Where are redworms local?

[betho]

Out of curiosty... I'm a newbie at worm raising, just got my first # today (been learning about vermicomposting for about 6 mos now). I was reading the link of the cheap & easy worm bin and it mentioned something about harvesting redworms from the garden?

I live in Colorado so I know they don't have them here, but where are they local?

Thanks!

[Darryl]

You would be surprised.... I never thought this part of the Country had them either until I was talking to a local farmer one day and they were telling me about how their large manure pile had lots of funny looking worms in it. I had a suspicion that they may be red wigglers, so I asked him if I could look. Sure enough, the horse manure that he piled outside of his barn became loaded with redworms. Redworms are often called "manure worms" for this very reason. So, you can often times find them in old manure piles that have been on the ground for long periods of time. You can also find them in piles of leaves, although I never have.

[betho]

Interesting... I think we don't have them here because at my elevation, I'd imagine it would get too cold for them in the winter. I was also talking to the foreman of a large ranch here, he raises euros but didn't say anything about red worms when I asked... so I'm thinking it's a pretty safe bet we don't have them.

I was thinking, though, the article was out of Washington State... and my family is from WA and so I was thinking maybe I could convince my sister to harvest some for me. She's pretty active in the horse world and so would probably have access to piles of manure

[Darryl]

Bethany, it seemed to me for a long time that there was no red worms around this area and indeed it is very seldom that I come across them in the wild. I have been to many farms in this area and checked their manure piles only to find nothing. However, there is those rare times when I eventually come across a large manure pile that has them. It takes more than just manure to create the right environment for the worms though. It also seems that the manure pile has to be sitting on the ground for years. Most of the time when I have found red wigglers in manure piles it is in piles that have been in the same spot for extended periods of time. Many people when they clean their barns out will throw the manure in the same spot. Over a long period of time, and if the conditions are right, the worms will come to that manure pile. When I first started looking for wigglers in the wild, I also assumed that it was too cold here for them but later I found I was wrong. So, are you in the Denver, or Colorado Springs area? Just wondering as I was born in Colorado springs.

[betho]

Really? My MIL works near a farm that has huge gigantic piles of manure, I wonder if they have them?

I'm actually in Loveland, so closer to Denver Originally from Seattle but CO is way better :lol:

[Darryl]

Yep, I know where Loveland is as I have been there many times. Check out the piles of manure, you never know if you will find some or not. I remember how awkward I used to feel when wandering around in a pile of manure lol Oh well, I don't get worms that way any more. However, if I did have to get worms that way then I would not hesitate no matter how strange it looks.

[Jay Blair]

If you age horse manure to eradicate any residual dewormer, then place it on the ground covered with plywood, it will attract manure worms suitable for composting. Any horse stable with aged piles of manure out back would likely have an abundance of freely available worm stock also.

[betho]

hmmm

that sounds great cuz I'm pretty good friends with the horse people at the local dude ranch

Thanks for the info!

[amystew]

And believe it or not, they're not native to the U.S. at all--red wigglers (Eisenia fetida) are European worms who have found a very comfortable life for themselves here!