A new wrinkle

What the heck are these creeepy things that have moved into the worm bin?

Those are maggots of some sort. I have been getting them also in my previous attempts at vermicomposting. I'm hoping my new arrangement that is less accessible to flies will stop the flies from laying eggs that hatch into maggots. Someone in the Insect I.D. Forum may be able to tell us more about the maggots. If you can post your photo there, I would also be interested in knowing what sort of fly the maggots become.

http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/f/bugid/all/

Jeremy

Thanks Jeremy, I posted it over there. We don't have a lot of flies around here (like some places I have lived) it will be interesting to see what they are.
alice

Sounds like these are good guys, the red wigglers will have to share.

http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1117194/

Great to know! Thanks for making the post and getting the I.D. I will let them abide in my compost and worm bins, but en masse when crawling around in vegetable scraps, their squirming presence still looks like a "Tales from the Dark Side" scene. Very creepy!!

Jeremy

You got that right. It was much nicer feeding the worms, feeding these things is not as interesting either.

Hello.

Could it be Hermetia illucens? I heard they eat food scraps faster than worms, but I also read that they can take over the worm compost bin too. I am also a very newbie, so I am not that knowledgeable about the co-existence of worms and Hermetia illucens in the same bin. If what you have are indeed Hermetia illucens, it may be worth researching about whether they and worms can be together.

Thanks you for that info, I'll look into it. As things happened, the bin was later invaded by carpenter ants, they are huge ugly ants. I did not know if they could live with the worms but they bite so I wanted to get rid of them.

I wound up emptying all the trays into a large container and washing everything well and setting it up again. Then I picked through the worm compost and got as many worms as possible to re-introduce into the bin with clean bedding. I actually got about 2 cups of pretty clean worms. I only have one tray going at the moment but the weather is so warm and they are eating and reproducing like crazy right now so I expect things will be back to normal soon.

I have not seen any ants or maggots yet so for now, all is good but I will check out those hermetia illucins in case I find creepy things again. .

I just found some BIG UGLY Grublike looking things in my composter. Bigger then maggots. I don't think I want those in with my worms. Sorry I don't have a photo but, I was TOO grossed out. Has anyone had anything bigger them maggots? :(

The creatures in ardesia's photo above are usually about an inch long when fully grown, so you may have the same or similar type of soldier fly larvae.

Jeremy

ardesia...these maggots should have hatched by now...Do you have an update or pic on what the fly looks like? I was also curious if you place your worm feed on top of the media or burry it. Also, have you noticed any putrification odors from the feed source?

LOL, long story, sorry. I had to move my worm bin off my deck and out into the shrubbery while the deck was being cleaned and repaired. That is where the soldier fly maggots found it. I was waiting patiently for them to hatch when the bin was invaded again, this time by huge carpenter ants, a common ant around here where there is a lot of decaying matter in the woods. The carpenter ants bite however and their bite can be quite painful so I didn't want them around. I wound up dumping everything and carefully picking out hundreds of worms by hand and starting over with a clean bin and clean bedding. The bin is back up on my deck, 7' above the ground and I have had no problems with the ants and I have not noticed any maggots. Remarkably there never was any odor. It is right by my back door and it is very hot and humid in this part of the country. It would have been noticable. I usually bury food sources (like melon rinds) down where the worms hang out although I tend to dump the daily coffee grounds on top.

Recently I set up a new compost bin, one that gets very hot, and I noticed some of the solider fly maggots crawling around the lid when I opened it the other day. I'll watch and if I can get a picture of the actual fly, I'll post it.

Looks like white larvae to me. In any case it usually means you put some meat scraps, bones, or something in compost that worms don't really like and therefore you finally get these white larvae from decomposition unlike the normal microbial decomposition that occurs with vegetable, leafy wastes. Worm love cantelope, honeydew; actually anything thats high in protein....The white things will eventually die or move on, but you could always scoop a pile out if you get tired waiting. Make sure your vermicompost is aerated enough and/or you're not feeding too much to your worm population. One other thing most people don't realize...always place your new wastes on top. Don't bury them as you want to disturb the soil as little as possible. You should not have to rotate the soil if you are managing your compost properly. What happens is when you disturb the soil, you are also disturbing the worms castings and breaking open the membrane around them which allows toxin to infect the worm population. With enough space they can move away, but it limits your worm growth and future birth rate. Want to give your worms a treat? Give them a light dusting of soy flour. They love it and will grow healthier and faster with its use. BTW, pine mulch bedding keeps your compost healthy also.

