Invaders in my worm bin

[Linda Tillman]

I just started about three or four weeks ago. My worms have been doing fine. I added three things to the bin yesterday: some cucumber peelings, a torn up loaf of sourdough bread and some green onion tops. I came home at the end of the day to find the worms (red worms from wormwoman.com) trying to escape - they were all over the sides of the bin - it's a recycled rubbermaid recycling container with the requisite holes drilled into it.

I immediately removed the green onion tops, remembering that worms don't like onions. I also thought they might be too hot (Atlanta) so I moved them out of my carport into my basement.

The next day they were still all over the outside of the bin. I added a thin layer of compost over the garbage and opened the top of the bin to the light. Many worms were wrapped around each other in three depressed parts of the top of the lid.

Tonight with the lid still open and the light still on, and the worms still clustered, I took a stick and stirred around in the bin to see what's up. The red worms that are in the bin are around the perimeter. In the center are very active white larvae that are about 1 inch long and 1/4 inch in diameter with ringed markings around their middles.

HELP~ I'm leaving town tomorrow and don't know what to do about these invaders.

Linda T in Atlanta

[Eve]

You may have Black Soldier Fly larva. Check out this page there are some good photos.

http://blacksoldierflyblog.com/

If they are Black Soldier Flys they are good composers and will process foods that the worms can't. The worms can then process the flies waste.

We have a Black Soldier Fly group here at Vermicomposters.

http://vermicomposters.ning.com/group/BSF?groupUrl=BSF&id=20941...

[Linda Tillman]

That's exactly what they look like - does that mean I'll have black soldier flies in my basement when they grow up?

[Jason]

You may end up hatching a few flies, but from what I know about Black Soldier Flies (not much but enough to say this), you shouldn't be overly concerned. As adults they have no mouth parts so don't eat or bite and only live for a few days, up to about a week (they try to mate and then die). They look a bit like wasps though so they might startle the uneducated.

[D S Foxx]

It's possible, but not likely. I assume you'd prefer not? You can set bait to remove some, and if you have bunches, I'd advise it--BSFL generate heat, so too many can distress your worms. (There's no real agreement about how many is too, but here's my simple test: take a small plant-pot with holes in the bottom, fill it halfway with used coffee grounds, soft fruit, or bread moistened with milk. Plant the pot in the wormery, all the way to the lip. Wait an hour, remove the pot, and tip over to empty. If you've got more than 1/4 the pot's volume of grubs, there are way too many still in the bin!)

To rebalance your wormery, mix dried leaves or shredded newspaper into your bin--being careful to avoid a hot-compost-reaction--to absorb some moisture. Then add a soil layer to the top of your bin, covering it up worms and larvae and all, and don't feed it for about two weeks (except for cellulose-based foods if needed to keep the worms from starving).

BSFL don't eat cellulose; depending on how much food they've had, they go dormant or mature once the food's gone. A sufficiently heavy soil layer encourages the first over the second, so there's less risk of your taking the lid off your wormery to find something at looks a whole lot like a wasp.


Best of luck!

DSF
http://bokashislope.blogspot.com
...and there was rejoicing in the worm tower, for the wriggle had survived the heat...

[Linda Tillman]

I'm a beekeeper so they won't startle me but I'm not thrilled about their appearing in the basement - oh, well, at least they are not why the worms were trying to escape, I assume. That remains a mystery. There are three clumps of entangled worms in recesses that are part of the indented handle of the bin (near the inside top edge. The worms that were all over the inner sides of the bin have either joined the clumps or gone down into the garbage.

[Eve]

The bin may have gotten a little warm because of the bread. Grains tend to heat up and can get very hot and should only be added in small amounts. The good news is the Black Soldier Flys larva should eat it quickly.

If you would like to see a video of Black Soldier Flys at work. Here is a time laps YouTube video of them eating a hamburger in 5 hours.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qaoVBlS8iVA

[Strumelia]

One inch long??!! I'd just toss them in the bushes somewhere.

Be careful not to add too much grain products like bread to your bin- it will start a hot compost process that will cook your worms, and/or it may give them 'protein poisoning' which makes them deformed and die. Easy on the bread, rice, corn meal, cereal, etc.

Also be careful to not get your bin too soggy wet.
A temporary small light over the bin with the lid off will help dry things up and will keep the worms from wanting to escape.