Where can I get less than a pound of worms?

I do not produce enough waste to need a pound of worms. I need probably 1/3 - 1/2 pound. All of the websites I have been to start their "packages" at 1 pound. Does anyone know where I can get this amount? If anyone has some, I can buy them or send shipping. Thanks, Jennifer

Jennifer...if all else fails, you might try your local Cooperative Extension Office. They may know someone.

I can send you some of my worms. Dmail me right away with your address and I'll get on it. I'm moving soon, so it's a short term offer and I'm shipping worms to some folks today. :-)
You can reimburse me postage when you get it. OK?

It sounds silly but try here http://findworms.com/ worked for me then, and now I have about 60,000 of the little buddies.

Thanks for the link! I looked, and there is no one close to me.

I did have a nice DG'er send me some worms for postage, but they didn't like their container (or it didn't like them) and all but 5-6 died. Those now have free run of their own big-ole bin ; )

Jennifer, look for a sign that says ."Live fish bait here". Ask if they have red worms. You can't use night crawlers for vermicomposting- they aren't into eating your cast off fruit and veggies. Whatever you do, don't tell the merchant why you want them. If they try to sell you night crawlers, just tell them you like red worms better and ask where you can get them.

Buy one only container of red worms (be sure to look to make sure they are alive) and put them into your worm bin that has been properly prepared, as many of these posts have described. It will cost you $2 to $4 and the repro rate is fantastic if you have provided a good environment. If you didn't, all the worms you can buy will not work for you.

The 15 red worms I bought last August (for$2.25) have turned into many many worms. They were in a Styrofoam coffee cup at a country service station/general store.
Good luck,
Paul

Thanks Paul. There are a few bait shops in my area. I will check them out tomorrow. My bin is ready to go, and already has a few occupants.

I have had a vermicomposting system before. I ended up letting most of them into the garden since I didn't need so many.

Thanks, Jennifer

Why not tell them why you want red worms?

Well, go ahead, I was just joking. The rural folks around this area would give you a funny look if you told them you were going to put the worms in a compost pile. They have a ready made compost pile, full of worms, where they dump their cow manure.
Paul

I sell worms by the half pound and up here: http://www.mamaswormcomposting.com/buy-worms.html

I'd suggest starting with 1lb of worms, regardless. In my experience, the single biggest cause of a worm bin failing is overfeeding for the amount of worms you have. Underfeeding really isn't harmful. The worms don't "starve", they just don't grow or reproduce as fast.

I recommend at least 1lb of worms for a single person, 2lbs or more for couples or families. You can get by with less if you're patient and let them reproduce, but folks need to realize it will be at least 3-4 months before you'll see significant increases from reproduction in the bins.

As for getting them from a bait store -- might work, but chances are extremely low that the bait shop can accurately tell you what species of worms they're selling. If you asked for Eisenia fetida, I can all but guarantee you'd get blank stares.