Worm Digest - Re:Mites are invading...send help quickly!

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joetownhound
User

A Juvenile Earthworm

Posts: 26

Re:Mites are invading...send help quickly! - 2008/03/18 23:08 being from Mid Florida I don't burn that non existance wood burning stove much. I will try the bread trick. I think all for the usefull information.

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joetownhound
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A Juvenile Earthworm

Posts: 26

Re:Mites are invading...send help quickly! - 2008/03/18 23:55 my problem is that not only mites I'm also smelling what smell like dead worms in my worm wigwam. I'm been holding off on feed them for about a week and a half. Is there anything that I can do to correct the problem beside the bread to get rid of the mites or do I have to weather the storm. Oh by the way I seening a lot of cocoons in the bin. But I know there is a problem because of the smell. Also how do I know if I have red mites the ones that feeds on worm. The ones I'm seening is white and also seens to be on the worms in some case

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wellsworms

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A Protected Species Earthworm

Posts: 523

Re:Mites are invading...send help quickly! - 2008/03/19 09:40

find some ladybugs if you have a large garden center nearby, some sell ladybug eggs. Every fall, we have an invasion of ladybugs in our house. I try to capture a half a dozen or so and add him to my worm bin. They just love mites, and they're so cute. Try this I think you're like the solution. FEED IT TO THE WORMS
WELLS,vermont
jerry walker 2008

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redhen

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A Protected Species Earthworm

Posts: 686

Re:Mites are invading...send help quickly! - 2008/03/19 10:02 I'm also smelling what smell like dead worms
There's no mistaking that smell.
I think it is time for you to take apart that Wigwam and see what's going on.
Mites love wet acidic, conditions and all those conditions lead to an anaerobic bin. Dead worms create ammonia which is deadly to all inside there.
I would move quickly to rescue worms. Susan Quinby-Honer
redhen@nc.rr.com
Starve the Landfill...Feed the Earth.

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lkittle
User

A Juvenile Earthworm

Posts: 43

Re:Mites are invading...send help quickly! - 2008/03/19 17:12 Hi All! Just some input from a WigWam owner with worms in it. WigWams are very difficult to get to go anaerobic you can litterly flood them and they will not become to wet because the harvesting system leaves the bottem open. They can be over fed and the rotting food will overwhelm the worms and they will die from "protein poisoning" a condition where the calciferous glands can not neutralize the protine acids produced from the protine consumer bacteria. The crop swells and sometimes burst, or peritonitis may result when severs wounds in the intestinal tract becomes infected with disease bacteria. So in order to bring things back to normal. Remove all food material. In a Flowthru system 1.Flood it. 2. Put thin layer of egg shells with cheese shaker of other spice shaker. 3 Flood again. The first flooding is to wash out as much of the excess neutrients and some bacteria. The egg shells neutralize acid and when drenched takes the neutralized material out It also spreads the neutralizing fluid through out the bedding. This slowes down the breeding of the acid producing bacteria. larry
Holley,New York

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gnosnhoj

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A Protected Species Earthworm

Posts: 544

Re:Mites are invading...send help quickly! - 2008/03/19 21:56 Hmm. If I got a whiff of what Susan calls an unmistakable smell (so far unknown to me thanks to these fora and eyes-on attention to how my bins are progressing, (insert 'knock-on-wood' emoticon here), I'm inclined to agree with her.
I'd break that puppy down, rescue the survivors, begin again, and be more careful with watching what your herd is doing.

jth, what is your bedding, how deep, what & how/when are you feeding?

Larry, I'm thinking the benefit of using eggshells in a bed/bin is that their potential to shift pH in order to offset acidic conditions is a slow process as the shells break down (besides the calcium addition), not as a quick fix. Me, I'd rather add new dry bedding to dissipate any concentration.
I've read some scary stories in the fora about wormers who've tried to induce a speedy pH change; it seems the worms don't like it much.
Have you had success with your technique?

warning fresh ashes will kill worms'specially if they're still glowing

!

