Worm Factory 360: Waging War on Springtails
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- Опубліковано 30 кві 2018
- Laid off the citrus and coco coir to see if my Springtail population will go down.
Worms look healthy. Have you experienced this in your bins?
Happy Tuesday!
Emily (The Crazy Worm Lady)
www.thecrazywormlady.com
Email: crazywormlady@outlook.com
IG: @crazywormlady
Springtails
Springtails are tiny, wingless insects, usually white in color but may also be yellow, gray, red, orange, metallic green and lavender. They feed on mold, fungi, bacteria and decomposing plant material so they are harmless to earthworms. Springtails can “jump” about 75 mm. They have a tiny spring- like structure under their bellies that causes them to jump when disturbed. Springtails are most numerous in wet bedding, while numbers decrease as the bedding dries out.
Overall the springtails are not a real issue in low numbers but if they're excessive it's telling you a couple of things - they thrive in a wet environment and one that's slightly on the acidic side. You mentioned a citrus smell?
I'd suggest a couple of things: add some ground up eggshells every time you feed for the next few feeds: add some dry shredded cardboard into the bedding with each feed - your frozen/thawed scraps will more than compensate with additional moisture so there's no danger of the bin getting too dry for the worms but it could be a little drier: on top of the vermicompost add a slice of bread brushed with milk. As it sours the springtails will make a beeline for it. Remove every other day, add to the birdtable and replace with half a slice of milk brushed bread.
Looking forward to seeing how you get on with this. 😊👍 Thanks for sharing 👍
London Worms & Garden thanks for your help! I will try this! Much appreciated!
Another great update.. right on!
Hi. I noticed that this video is 4 yrs old, but I know you are still worm farming as I have watched many of your videos. I am curious if you ever figured out a way to control the springtails? Do you still have them? I can hear your frustration in your voice. I would really appreciate you responding. Thanks
I have a ton of springtails in all my bins. They just show up. Sometimes I'll stick a corn cob in there and once the springtails and mites go for it I'll rinse it off and stick it back in the bin. I'll repeat the process until I see a smaller population. But in general, I just leave it alone.
Most stalks and some roots take a very very long time to start breaking down, that is why the worms ignore them for so long. That is why I freeze everything for my worms now.
Richard Portelli I believe these were frozen and thawed. I learned my lesson with that awhile ago if you saw those videos, lol. It was WEEKS...
I seen a video on how to reduce them.
They like flour based products, so place a few slices of bread on the top and see if they go into that. Then lift the bread out and dispose off with the springtails.
Don't worry about springtails, they are supposed to be there! If all you had was worms than your bin would not be healthy.
Richard Portelli I agree, but there just seem to be such high numbers. That concerns me.
They cannot hurt the worms, much like pot worms. Try adding more eggshell or even garden lime to help balance the ph and deter the unwanted critters that freak you out so much lol. Only spiders and maggots bother me and even then I don't bother trying to get rid of them.
Richard Portelli good idea! I will up my eggshell and add some garden lime as well! Thank you.
use a avocado skin with little flesh left on it; bury and check on it in 2 days or place small jar with some apple cider vinegar, cover with plastic and punch three holes. place in bin.
Why are springtails bad for compost? I thought they are good? I’m more concerned about mites in my compost.
I would bet on the acid. They like it wet and acidic.(springtails)
Down with the springtails! Poo
I have the worst infestation of.springtails I've ever seen. It's more white then brown when u look at it. I'm about to shop vac them