Bay Euros or something else?

[doug]

Hi All,

I've gone through some interesting events with my Euros.
In short, I bought 1 lb of European Nightcrawlers and it was going OK and then the bin started heating way way up and worms were dying. So I solved that problem and then there were little black flies invading my basement. Also the worms weren't multiply fast at all, and actually seemed to be dwindling in number. So then I put cloth over the top of the bin, and that stopped the flies. As for the multiplying slowing, on the recommendation of some folks here, I switched to a much smaller bin to pack them in more and get them friendly. I did that and they started to do pretty well.

So, I have to do everything the wrong way the first time of course, so one day, I had my primary bin with my entire mother load of worms and I put a slurry of stuff in it mixed up in my magic bullet. I put a green pepper in the slurry as well. I'm not positive but I think that green pepper might have been what killed every adult worm I had in that bin. I was shocked to open it up one day (after leaving the bin completely untouched for a few weeks) and found every worm gone, liquified or whatever. What a stink. It was a bad worm day.

So, luckily there were a few survivors in another small bin I had and I'm back up to 73 worms as of this morning's count.

A couple questions:

1. Could a slurry with a green pepper in it kill the worms? I know oranges etc are on the bad stuff list, but I don't recall reading about peppers being harmful.

2. There are thousands of tiny white worms in the bins. They look *exactly* like the euros but they are about half an inch long and all white (no red). They even have that puffed up ring around their neck. Are those brand new baby Euros or something else (like nematodes)? At first I thought they were nematodes but now I'm not so sure. Do the baby Euros come out of the egg red, or are they all white to start? They even look like they have some castings in process inside of them, as you can see through the skin a bit. I'd be pumped if they were baby euros because there are a bazillion of them. But, I recently saw a picture of a euro and cacoons and it was red, seemingly right out of the cacoon?

Any comments, info or even pictures would be awesome.

Thanks,
Doug

PS. I like mucking with the worms so much I feel a little bit odd. I think about them a lot. Strange.

[Jay Blair]

Doug,
Are you taking about green bell peppers or chili pepper? My E.f. stock love bell pepper.

The white worms could be pot worms . They thrive in acidic environments such as tomatoes , onion etc.

I often find pot worms in the open aging slop jar. I leave the pot worms feed until the acidity is reduced, then I add the sludge to the bins with my E.f. or I feed into my anaerobic digester unit to cook off.

As I said in the email, Terrill (tt) is better versed than I in ENCs

BTW, good to see you back.

Jay

[tt]

hi doug
I think your slurry did it not the peppers. If the slurry had not gone thru the heat cycle completly you would have to much heat and no where for the worms to go. So they could have just cooked.

I never fill the whole bin with food but rather a pocket type feeding even with slurry. That way they can get back from it if it does heat. it is amazing how much heat they can take but they do need to able to get away from it if it is to hot.

The white worms i would guess to be pot worms but have never seen them with bands.
Worms are more clear then white when first hatched. you can see the dark spots in them then they turn red.
I have pictures of eggs and babies here
www.standinghorse.com/wriggler/egg.html

[mo]

Hi,
I'm new to this message board, so please forgive if this question isn't posted properly. I am curious about the white "pot" worms also, since I used to think they were immature red wigglers. (someone told me they are "enchytraeids") I've never seen any "pink baby" red wigglers though, so I am currently experimenting with trying to get some of the yellowish cacoons/eggs to hatch.
Anyway, is it okay for me to use the 3 photos posted at www.standinghorse.com/wiggler/egg.html ?
I sometimes talk to groups about composting and worm bins, and these would be a great addition to my PowerPoint presentation.
Thanks,
Mo

[Jay Blair]

Mo,
I sent word to tt that you were asking permission to use her photos.

I think her work has her pretty well busy right now, but she does check the board every few days.

[mo]

Thank you Jay for checking.
I'm confused about something else. Throughout the website (not just the original posting on this page) , "Euros" are mentioned several times. I'm assuming that means European Nightcrawlers.
I thought nightcrawlers (Lumbricus terrestris??) were not appropriate to use as composting worms in shallow bins as they don't like their burrows disturbed etc.
Are there some bin composting worms that are called Euros?

[tt]

Hi.
Those photos are not available but if you would like to email me I have a few others photos that I could let you use.
As for the usage of Euro it is short form because someone trade marked European Nightcrawlers.
So everyone is trying to avoid useage of this term. I know i have used it a few times in my site but I am trying to get rid of it and use other names after I found out that it was trade marked . Im waiting for someone to trade worms. or red wrigglers it is a bit crazy when someone feels they need to trademark names of worms.