4 Things That Will Kill Your Earthworm Farms

4 Things That Will Kill Your Earthworm Farms

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When running earthworm farms, the most important thing is the health and safety of your worms. Without them, your compost bin means nothing. What you add to your farm should be a healthy meal for your worms that won't damage their digestive tracts and will promote longer lives and more fruitful reproduction. You need to make sure what you are adding to your earthworm farms is not toxic and will not harm your worms.

A few kitchen waste products you should stay away from are meats, dairy produts, and oils. While these items can be decomposed by your worms, they are not particularly good for the digestive tracts of your worms. It is best to not add these items to your earthworm farms.

A note about citrus fruits. Citris fruits are ok to add to your earthworm farms sparingly. Like other fruits and vegetables, they are highly nutritious and add a lot to your compost, however if you add too much and the citrus level within your earthworm farms reaches a high level, your worms will cease ingesting and decomposing the waste. If you find this happening, refrain from adding any more citrus to the bin for a week or two.

There is a debate on pet feces. Some say it is ok to add this to your earthworm farms, but I am reserved against doing so. Here are a few reasons why. Many dogs will at some point take medicine to de-worm them. While you are obviously not killing earthworms infecting your dog, the same chemicals that kill the parasitic worms can kill your earthworms. This medicine will come out in the dog's feces. If your dog hasn't been de-wormed in some time, it might be ok to add its feces. If you have a cat and use a litter box, I strongly urge against adding its feces. Many kitty litters use inorganic chemicals to de-oderize the feces. These chemicals can harm and even kill your worms.

Grass clippings and fallen leaves are some of the best and easiest things you can add to your earthworm farms. You should be careful about this though. If you use a weed killer on your lawn, or pesticides on your plants, the chemicals remain within the leaves and will end up being ingested by your worms. Much like the kitty litter above, these chemicals can harm or possibly kill your worms. Just stay away from any plants or lawns that have been chemically treated.

About the Author:
I am an environmentalist and gardner by hobby, but I have taken to worm farming as one of my favorite things to do. I have several earthworm farms that I have maintained for years. If you are also interested in home composting, check out this resource about earthworm farming: http://www.squidoo.com/earthworm-farms-earthworm-farming.



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