pps21649
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A Fertile Cocoon
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gnat trouble with Can O'Worms - 2005/12/03 10:49
I have had my COW for about 2 years now and have enjoyed it for the most part, but last spring we had a severe influx of gnats and after trying about 10 different ideas to get rid of them, they are still hanging around. I live in NW Ohio so that the COW has to be inside during the winter - it is in our basement most of the time. The gnats are worse during the summer as would be expected. Does anyone have suggestions for (dare I say) killing them off??
My internet searching has produced pretty weak suggestions so far. I have tried cleaning out the whole thing - twice this summer; wrapping the food waste in newspaper (I always use what I think is plenty of bedding); watering the whole thing with a solution of organic insecticide (which the worms didn't seem to like); basil leaves; fabric softner sheets; sticky traps (which do work, but don't catch all the gnats); and probably a couple of other desperate ideas that I don't remember right now. 
Please help! I am close to turning the little red wigglers loose in the garden (not until spring, though).
Thank you,
Polly
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redhen
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A Protected Species Earthworm
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Re:gnat trouble with Can O'Worms - 2005/12/03 11:52
Whenever I have a big population of some kind of creature in my bin, I have to ID it first. Like, is it fungus gnats or fruitfly? Why are they there? What conditions are so favorable to them? Fungus gnats feed on fungus growing in moist organic matter and potting soil, the moisture in these areas must be greatly reduced. When bedding is allowed to dry , fungi are far less likely to grow. Without their food (fungus,) the fungus gnats cannot develop and mature into egg-laying adults. If it is fruitflies, whose populations tend to be greatest in late summer and early fall as they infest fruits during the harvest season, you might want to freeze/thaw your fruit, (especially banana peels), before adding them to your bin and adding at least 3-4" of shredded paper on top of your food in the bin. You can also add beneficial nematodes, (they are cheap)as they are great predators for the fly larvae and do no harm to your worms. I, personally, would opt for finding the source and eliminate or monitor that.
Susan Quinby-Honer
redhen@nc.rr.com
Starve the Landfill...Feed the Earth. |
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jlance
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A Protected Species Earthworm
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Re:gnat trouble with Can O'Worms - 2005/12/03 16:49
I used nematodes early this spring with great success.They appearently are still in my bins knats flair up and then disappear.I paid 20$ for organic fly/knat ones.I believe they are the answer.
heal the earth with worm farming.
John Lance Indain Valley,virginia |
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pps21649
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A Fertile Cocoon
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Re:gnat trouble with Can O'Worms - 2005/12/05 10:22
redhen -
Thank you for your reply. I do freeze and thaw the waste for the worms (forgot to mention that the first time). But it doesn't seem to have helped. I understand about the need to keep the bedding dry to not attract the gnats, but it doesn't seem to work that way. The food is of course wet and the worms need a damp environment to thrive. Is there something I'm missing?
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pps21649
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A Fertile Cocoon
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Re:gnat trouble with Can O'Worms - 2005/12/05 10:25
jlance -
Thank you for you reply. I had that suggestion from another person as well. I was hoping to avoid the added expense, but you are probably onto something. I'm glad to hear it worked for you.
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redhen
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Re:gnat trouble with Can O'Worms - 2005/12/05 11:11
pps...I have many COW's. Do you leave the spigot open in the collection tray? If so, do you dump that leachate often? Have you determined what creature is causing you the problem? Happydranch.com has a good "invertebrate " page that will show images and give good decriptions. In general what are the food scraps you are putting in? I have found when I freeze/thaw food, it releases it's water very quickly, when added to the bin. I now do not dampen new bedding, (I use shredded newspaper). I add the paper dry and the next day the system has rained down on itself from the condensation. Any of the plastic bins have the problem of being too wet and this addition of dry bedding has really helped.
Sorry about all the questions, but I am "virtual vermicomposting" here and all information is helpful.
Susan Quinby-Honer
redhen@nc.rr.com
Starve the Landfill...Feed the Earth. |
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Maureen
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A Juvenile Earthworm
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Re:gnat trouble with Can O'Worms - 2005/12/06 20:12
Polly,
Was wondering if anything is helping with the gnats.
Sounds like the dry bedding may help as Redhen suggested. JLance can you explain more about your solution? What are they? I wonder if anyone makes those gnat traps as described by Zorba in one of the Worm Digest back issues. Saran wrap (punctured) covered dishes of water, a little oil and sugar.
TTYL!
Maureen
And up from the ground came a bigger bunch of plants, cuz worms were under there, Eisenia Fetidas, Redworms, Brewing Tea, chemical free, BLACK GOLD |
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redhen
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Re:gnat trouble with Can O'Worms - 2005/12/06 21:21
IMHO..Putting up traps only remedies the symptom. If we are going to try to "manage" a bin, we must understand why creatures show up in numbers and cause an imbalance. Don't buy another thing. Take some time and observe. Believe me..It's like when your computer messes up and you take care of the problem, by yourself. It feels really good and you have learned something to carry with you..
Susan Quinby-Honer
redhen@nc.rr.com
Starve the Landfill...Feed the Earth. |
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jlance
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Re:gnat trouble with Can O'Worms - 2005/12/08 09:21
nematodes are microscopic worms that eat the gnat larva.The ones I got came on a sponge that treated 300 sq ft.I had to rinse the sponge in water and then spray it in my bins.So far they they seem to be still in there time will tell. I had used traps and ribbons they worked good for control.
heal the earth with worm farming.
John Lance Indain Valley,virginia |
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pps21649
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A Fertile Cocoon
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Re:gnat trouble with Can O'Worms - 2005/12/09 17:40
Thank you all for your help on this matter! I definitely have some good ideas.
redhen - the happydranch page definitely helped. I believe now what we have in the bin are fruit flies. Wouldn't have guessed that before. I agree about the excess moisture in the plastic bins. And about the freezing/thawing -- but it does seem to help the food break down faster for the worms.
jlance - For my sanity's sake I think I'll go with the nematodes, but probably not until spring when the gnats/flies are on the increase. Probably not good to ship nematodes in the freezing weather anyway.
Thanks again, Polly
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redhen
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Re:gnat trouble with Can O'Worms - 2005/12/12 20:56
Polly.. I ran across this post on a different forum about this subject. Whenever you have your own bin, I think it is helpful to gather all kinds of information and then add your own specific information. Blend it all together and have a bin that works for you 
http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/verm/msg1219182832031.html?10
Susan Quinby-Honer
redhen@nc.rr.com
Starve the Landfill...Feed the Earth. |
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gnosnhoj
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Re:gnat trouble with Can O'Worms - 2005/12/30 13:59
"Treating symptoms" here, but until the underlying cause of fruit-fly infestation is remedied and the repro cycle is broken, this simple fly-trap worked for me when a surprise frost hurt my 'maters' feelings this fall and caused me to harvest more than we could eat (got this from the Univ of KY extension service website):
Form a paper cone, leaving small end open about pencil diameter. 3 small pieces of scotch tape hold it together. Pour a couple tbsp of cider vinegar into a small-mouth mason jar or some such and insert cone (cone bottom should be about 1" above vinegar). Place near your fly swarms and watch 'em dive in; you won't get them all, but it sure reduces the population!
Hope it helps!
GJ
Y'all have fun, whatever you're doing.
Gary
Hopkinsville, KY |
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