EARTHWORM MITES                                See photo below  > > > > 

Infestation of Mites

 PESTS – Mites 

Most worm beds usually contain several species of mites (the most important for, our purposes, being the earthworm mite), which pose no real threat to the worms unless their population spirals too high – this usually happens as a result of poor bed management. Earthworm mites are small and are usually brown, reddish or somewhere in-between. They tend to concentrate near the edges and surfaces of the worm beds and around clusters of feed. They are not known for attacking the earthworms but do eat the earthworms feed. When the mite population is too high the worms will burrow deep into the beds and not come to the surface to feed, which hampers worm reproduction and growth. High mite populations usually result from:

• Over-feeding. Maintaining a proper feeding schedule (for example: one that ensures the feed is eaten in a few days) will prevent the feed from going off in the beds.

• Feeding the earthworms meaty or wet feed. Large mite populations are often the result of using over moist garbage and vegetable refuse as feed. Adding the occasional soggy vegetable leftover probably won’t cause a problem but don’t make a habit of it.

• Over-watering. A rule of thumb when watering is to keep the beds damp but not wet. Poor bed drainage can also facilitate a mite problem and make the beds less hospitable to worms. Ensure that there are adequate drainage holes at the bottom of your worm bin or housing.   

Remember the same conditions that ensure high worm production will be less favourable to mites. If you find your worm farm overrun by mites, expose the beds to the sun for a few hours. Cut back on water and feed and then, every 1 to 3 days, add calcium carbonate. Another method is to over water the bed forcing the mites to the surface and then burning them with a blowtorch. Both of these methods though are only short-term remedies and eventually you will have to improve the conditions in your worm farm if you want to keep the mite population low.

Click on the link below to find out more about worm farming pests.

http://working-worms.com/content/view/42/64//#index1

One theory is that the worms just cannot process their food without the help of specialised aerobic microbes. These beneficial bacteria live in symbiosis with the worms and after being ingested together with the worms’ food,  they multiply within the worms gut and then are excreted in their poop  and are thus spread out, back into the food source – multiplying several thousandfold in the process. Once the worms’  food source has been covered by these microbes it is now ready for the worms to ingest – and so the cycle repeats itself. Food without the microbes is useless, but once established the cycle repeats indefinitely as long as the worms keep on eating and pooping to spread out the bacteria.

In a new bin the specific bacteria are absent at first – until the worms start pooping.  The  initial worm food without bacteria would seem  sterile and inedible to the worms – and so many of them just hit out – probably looking for a better restaurant to meet their needs!  However, after a few days of pooping the cycle picks up momentum and balance is eventually achieved and everyone is happy.

This is why it is always useful to dump in a small amount of fresh worm tailings (vermicompost) when establishing a new worm farm to give the bacteria a kick start. But just as importantly,  make sure that the prepared bedding and food is not too wet and compact and is well aerated. Both the worms and their bacteria need a good supply of air to survive and prosper.  Follow the link to see more at  http://working-worms.com/content/view/38/60//#microbes

Earthworms of all kinds, including the various red compost worms used in vermiculture, rely on a symbiotic relationship with specialized micro-organisms (microbes or bacteria), to enable them to digest their food. This relationship is a beautiful example of a partnership that is of equal benefit for both life-forms (symbiosis). The worms carry millions of microscopic bacteria on their skin, in their gut, in the mucous secretions that keep their skin moist and especially in their faeces (tailings) which ultimately is the vermicompost.

Worms cannot masticate raw food as they have no teeth, but the activity of the microbes actually breaks down raw organic waste into a form that the worms can readily ingest into their digestive tract. The worms rely entirely on the bacteria swarming around them to actually break down the foodstuff that we put in our worm farms. Without them they would starve. The micro-organisms attack the “food material” and it is deconstituted and reduced into a slimy gruel that can be slurped up by the worms. The slimy paste that is ingested by the worms is teaming with bacteria, which are thus introduced directly into the worms gut.

Within the warm and secure environment of the worms’ digestive tract, the bacteria multiply tenfold and continue the process of deconstituting the ingested organic sludge – changing complex matter into its basic components – enzymes, compounds and trace elements. The resultant “soup” is highly nutritious to both the worms and to the microbes themselves and it provides the energy needed by both life-forms to grow and multiply. This is a perfect example of a natural synergy arising from active cooperation between species. The rewards are equally shared and are essential to both organisms.

Within the tailings or faeces of the worms, masses of bacteria are returned to the worm bin and are now ready to begin the process all over again. The tailing (also called worm casts or castings ) are actually the vermicompost sought by the worm farmer and are packed full of simple elements and compounds that are readily taken up by plants as a highly nutritious fertilizer.

Large numbers of these bacteria are released back into the worm bin, together with the waste products in the feces or castings – our vermicompost. The microbes will have multiplied in the ideal environment of the worm’s gut and now, greatly increased in numbers, are once again ready to attack new food sources and start the process all over. Moreover there is an added benefit for the garden, in that pathogenic bacteria and toxic compounds that may originally have existed in the original waste material that was offered as “worm food”, will by now have been broken down into simpler forms and their threat to plant and human health, neutralized by the action of all the beneficial micro-organisms in the worms’ gut. Furthermore, when the fresh vermicompost is put into the soil to feed the plants, the “good” microbes continue the process in the immediate vicinity of the plant’s roots and actually “disinfect” the soil by attacking any pathogenic bacteria. Could you really ask for anything more?

