Pond Boss Forums GENERAL QUESTIONS Product sources Worm Food Free

A good way to get rid of fruit flys (we call them sour knats) is to build a trap.
Drill a hole the size of a drink straw or other similar tubbing in the cap of a jar or bottle.
Glue the straw in the cap flush with the top but extending down into the bottle 3 or 4 inches.
Put whatever you have on hand that will ferment in the jar, a little yeast & sugar will speed things along.
The flys will enter the jar but can't get out.

catmandoo, I understand the need for holes in the plastic tub to allow drainage. What I don't understand is how you keep the worms from crawling out through the holes. Can you explain this?

PaPond,

I called the worm supplier. He said he dont recomend pestisides but you can get these things called Benificial Nematodes, they come on a sponge and you release them into the soil. there a very small worm that enters bug eggs and eats them from the inside out. He said this is what he uses and no bug. here is a link to his websight http://mypeoplepc.com/members/arbra/trinity/

Thanks for the info, the square worm farm which Trinity sells is the one I have, and they sell extra trays which I can use. From what I've noticed and subsequently read the best (in terms of less work more yield) type of farms are the ones where the worms can tunnel upwards through the trays when they complete their work on the kitchen wastes in the trays. If your goal (as ours is) is to produce worms for fishing with a beneficial byproduct of casings for plantings, using one deeper bin is more labor intensive. The reason is that as the worms produce the worm casings they have to live in with the casings (their own waste) which becomes more toxic to the worms resulting in smaller worms and eventual death. (I personally prefer my fish to be killing the worms) Single bin systems have to be sorted through to get the worms and that seems like work to me. The stacking tray systems allow the worms to proceed upwards through the layers so the lowest tray has few or no worms when it is done and can be removed, dumped, and restarted on top. Worms for fishing come from the upper trays where they are easily picked out. The worms leave the lower trays when the casings build to a high enough level to bother them and what they leave is great for plants.

Norm,

I think my worms are living the American dream. I wouldn't doubt I even have a few sneaking in. Nearly everyday they get a new surprise to eat. They are kept cool in the summer and warm in the winter. Life is good. I think they must be asking themselves if the life could really be better elsewhere.

When I had them on a slab outside my basement, there were times I'd see a few of the babies on the concrete after a heavy rain. But, I've never had any evidence that large numbers are sneaking out.

I do know that they don't like light, so they don't seem to want to sneak out the sides. Most are in the upper parts. Few seem to venture to the bottom, where there are more holes.

No real scientif answers. I just know I've usually got some real big ones, lots of medium size worms, and a gazzilion babies.

Good worming,
Ken