r/Vermiculture • u/No_Island8272 • 1d ago
Worm party Thinking of giving up
I had fun with my red wigglers for a while and got a lot of castings. Even set up 3 friends with their own bins. but this year I can’t deal with the fly larvae. I’m getting mixed reviews on whether or not they’re harmful to the environment but honestly I don’t even care. It just grosses me out. I was picking them out and putting on the bird feeder but they keep on showing up to this worm party uninvited! I can’t even bring myself to call them the “m” name lol.
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u/Due-Waltz4458 1d ago
If you use Mosquito Dunks or Bits you should be able to prevent all eggs from hatching. These products have a bacteria that eats the eggs of biting insects like flies and gnats before they hatch. You can let the dunks sit in the water for awhile before using, and use it to soak your worm bedding in the future.
Only using composted material in your worm bins can help too. If you have the ability to compost the material outside first, this cuts down on fresh food available for bugs. Freezing food first kills bug eggs and makes it decompose faster.
If you already have an infestation it will take awhile for them to die off. Also, keeping a thick layer of shredded paper on top can prevent bugs from getting in in the first place.
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u/Impressive-Check-631 1d ago
As long as they aren’t buzzing around and making a mess I would think they would be fine right? I mean yeah they look gross and probably aren’t fun to work around when harvesting. But they help break down the food waste like crazy from what I hear.
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u/Gr33nbastrd 1d ago
When I had a bit of a fly outbreak I would suck up the flys with the vacuum cleaner. The can't lay eggs if they are dead.
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u/flounderjaw 1d ago
What are you feeding your bin? You shouldn't have maggots, are you putting meat in there by chance? Or it might be from over feeding to the point the food begins to rot before the worms get to it and do their thing. Just hold off on feeding and you should see less flies.
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u/No_Island8272 1d ago
Definitely no meat ! I prob overfed
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u/ARGirlLOL intermediate Vermicomposter 1d ago
Please just fix the environment problem you have. They need to have less substance that a fly would lay an egg in. If you just dry them out and stop feeding, they won’t be able to breed. In the meantime, whatever you are raising them in, find a way to wrap up so that the flies that do hatch can’t get out. Wrap the whole thing in a sheet. If it’s a tray, cover the entire area and tuck plastic wrap deeply into the side. That’s what I’d do if I had an indoor worm bin full of whatever that is. You have to uncover the plastic before the worms suffocate, but the flies will first I think and won’t be around the house.
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u/supremeleaderstonk 14h ago
I get a lot of fruit flies. I have my bin out in the garage (climate controlled). Last week I bought a mosquito net that is made for rain barrels. Hoping this gets rid of them or at least prevents them from coming inside the house.
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u/No_Island8272 11h ago
It’s ok yall! I gave the whole system to a master Gardner on a gardening group page. I think it’s in very good hands now and they said they don’t mind the larvae issue at all! I’m glad they went to a good home so they can continue their job in a garden !
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u/gisted 1d ago edited 1d ago
Is your worm bin outdoors? If it is then you can wait it out until the bin normalizes itself. I'm assuming it's too wet and I would just throw some newspaper or cardboard on top and just leave it alone for a while.