Worm suppliers

[RJ_Hythloday]

I'll keep adding as others post their findings, sellers get 1 post or more to answer questions, I'll lock it if it gets out of hand like a few other threads have at gardenforums and gardenweb.

Here's what I came up w/ feel free to add your findings and customer service experiences. There are others I've left out if they don't have competitive prices or great variety, Please comment on your customer service experience, worm health on arrival, etc. Shipping location can be important in the summer, post it if you know it. Also comment if shipping was included or how much it was to your zipcode.
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Vermitechnology
Nice selection of worm's all in one place, Good customer service returning emails or via phone listed on site.

Redworms 1lb $19.75
European Night Crawlers 1lb $24.35
Lawn and Garden Worm Culture 5lbs $32.95 mixture of EF,Pheretima aka Amynthas gracilus aka alabama jumpers , and Dendrobaena aka EH - aka
ENC Egg Capsules - $92.50 5lbs w/ bedding contact for availability.

Shipping via priority mail $8.90 flat rate (the 2lbs I got quoted)
All worms weighed and then put back in 9-10oz bedding per lb of worms.

Ships from FL
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Hunter's Worm Farm
$24.99 for 1 lb Eisenia hortensis aka EH, ENC, Belgian, European,
shipping included
(from Bing's post below)

Ships from ID
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Shallow Creek Ranch
$16lb for reds , $28lb for ENC's
Ships from CA
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Vierra's worm farm
Eudrilus Eugeniae African night crawler
500 African Nightcrawlers, approximately 2 pounds
of worms, plus 5 qts. soil which contains cocoons.. Great for
medium size composting bin or to release in your garden.
Only $23.74 plus shipping

1,000 African Nightcrawlers, approximately 4 pounds
of worms, plus 10 qts. soil which contains cocoons.
Great for large size composting bin or to release in your garden.
Only $46.66 plus shipping

Ships from CA
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Uncle Jim's worm farm

$19.95lb for EF's - red wrigglers
Super reds , Amynthas Gracilis, Alabama Jumpers $19.95 for 250

Ships from PA
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Carolina Pet Supply

EF's $27.95 lb
EH's on sale $19.96 lb
Ships from SC

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[Jase]

Would be nice if the original post and Bing's reply could be edited/updated. As of today (7/19/09), hunterswormfarm(dot)com is just a page of links -- no worms to be bought. Prices have also increased at most of the sites since this original post/reply.

Price is certainly important, but shouldn't be the absolute most important criteria. You want to go with a seller who knows what species they're selling and has a good reputation. There seem to be a fair number of scammers in this business, or at least folks who don't have much of a knack for customer service. Be sure to consider the cost of shipping when doing price comparisons. Many sellers don't make it easy to see what they're going to charge you for shipping, and it's usually $10 or more for a 1lb order if not included in the price.

-Jase, http://vermontworms.com

[Jase]

Also, some of the larger worm sellers have entries in the Better Business Bureau's database: http://www.bbb.org/us/Find-Business-Reviews/. One of the biggest sellers has over 100 recent customer complaints filed with the BBB.

[Candin]

Amen. Been having a nightmare ordering worms. Thats one reason why I started to advertise and sell locally. At least I know my customer service will be good.

Candin

[Stevesd]

First off, I would make sure you are dealing with an actual grower and not a drop shipper, especially If you want a specific breed of worms. I 'm pretty impressed with the quality of the enc's I recently got from trinity ranch. Really not the cheapest but they are nice big breeders and were shipped to me priority so they only had to stay in transit a couple of days. I believe I got full measure running over as to amount too. I would not hesitate to order from them again. Steve

[RJ_Hythloday]

Thanks for the replies, keep 'em coming!

You're right, I was going to go back and add shipped from. I'm sure less distance to travel is going to result in happier worms. Shipping can be hard to find out w/ out going through the entire check out process. One had flat rate $9.80 for over 3lbs probably a limit though. Some etailers I've dealt w/ (non-vermi) make a killing on shipping fees. I'd rather pay a fair amount for the product and the actual amount for s+h. They really get you w/ the handling fees sometimes.

I actually found mine through a craigslist ad , they emailed me back w/ a link to their site and they were shipped local here in VA, I paid $29.95 a lb $34.50 shipped. I think I'd take a chance on shipping from CA though for half the price. Mine did show up very active, writhing in a tightly packed ball.

What exactly is bed run?

Some I found are shipped w/ bedding that includes cocoons. That seems like a real bonus. I'm sure it'd be hard for them to separate all the cocoons so it's probably a good selling point for them too.

I didn't include all that I found, just best prices. It might be good to include shipping from different localities regardless of price. Most that I found were from CA and were found here also a good listing of vermi-habitats if you want a commercial one.

The first link above would probably be good if some one wanted to drive somewhere in CA to buy their worms, I noticed a better price at a few sites if you pick it up direct. Also check w/ your county, many provide subsidized programs where you could get a large discount on a worm composter or hot compost bin. I checked w/ mine and they told me they were ''too city '' to offer something like that. I plan to check my new county when I move. I can get a deal on rain barrels by attending a workshop through the state where they provide materials and you build it for $30 ea.

I think I might wait to get some ENC's, I'm on medical hold waiting to get out of the NAVY, It might be better to get some when I get back home to UT, I just don't know when that will be. The weather is much different from here.

Does any one have a good source in the continental US for the illusive blues? I think I've seen 'em once but didn't save the link.

[Jase]

"Bed-run" means that you get all sizes of worms, not just large "breeders". If you order 1lb of "bed run" worms, you should still get 1lb of pure worms, plus whatever bedding the seller adds for shipping. If you order 1lb of worms and get a bag of worms + bedding that ways 1lb *total*, you're getting ripped off.

[Nancy]

http://hallswormery.pages.web.com/ We've had great luck with the red wigglers.

[sandi]

I sell ENC's and EF's locally only (Denver, CO), no shipping. But www.mickworms.com (Carrol and Tom Mick) are friends of mine and they do ship. I have gotten a ton of Ef's from them (my main supplier when I am expanding). I did just order five pounds of ENC's from www.earlybirdworms.com and though I must say their customer service sucks huge, the worms were fat and healthy and they definitely beat everyone else in price. Also had reasonably good luck with www.happydranch.com, though when some worms died in my mailbox during an ice storm she seemed to not want to replace them. To her credit she did. They DO have the best website around so gotta give 'em kudos for that! That's all the folks I've actually done business with.

[BJ]

hey i live in denver and would like to buy worms from you. are you still in the business?

[DaciaB]

I got mine from http://northwestredworms.com/products.aspx
Eisenia Fetida - Redworms
1 pound is $30 with shipping.
2 pounds is $51 with shipping.
He threw in some soil/partially composted mix. I shared with two other people so we each spent $17 for 2/3 pounds.

[Steve]

I bought mine from Worm Man's Worm Farm. I liked the price ($23 for 1lb. including shipping), but I had a real hard time with the customer service. The shipment was delayed due to cold weather, but the website never updated me or my account status beyond "order processing". After several emails which I had repeatedly had to restate my order, my worms arrived happily a mere 4-5 weeks after ordering.
I know this sounds negative but I figured people might want to hear negative feedback as well as positive.

[RJ_Hythloday]

Yep, it's not all positive, there's a reason places like ebay and amazon have user reviews.