Worms

[mikench]

How long will a tub of dendrobaena last in their original compost and should they be kept in the plastic tub supplied in a fridge or just on the garage floor?

I will keep them moist but do they need any nourishment?

 

[nottskev]

You've opened a tin of worms here Mike. Keeping worms is a good topic, and I'll be interested to see the replies, too.

Worms don't like big temperature changes. Best keep them cool eg on the garage floor. They're fridged in the shop, I know, and I've tried keeping mine like that, but I think it can get too cold.

Check the medium they're in isn't drying out.

Feeding them, the best thing I've tried has been chicken feed! You can get bags of something called Layer's Mash - looks a bit like dried breadcrumb - and I damp this a bit and put it on top of the peat they're in. It's very satisfying when you check and find it's been eaten. But if you put too much in, it quickly goes mouldy. Last hot tip I read involved mixing a bit of Smash with a used teabag. Gourmet, stuff, Mike, so get your apron on.

For all the tips out there, I have to say I've found keeping the worms going for more than a couple of weeks a bit hit and miss. Sometimes it goes well, and I've had worm happy enough to not only stay alive but reproduce. Other times, it ends badly.

I've tried keeping them on a larger scale, with large boxes, a good layer of peat over dead leaves, a feeding regime etc...... but never really cracked it.

Just now, I'm puzzling how best to keep lobs alive and in good nick with a mix of moss and shredded cardboard.

At the risk of seeming weird, I'll admit that I feel a bit more responsible for the welfare of worms than I do for eg maggots. I have no qualms about chucking out any maggots that are past their best, but I I hate "losing" worms. Maybe it's because they seem more sophisticated creatures??

 

[mikench]

Thanks Kev! I will try the smash and earl grey proposal! I rarely buy worms but bought a large tub last week and then came down with the lurgy! As they are the price of fillet steak I want them to last for a week if possible! I think I will put them in a larger maggot tub. Can of worms as you say!!!

 

[ian g]

Mike , I'd agree with Kev re temperature changes . I use worms a lot and keep them in a large container with a lid , on the floor of my shed in the cooler months . In the summer they go in the bait fridge set to around 4 c . I feeder with layer mash . I mainly use lob worms but they will last a month or so if looked after . They're a bit of an under rated bait but catch anything that swims.

 

[Keith M]

Thanks Kev! I will try the smash and earl grey proposal! I rarely buy worms but bought a large tub last week and then came down with the lurgy! As they are the price of fillet steak I want them to last for a week if possible! I think I will put them in a larger maggot tub. Can of worms as you say!!!

If you only needed them to last a week or so then keeping them in their original tubs and compost on a cold garage or shed floor maybe with the addition of a very thin slice of apple or a couple of thin potato peelings or mash on top should keep them fine as long as there are some breathing holes in the lid.

My favourite worms are the Red-worms which are very lively and a bright red in colour and not too large, closely followed by Dendrabaena which are a bit larger and slightly less lively and I keep both my Dendrabaena and Redworm In bucket sized plastic containers containing layers of earth and sphagnum moss and they last me year after year as long as I keep it damp and keep feeding them by placing a few thin slices of apple, potato peelings and a few leaves on top of them.

Each Autumn I remove the old (and now mixed up) Soil and Moss and I replace it with alternate layers of fresh soil and fresh damp sphagnum moss.
I never ever put damaged worms back in my wormery as these are guaranteed to kill off the rest of the worms very quickly. And I don’t keep different types of worm mixed up together either.

Thats how I keep my Redworm and Dendrobaena anyway and it works for me.

Keith

 

[103841]

My limited experience has shown that Dendras last a lot longer than lobs, I kept some in the fridge with damp moss, newspaper and a bit of mole soil, they kept for a few weeks.

 

[mikench]

Thanks Gents, a lot of useful and interesting information to absorb!

 

[O.C.F.Disorder]

Its so strange, everyone says they have trouble keeping worms but I have a tub of dendros in the fridge that have been there for over a month (and coming out with me every time i fish) and they are fine. All I do is take them out of their original soil and store them in topsoil. No feeding, no watering and no maintenance. I guess topsoil is my secret.. I keep the fridge at 3 degrees.

 

[john step]

I use redworms because that is what is in my wormery. I collect a quantity along with some of the compost and store in the bait tub that I take to the venue.

When I return they are put on the garage floor and last until they are used as long as they dont dry out. This last hot summer was one of the rare times I had them die on me.

They must find the garage floor to their liking as they breed in the bait tub. I find lots of tiny white baby ones in there.

My wormery is sunk in the ground so very hot or very cold weather does not affect them too much.

 

[markcw]

I will sometimes buy a kilo bag of worms instead of the matchpacks, as for storage they are either kept in the sack and medium they came in and hung on tackle shed wall, or put in a large lidded black bucket on the shed floor, If I buy a matchpack they go into the bucket because I feel they keep better in that than cramped in the plastic container, As for feeding, small helpings of mashed potato which is checked regularly and any uneaten is removed after a few days, tea bags or tea leaves are also used,keep the medium moist but not soaking wet,

 

[bullet]

I can keep lobworms for at least a month in a covered bucket full of soil.
Put some grass and old leaves on top of the soil or a piece of turf. The lid has small ventilation holes and i put it somewhere outside but under cover.
About a day before you want some, put them in some shredded newspaper in a bait box to toughen up.

 

[dicky123]

I too find them difficult to keep. They need looking after, feeding and re-filling their medium. I brought a full set up complete with bucket and food. Had them now about 3 months? Must go look at them this weekend, garage floor.

Rich.

 

[iain t]

This summer my wife started a compost bin in the garden. After all the scrap started to break down i put a Kg of Dendrobaena in the bin. The bin (210lts) is now half full and doing well. What the wife can't understand is how and why there seem to be loads of worm in there. A turn over of the mulch it seems like i have hundreds and hundreds of the slimy things. Anything from a 5mm to 60mm. It surprised me how much heat the mulch gives off.