure that the scraps stay frozen for 3-6 months, and I'll see what happens.

It's at least worth a try. :)

I just did a little research back into some of the earlier posts in this forum and came up with a comment where someone recommended in their blog to soak the bedding--in her case she was using peat moss--and part of the reason she soaked it a while was to *reduce the acidity*. So maybe soaking your bedding a while and then wringing it out really well might help with your mite problem?--Melis

I have read in another Forum where Peat Moss is used as bedding. It is suggested to soak it overnight (24 hrs), wring it as dry as possible and throw away the water. Basically, it is like rinsing out any possible acid from the PM.

Hi,
Wouldn't it be better to heat the mix to about 130 degrees to kill any seeds or mites that might be in there? That way you might kill some food value but that is what the commercial vermacompost outfits do. They can't afford to spread seeds or disease in their compost.
I know I won't buy top soil from some places because I received some invasive weeds along with the cheap/expensive top soil. I would recommend heating or sterilizing anything that I would put in the worm bins.
I know that this is another thing you need to do. Freeze the extra food and now heat it to kill any other critters involved.
Paul.

Thank you for your messages everyone! I have been letting the bin dry out some to see if it affects the level of mites(?) in the bin. I am in a wait to see mode before deciding on where to go from here.

Most types of mites will not attack your worms, but if mites occur in large quantities then they can compete for food. There are lots of critters you'll find in your bins that actually help the process of breaking down the scraps, and mites are usually one of them. If you want the mites gone, try adding a few melon rinds along the top of the bin and then removing them once they're coated in mites.

The amount of cocoons sounds like there was some sort of worm catastrophe and they all laid eggs before they died. This is common when bins dry out, but I can't think of why this would have happened to you since you say that your bin was nice and moist. Is there anything else you can tell us?

FYI, don't feed worms citrus or onions, as that will spoil your bin and kill your worms.

Instead of freezing your scraps, try blending them. The worms will go through it faster and you may find a reduction in other critters.

Jen
http://www.mamaswormcomposting.com

Remember, if you do add any water to your worm bin (if it dries out too much - as mine does here in Florida - even though it's on a patio); be sure not to use tap water because of the chlorine. I use the water from my rain barrel -- or els you should keep a watering jug nearby after letting the water sit for at least 24 hours to let the chlorine evaporate.