Earthworms

[packer43064]

I don't know if it goes here, but I got a question. How do you keep earthworms. I'm going to get some at petsmart this weekend, does anyone know how many you get when you buy them at petsmart. I'd like to know what kind of bedding is good for them. Like potting soil, or just some dirt from outside. Also what do they eat table scraps or what. And how do you keep them moistened do they don't dry up. Any help will be appreciated.

 

[KingBollock]

Moist newspaper is commonly used by worm breeders.

 

[Cirith Ungol]

I think it also depends on what you wanna do with them? If you want to use them as feeders and use them up eventually or if you plan on breeding them or keeping them as... pets :?

You could just search the internet for sites which are about breeding those worms. I've looked for that myself in the past and my impression was that breeding was more of an effort than I thought it was. So it's certainly worth a search...

 

[Alex S.]

I collect small earthworms to feed to my Carabidae and other predacious beetles. I simply house the worms in a small tupperware container with moist paper towel and only 8 to 10 ventilation holes in the lid to keep the humidity up very high. The earthworms seem to do just fine in this setup… until feeding time.

Alex S.

 

[packer43064]

I'd like to breed them, for no reason just becasue I want to. I'm getting earthworms or red worms from petsmart and i'm going to start a colony of them.

 

[Wade]

If you want to culture them, avoid the big Canadian nightcrawlers, as they are very difficult to rear. The "red wigglers" are easier.

A lot of things will work as bedding. You even buy worm bedding at bait stores (many fishermen raise their own) and I've seen it in the sporting goods section of wal mart. It appears to be made mostly of paper fibers, I suspect it's little more than processed newspaper. I bet "care fresh" bedding would work about the same.

I've used newspaper, aspen bedding, dead oak leaves, composted manure and mixes of all of the above. As this material decays, it becomes worm food. It's also good to throw in leftover veggies etc.

Avoid peat moss as it is too acidic. I even add handfulls of pulverized limestone to bring up the PH periodically.

A styrofoam cooler makes a good bin, as they are sensitive to suddden temperature changes. Keep the bin in the coolest part of the house.

Wade

 

[packer43064]

The thing at walmart that you breed them in or whatever it is. Does it cost much and is it worth it. I've already made a bin for them because I was going to get some on Sunday but I couldn't. It has peices of computer paper that are about an inch and a half long and less than an inch wide, and potting soila nd eco-earth. It's moist and everything just waiting for the redworms now.

 

[Wade]

The bedding at wal mart is pretty cheap, like 3 bucks I think, but it sounds like you have a good set up already so I wouldn't bother.

Wade