Worm Bins, and the flies that won't go away.

[N-TEXgardenLGS]

I wonder if anyone can help with this problem. I started a worm bin around 2 months ago. I kept the bedding thick to keep flies away but somehow after around the 5th week they came. I have since started the bin over and I keep it away from the kitchen and they seem to be controled in the bin but they are still in the house hiding somewhere. I have treated all of the plant soils and keep the food put away but they persist. What can I do to get rid of these pests?

Please forgive me if I have posted this wrong, it is my first attempt

thanks

N-TEXgardenLGS

[mattuu]

Hello There N-TEXgardenLGS

I'm assuming you've just been using standard garden waste and vegetable scraps ?

Flies will only usually hang around if the decomposition of the waste is taking longer than the worms can digest the food at the bottom of the bin, or you've got meat or something in there that takes forever to decompose.

So I'd suggest maybe the worm population may be too low for the types of waste you're disposing. Adding a little garden lime to the mix will help get the worms extra hungry and has an added advantage of boosting worm egg laying numbers.

Be careful with the food types you do waste, things like carrot peel can be put in a blender with a little water or boil and blended with other waste and then put in the worm bin which will accelerate the decomposition. Adding onion or garlic is a no-no when it comes to worms; I made the mistake once of putting whole garlic cloves that had gone off in the worm farm and killed all of the worms in the entire bin.

I'd suggest for things like onion & garlic; that instead you grind it down or put it in a blender and make up a 4:1 solution with water in a soda bottle and a little brew yeast and leave it in a cool dark place for a month or so and then put it in a spray bottle and use it on your leaf vegetation if you get any red mite or mass slug infestations.

Another common error is putting the bin in a dark or over shaded part of the garden. The worms need warmth as do the other microorganisms that decompose the waste. You need to ensure that your compost bin and worm bins are in warm sunlight for at least several hours a day. If you don't have a black or dark bin I suggest lining it with pond liner so that it attracts the heat, or covering it with a tarpaulin on rainy days; this helps to keep the moisture in as well.

The best thing you could possibly do right now is cut any hard waste, reduce the amount you're putting into your worm bin or compost, add a little shredded paper to the top of the bin and water in some lime and leave it for a month. Rotating the waste using a garden fork is also recommended at least once a week to get the worms to the top and mix the composted waste with the vegetation waste so the worms are more distributed throughout your worm bin or compost bin.

Lastly, if all else fails, my recommendation to you is to put a bag of compost in the top of the bin and leave it be for another month and then add more worms. I find tiger worms the best for both worm farming and composting; and on my 2 acre orchard/vineyard its important that they've got a balanced diet too; so make sure you're not feeding them too much of one type of food or nutrient as the liquid fertilizer they create along with all that lime you've added which has pasted through the system in watering to add moisture may make it too alkaline or acidic for certain plants depending on what else you've added to the bin.

Compost that's good in layers and not so good (example grass clippings with seed in it) in others may not suit your requirements in any case. Remember, worm farms produce worm numbers to reduce waste, the compost isn't really weed / vege seed free as those seeds don't die in the worm farming process as worms won't be able to break the skin of the seed and the warm environment in the bin acts as a germination aid and once you've moved the compost to the garden you'll have things sprouting that you didn't plant in less than a few days.

Regards,
Matt
Gourmet Delights

[N-TEXgardenLGS]

Wow,

What an abundance of information.

Thank you,

I will get busy with many of your suggestions.

Leanne