Intersting observations. I would never use meat scraps or anything fatty or with a trong odor like oions or citrus, this is just a very buggy part of the country.

However, the directions that came with this system said to move the bedding aside in a corner, add the foods and cover them up again with the bedding. I have done it both ways and not found much of a diffence so far.

I am going to try that soy flour trick.

Thanks for the soy flour tip, sludgebuster. I, also, will give that a try. I was not aware that there could be potentially harmful effects from disturbing the worm castings, so I will be careful of that. I'm reading the book, "Worms Eat My Garbage," as time allows but had to renew it for another 3 weeks from my local library as I didn't get much of it read in the first 3 weeks due to too many other activities.

My second attempt at vermicomposting seems to be going well. The first attempt was a total debacle -- trying to do it indoors with a makeshift plastic container. I ended up with lots of gnats and worms crawling all over my bathroom walls! Not pleasant! I gave the worms back to the donor and waited to ask for more worms until I felt like I could give the worms a proper home outdoors. My homemade bin (photo attached) seems to be providing the proper environment for the worms. My next effort will be to build a second layer with a screen mesh so that the worms can have a new space with clean bedding to crawl into once they are done with the lower level. I think I can continue adding layers until I get it about 4 layers high, then start rotating the worms back to the bottom layer again.

I have an idea for making a multi-tier worm bin from a 55 gal drum, but I don't know when I will get around to making that idea a reality. I haven't found any similar plans on-line, so maybe the design will be unique (and easy to build, hopefully). But if I am reinventing the wheel and anyone knows of any plans for 55 gal worm bins, please let me know.

Jeremy

I forgot to mention, sludgebuster. The maggots/larvae in ardesia's worm bin (photo in first post), from what we were able to find out about them, feed on decaying vegetative matter, not animal meat or waste, so they are not the usual maggots/larvae that feed on meat.

In the Spider and Insect I.D. Forum (link above in ardesia's July 20 post), suunto wrote:

I just tossed an apple core into the bin last evening and just now when I went to add some coffee grounds I noticed the apple core was just covered with the larvae. I never see any flying insects in this bin but somehow something got in there.

Ardesia, how's your bin doing? I posted a picture on the other thread you started about too soggy bottom tray etc. The Gusanito bin I have came with thin sheets that keep both worms in but also flies and other creatures OUT!
One sheet kinda tore a little when I hand-washed it so i got a roll of black into-weed cloth at the HD. works the same. Also my bin is in basement so temps. are fairly equal year-round.
Tulip

Sadly I had to give my bin away. Once it got going it was working well but when I moved the bin off the deck and into the garden so the deck could be cleaned the bin was invaded by carpenter ants. I had to empty it and start again. When it was back up ont the deck the cotton rats (little guys, not much larger than mice) discovered it and ate holes in the side. I tried blending all the veggies, etc. but apparently they liked pureed food too. :-(

Putting it in the garage was not an option as the rats would undoubtedly find it there. No good spot for it in the house either so it went to the county extension office to be used as a demonstration set up for vermicomposting.

I might try it again next summer but I really don't want to attract any more critters. My part of the country has more than our share of rodents and bugs.

Aaww, too bad. I guess not even a basement?
Being a foreigner, I do not quite know where Saint Helena Island is. Is it a true island? off the coast of SC? How many more rodents than Atlanta can you have?

LOL, yes, it is a sea island and we have cotton rats. marsh rats, raccoons, otters, mink (really!), squirrels - all of whom like to chew into walls, attics and worm bins. There are likely a few I have forgotten.

Saint Helena is outside Beaufort, about midway between Charleston and Savannah.

what size are these larvae of your? I have something invading my container plants but they are eating the root systems. They come by the thousands and from the ground.......I have not been able to find an id on them yet.