Help needed! bugs and keeping a wormery inside

If you are having problems with an existing wormery, or just need some advice - then ask it here
Post Reply
WillyWorm
Senior Member
Posts:699
Joined:Sat Jun 06, 2015 9:10 am
Re: Help needed! bugs and keeping a wormery inside

Post by WillyWorm » Sat Jan 30, 2021 2:39 pm

Hi, yea I was a bit freaked at the thought of carpet bugs but I now think lilwriggler is right with “fungus gnats”
Fungus Gnats like fruit fly present no problem or risk to you, your family nor your home. But nobody wants to live with a swarm of flies going round them while sitting relaxing at home.
I have four suggestions for you to help overcome these bugs. 1) one is bin management 2) is something from the food cupboard 3) you will need to buy and 4) is fun for you and any other young at heart people who may be around. I would suggest you use all four of these at the same time and expect to do so for at least a month, maybe longer.
Fungus gnats have a life cycle of approximately four weeks and will lay approximately 250 eggs. So the first thing is that every fungus gnats you take out you may have destroyed 250, if you want scary just multiply that by two generations. Fungus gnats need a damp environment to multiply and survive.

Step one: Bin management.
a) Check the moisture level in your worm bin. Aim to have it just moist, when you squeeze the casting, you should hardly get a drip out. The castings in the lower levels are always wetter than the upper level so drain them daily via your tap, if possible leave the tap open with a container under to catch any run off. If the bedding is too moist mix some shredded paper into the top tray.
b) 80/90% of the kitchen scraps we feed our worms are in fact water. We need to control this liquid. When it come to feeding time use the four corner technique. Make sure to place shredded paper under and over the food on offer.
c) cover the surface area of the bin with a piece of card or three or four sheets of paper, aim to leave no gaps around the edge. This layer will “wick” moisture from the bin and should be replaced when wet. The paper or card will act as a barrier to prevent the gnats laying eggs in the bedding and limit feeding opportunities.

Step two: Make a couple of gnat traps.
Take a jam jar and put 1/2 inch /1 cm of cider vinegar in the bottom add a dash of washing up liquid and shake or stir well. Cover the top with cling film and secure with a rubber band. Pierce with a a number of small holes if possible bury one in your bin with a inch or two of the top out of the bedding. Put other jars close by the bin if possible. Replace vinegar from time to time. The gnats are attracted to the vinegar and be trapped and drowned.

Step three: insect traps.
Buy some yellow sticky insect traps (available on line with next day delivery) and sit these on the top of the bedding if possible and or close to the bin. Yellow and blue versions of this product are available, try to get yellow because this colour is far more attractive to our target bugs.

Step four: a bit of fun.
Put the nozzle attachment on your vacuum cleaner and go big game (sorry tiny game) hunting. Sit near the bin an suck up any gnats that ventures out, remember every one equals 250 or millions just two generations down the line.

Please keep us updated
Willy

Post Reply

Return to “Worms & Wormeries”