It has been said that the activity of these bacteria are responsible for producing CO2, (carbon dioxide) a greenhouse gas, which will inevitably escape from the composting process and add to the problem of global warming. But consider what would be the alternative, if the organic wastes were simply put in a dumpster and allowed to putrify in the anaerobic conditions of a landfill. The putrification process in this instance would take place in the absence (or scarcity) of oxygen and the anaerobic bacteria that operate in these conditions would produce large quantities of methane – a far worse greenhouse gas than CO2. Besides all the methane given off, anaerobic putrification (unlike aerobic decomposition) is smelly and can produce very nasty toxins and pathogenetic bacteria, which pollute the soil and groundwater and pose a long lasting health threat. So trust your worms and their millions of microscopic helpers and stay green.

Worm farming will produce a richly nutritious organic plant food for your garden, whilst getting rid of kitchen scraps and other organic waste in a way that is entirely eco-friendly and convenient.

You can read all about these tiny hard-working organisms and a great deal more about the fun science of vermiculture at the highly informative website – http://www.working-worms.com.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Steve_Coe http://EzineArticles.com/?The-Importance-of-Microbes-in-Your-Worm-Farm&id=3228421

The relationship between earthworms (including  the various composting worms) and the aerobic microbes or bacteria that accompany them is one of nature’s most perfect examples of symbiosis. The worms have millions of beneficial bacteria associated with them, both externally, on their skin, in the mucus secretions that keep them moist and also swarming internally inside their gut. These microbes, are essential for the processing of the worms’ raw  ”food”  material  into a form that the worms can actually ingest into their bodies.

Worms have no teeth, bills or jaws, nor a true stomach and rely solely on the bacteria swarming around them to actually break down the foodstuff that we put in our bins. Prior to ingestion by the worms, the  foodstuff is deconstituted and  altered considerably by the microbes, such that it can be sucked up by the worms as a slimy paste-like substance. It goes directly into their gizzard and passed onward through the worms’ very rudimentary digestive tract, together with  masses of the bacteria, swarming within the slime.

Inside the worm’s gut the breakdown process continues and the worms’ digestive tract, provides a perfect environment for the ingested bacteria, who multiply further and continue to convert  the complex cell structure of the original foodstuff into its basic elements and compounds, altering it into a simpler form that can be used directly by both the worms and the bacteria for nourishment. These simple elements and compounds provide the basic building blocks to  sustain both worms and bacteria and are reconstituted according to the messages carried by the DNA to build up the complex cell structures that create the living physiology of both worm and bacterium. A true win / win situation for both organisms.

Large numbers of these bacteria are released back into the worm bin, together with the waste products in the faeces or castings – our vermicompost. The microbes will have multiplied in the ideal environment of the worm’s gut and now, greatly increased in numbers, are once again ready to attack new food sources and start the process all over.

Of great importance, these waste products, or vermicompost, excreted by the worms have been thoroughly processed by the microbes and are now in the form of simple elements and compounds, that are readily taken up by our garden plants, providing a highly nutritious food for them. Moreover any dangerous toxins and infected material would have been simultaneously neutralised by the bacteria within the worms gut, as complex forms of pathogenic material are also broken down into simpler, more basic (harmless) components by the microbes. In the soil the process continues and worm compost, with its load of beneficial bacteria will also tend to improve the health of soil around the roots of  plants by removing  pathogens. This is the beauty of using worms and their huge army of tiny microscopic helpers, for your composting.

I’m beginning to think that a Working Worms Forum  would be of more use than the current blog – which is a bit one sided - Is there any interest?

Steve

 The one source I had for cheaper worms is out of the market – all the rest seem to charge about the same – around R150 per thousand (about 250gm). I’ll put a post on our blog site – asking for assistance, maybe someone will contact you. See http://blog.working-worms.com/. Don’t waste your time with earthworms – good for the garden / no good for worm farming..

 Steve

From: Adrian Glanvill [mailto:glanvillconsult1@telkomsa.net]
Sent: 08 September 2009 03:17 PM
To: steve@mediatorr.com
Subject: Re: Where and How?

—–Original Message—–
From: Adrian Glanvill [mailto:glanvillconsult1@telkomsa.net]
Sent: 12 September 2009 04:18 PM
To: steve@mediatorr.com
Subject: Re: Where and How?

It would be better to use cardboard boxes coated with paraffin wax.  Ultimately they will compost and need to be replaced, but they are at least bio-degradable.  The wax itself is metabolised by bacteria (slowly) but is not a toxic pollutant.

One could also stack bricks, or make frames out of untreated wood (my favourite) and polypropylene/polyethylene shade cloth, or biddum.  What we will do is see what is available for recycling without pollution at each site, and adapt our practices to suit.

 Hi Adrian

Thanks for that valuable information  – I’d never heard that. I’ll post it on the blog and will need to update the website.

Steve

—–Original Message—–
From: Steve [mailto:steve@mediatorr.com]
Sent: 12 September 2009 01:12 AM
To: ‘Adrian Glanvill’
Subject: RE: Where and How?

Hi Adrian,

Regarding your self-development programme – have you thought of stacked tyre worm farms – see seen the article we wrote at  http://ezinearticles.com/?Stacked-Tire-Worm-Farm&id=2020501 and the section of working worms       http://working-worms.com/content/view/39/61/

Regards

Steve