Northwest Redworms

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Compost Critters
 
Your redworms are hard workers, but they don't do it alone. There are an uncountable amount of critters in your compost system that can help, harm and give you signals about your compost health.
 
 
This page will grow in time. If you have questions about your critters please send them to me and if you can get a good picture of your critters please send them also.
 Good Bugs

 Bad Bugs

 Good and Bad bugs

 

bug #1: The black soldier fly (BSF)

The good: The BSF are great composters they are great at eating all the green material in your compost quickly. They reproduce and grow 10x faster than redworms and can greatly reduce your organic waste. The larva (grub) are high in protein and fat that makes them a good food source for livestock (chickens, pigs, fish). The fly does not eat, its sole purpose is to mate and lay eggs. The larva discorage other flies from laying eggs in the compost.

 

The bad: BSF are a tropical bug so they die off or hibernate when temperatures fall below 50-60 degrees. They will work with redworms under the right conditions, but when food is abundant they will often take over a compost. Unmanaged this compost can become anaerobic very quickly. It is difficult to prevent some black soldier flies from finding your compost (the eggs are very tiny).

 

For more information on the Black soldier fly here is a link to the Black soldier fly blog.