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HELP!!! are these mites? and what do I do!?

gardenTO
10 years ago

Hi everyone,
I'm new to vermicomposting and I recently set up my first bin about month ago with a pound of red wigglers. After putting in the bedding and some food scraps, I've ended up with hundreds of these tiny insects crawling around. I suspect they are mites and I've read that I can use melons to trap them - which is what I started to do, as you can see in the picture.

My setup includes two 51 gallon roughneck plastic bins stacked on top of one another. The top one has holes drilled in the bottom to allow drainage and holes drilled along the top and in the lid to allow ventilation.

For bedding, I've used shredded cardboard (drink holders, egg cartons, news paper, paper towel rolls, toilet paper rolls). All bedding was slightly moistened by dipping in a bucket of water.

For food scraps, I've used egg shells, tea bags, kale, carrots, banana peels, apple cores and lettuce. All the food scraps were chopped, frozen, thawed, and drained prior to being added to the bin.

What are these critters and how do I get rid of them? Where did I go wrong in my set up? Am I at a point where I would need to start a new bin???

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