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| my wormery has lots of red spider mites-how do I get rid of them? Are they dangerous to my worms? why do they appear and what can I do to avoid them coming back? I have a towel on top, and they crawl all over the towel and the shredded newspaper and there are some over the food.
so basically now do I get rid of them? Thanks for any help xx |
Follow-Up Postings:
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| These are most likely mites, which are common in most bins. They help eat the food as well, so they're great recyclers as well. I get them often, and I don't like them, but for the most part they're harmless to the worms. They like excess moisture, so hold off feeding for a number of days. Keep the lid off your bin. They don't like sunlight, so if you can put your bin outside with the lid off, out of severe heat of course, this might help get rid of them. You can "bait" them with a slice of bread laid on top of the bedding and/or watermelon, cantaloupe rinds. They will congregate on these, then you can throw the bread away, and wash off the rinds, and re-deposit back in the bin and catch more the next day. It will take time, but you can get the numbers down. Sherry |
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| The only time I have had red mites is when I feed to much and kept the bed way to wet. Let the top part of the bed dry out some and quit feeding for a couple of weeks and the mites should leave. They are just an early warning of a future disaster coming if you keep feeding more than they can consume. Shred up some newspaper and put a layer on top of the bed to help dry it up some. |
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| Hi wfike! Your comment is exactly what I'm perturbed about. NOT you, but that those conditions are what draws mites. My worms don't get any food till the previous is used up and my bins are dry. Castings light and fluffy, yet I get mites. I hate the little buggers, but I'm learning that I have to live with them, because they seem to like it here. Sherry |
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| I agree, by bin is not at all 'wet', it is the correct moisture, and i dont feed too much, if anything i underfeed my worms slightly. There is always plenty of shredded newpaper available, and the castings are light and fluffy, i never get any leachate either and my bin had been set up for 2 months now. |
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