Hey grow gang I have a question about the mites in my worm bin…I started my worm bin with worms I got from uncle jims worm farm a little over 3 months ago and within the last month or so I’ve noticed that I have little white and red mites in my castings (more white mites than red) ive looked them up and from what I can see they are just compost mites, wanting to know if it is ok to use the castings to make tea and to mix in with my soil or are they not good for my cannabis plants? Any advice is much appreciated. Keep up the great job your doing educating and letting people know the truth about this natural medicine, you guys are the shit showing love from Oklahoma city.
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Not really a worry man. Most mites aren’t bad for worms nor are they plant feeders. They are usually composting mites. But if you feel they are getting to be too much just bring the ph up. Acidity brings mites. Don’t ever feed them citrus fruits or rinds and stay away from tomatoes. Use eggshells, make em into powder and sprinkle it all over the top. That will bring it up. You can also feed them oyster shell powder and or crab shell meal.
Red mites in a worm bin can be bad. A pic would be nice. Red mites are usually the ones that will feed on your worms…..the dead/dying ones first but when they run out they will feed on living worms
You are most likely right and both are compost mites and are ok. However, my only concern is the red ones are clover mites. One characteristic is they can be seen with the naked eye and leave a red stain when crushed. Please research and confirm what they are. Clover mites can be a nuisance in your home and wreck your plants. Long ago we where taking down some unhealthy plants and clover mites were inside the stems.
I feel for ya because I had a similar experience with worms from Jims! I ordered some red wigglers from them during a sale last year and, at the same time, I ordered some Alabama jumpers from a smaller dealer. I started 2 different bins and within several months my bin with the worms from Jims was infested with mites including red mites; as well as thrips larvae and some aphids. I use Arbico Organics as my source for beneficial insects and for help with ID’ing bugs and they identified all the bug photos I sent. This started a 4 month battle where I threw beneficials at the bug problem and I’ve never been able to eliminate them our control them to my satisfaction. My other worm bin (the Alabama jumpers) does not have a problem with bugs and they are given identical bedding and food from the same source and container. So, I KNOW the bugs came in on the order from Jims. I’ve since started another red wiggler bin with worms from Northwest Red Worms and I don’t have a bug problem with them either. Sure, there are insects in there – any composting bin should have some other bugs in there – but I don’t see anything other than the bugs I WANT to see in that bin. Northwest Red worms is certainly more expensive than Jims but I feel like they are a better deal. I didn’t count worms but $40 got me a big ball of healthy and plump worms that, honestly, seemed almost as big as the ball I got from Jim’s that was SUPPOSED to be twice as many worms; and I didn’t get any bugs with them. I know Jim’s is very popular but I’ll never order from them again after my experience. I’ve never heard of “composting” mites by that name but brown and white mites are common in compost bins and are not a threat to your worms. Red worms are parasitic and will feed on worms. They are sometimes called “earthworm mite.” The only mites I really WANT to see in my bin are Hypoaspis Miles and I introduce them once the bin is established – I’ll add some from an order I’m releasing into my garden. There are several mites that will compost material and hopefully that’s what you have. Sometimes you will cause a bloom of them (especially the brown and white mites) if you feed your worms too heavily – a common mistake by new worm farmers. I ended up tossing my Jim’s worms because I didn’t want to risk having a insect problem in the garden.
Hopefully you don’t have any bad mites. If you aren’t sure and can get some clear pictures, you can reach out to Arbico for help identifying them. Or you can try to reach out to Suzanne Wainwright (@buglady) on IG for help identifying what type of mites you’re dealing with. Obviously I’m not a fan of Jim’s but I hope you have better luck. I’ve been doing much better since I started seeding my worm bins with beneficial bugs like hypoaspis miles and beneficial nematodes and I’m going to add some rove beetles soon – BuildASoil has a beneficial insect pack that includes Rove Beetles. I prefer feeding my worms with high quality compost as the mainstay of their diet and I like the idea of having an army of beneficials in the bin to protect my worms and as an inoculant for my plants once the castings go into a soil mix for a run.
Sorry if I kinda rambled but I hope its of some help. Best of luck with your bin and remember to watch the over-feeding and too much moisture!
Thank you for correcting me. I meant compost mites or worn bin mites. But seeing Hypoasis miles in a worm bin is definitely a good sign. They will feed on fungus gnats. I know beneficial nematodes are good in soil and aren’t harmful to worms technically but I’d be hesitant to apply them directly to worm bin in fear of negative microbial interaction. Also, nematodes do not benefit your worms. But, I also agree with staying away from Jim’s in general. I’ve never had bugs from them, but they have given a lower quality product then other smaller places. I’ve had good luck with Buckeye worms. The dope part is despite different philosophies, we are all ahead of the curve realizing the benefits of making our own castings and having worms in our living soil.
I really appreciate all the good info. I’m definitely going to have to get the best pictures I can and see if I can get them identified. I’ve seen a couple other bugs but the mites are the worst and I noticed them after I started putting melon rinds which they love lol. I’m going to try to get the ph up and a few other things and see if I can get rid of most of them, but I’d be paranoid using the casting on my plants.
I had some before and it was after I neglected the bin for awhile… they went away pretty quick.