mites in worm bin

Usually mites in the worm bin don't pose any threat to the worm farm. A lot
of worm farmers never even pay attention to that sort of stuff. However, since
you are asking this question, it shows that you are very interested in raising
worms and the system as a whole.

The usual spider mite found in a worm bin is a white to brownish color. These
eat decaying matter and dead or injured worms. They can be quite beneficial to
the worm bin and I enjoy having them around to clean up things. Beware of the
red spider mite. They will attack your worms, healthy or injured.

I do not know what type of system you are using but here are a few things to
help keep the mite population down to a minimum.

• Mites like wetter conditions. Take the lid off and let it dry out. Turn
  the bedding over to speed up the drying process.


• Mites like a more acidic environment. Add a little lime or ground
  eggshells.


• Cut down on the feeding. People tend to overfeed their worms which leads
  to a high acid content.

Just monitor the your mite population and follow these guidelines and you'll
do pretty well.

Thanks for the great question,

The worm Whisperer

P.S. Go to the
worm farming
pests page to read about more pests. Don't use the rind trick or you will
get rid of your baby worms. They love rinds too!