...these stinkin' mites are running up my arm...Sounds like they're not so happy in the bedding anymore

. Y'all have fun, whatever you're doing.
Gary
Hopkinsville, KY

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lkittle
User

A Juvenile Earthworm

Posts: 43

Re:Mites are invading...send help quickly! - 2008/03/20 00:01 Hi Gary! Yes to have you tried it. It does work the powdered egg shells will give only a small amount of ph change, not enough to cause a mass exodus of what ever worms are left. Wig Wams are all open in the bottem and have several holes for drainage in them. Flooding them washes away the immeadiate acid threat and also drives the mites to high ground. The second wash disolves the smallest calciun particals of the egg shells and disperses it all through the bedding while rinsing away more acidic contaminents and maybe a few mites in the open bottem. With the system open in the bottem it will dry before harming the worms. I'm thinking if the smell is as rank as stated the worms are dying in large numbers. At any rate if there are lots of cocoons they will survive hatch and grow more worms. If they are doing ok then replace with new stock. The system is not easy to empty and restart. From my experience with the WigWam I still am feeding moderatly and have done no casting harvesting. Remember I took mine apart and restarted when I had a rodent problem in them.

Post edited by: lkittle, at: 2008/03/20 00:04 larry
Holley,New York

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Paratrooper

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A Mature Breeder Earthworm

Posts: 77

Re:Mites are invading...send help quickly! - 2008/03/20 23:39 We have well water . It is good water with an overabundance of calcium which is (I am told) just like calcium carbonate (lime) . So I would think that this is a good thing when the question of PH is given . Every time I introduce some water to the mix there is lime going in as a diluted additive . Sound right ??? Tom
Kingman Arizona

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joetownhound
User

A Juvenile Earthworm

Posts: 26

Re:Mites are invading...send help quickly! - 2008/04/01 00:26 I would like to thank red hen and Gary for their sugestion with my worm bed. Even thought I didn't change out the whole worm wig wam I did add about 9 inches of shreaded cardboard to it which seem to be bringing my bin back to order. The smell has gone and the worms seems to be doing ok. Again thank guys for all the information

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mwills4048
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A Fertile Cocoon

Posts: 5

Re:Mites are invading...send help quickly! - 2008/04/20 18:04 Hi,

I'm just a guy who wants to reduce his waste flow, and do what I can to have a small impact on our planet. I've had my worm bin now for about a year. Lately I've noticed that I have insects other than worms in my bin (which I keep in my kitchen). I thought that maybe they were fruit flies, but after reading this post I'm wondering if they're some kind of mite or louse. I don't have a lot, and they certainly don't run up my arm, but I want to keep things healthy, since I really value my worms, and the job they're doing for me. Plus, since they live with me in my kitchen, in my apartment, I certainly don't want any sort of infestation that will upset me, my neighbors, or my landlord. What I see other than the occasional fruit fly is a very small white insect that moves quickly, and a very small brown insect which also moves very quickly. My worms seem to be thriving... should I do the bread thing, and the dawn thing just to be sure?

On another topic, I have a very small salad garden, mostly in pots outside of my apartment, and every once in awhile I'll pull a snail or two off of my greens. I've been thinking about trying to eat my snails since they're eating my garden. I've done research about purging the snails, and I'm wondering, if I put the snails in my worm bin would that upset things? I guess I'm a little worried about bringing in parasites or other critters that might upset things.

Your's truly,

The apartment/kitchen worm farmer/gardener wanna-be snail eater

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redhen

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A Protected Species Earthworm

Posts: 686

Re:Mites are invading...send help quickly! - 2008/04/20 22:08 mwills4048...Many of the inhabitants in your healthy worm bin are microscopic. There are also some you can see. They also must be there helping things decompose. They do not wish to live anywhere else.
It is only when (any one of) their population "blooms" that there is a problem of imbalance that should be addressed. Susan Quinby-Honer
redhen@nc.rr.com
Starve the Landfill...Feed the Earth.

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wormherder
User

A Juvenile Earthworm

Posts: 68

Re:Mites are invading...send help quickly! - 2008/04/27 00:08 what color are the mites??? did you get your supply from beaver bait??? try soaking the top of your bed and getting a mapp gas butane torch and burning the suckers just soak bed first so you dont hurt worms and do this every couple of days until they are gone sounds brutal but it beats washing your worms and changing your bedding I got some from bb bait in indiana and the red mites were in the peat he packaged them in...it takes over 8 hours to wash 50 000 worms and if your water temp is more than 10 degrees different then worm temp you stress worms more than the prozac can help
white and brown mites do no serious harm to worms red mites eat the egg embryo that are laid and there for no reproduction occurs...good luck rough road ahead for you if mites are red ones........

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