As I mentioned in an earlier Blog, Worms are cool and cuddly, but they are not the ONLY composters.  If you can get past the Creepy factor,  Black Soldier Fly Larve would be what Tim the Tool Man Taylor would use if he wanted to compost with MORE POWER!

Why Black Soldier Fly Larve?  At 42% protein and 34% fat, Soldier Fly Grubs are an EXCELLENT food source for any meat eater.

1. Nutritious Songbird Feeders. Soldier grubs are an ideal food for attracting bluebirds, or any other meat eating bird. 

2. Ornamental Fishpond / Aquarium Feed. Soldier Fly Grubs are high in usable protein and low in ash.  Your goldfish, koi, large cichlids and other pond creatures will relish the live, fresh grubs that are simple to dispense in a tank or backyard pond. 

3. Live Fishing Bait. Home-grown solider grubs are easy to store, simple to transport and a pleasure to bait on a hook – their durable bodies don’t fall apart or get easily ripped up by hungry fish. 

4. Raising Chickens. Chickens love to scratch the dirt endlessly looking for tasty grubs and other insects. A few handfuls a day of soldier grubs scattered throughout the garden will provide hours of enjoyment for your friends and family. 

5. Freshwater Aquaculture or Aquaponics. Raising domesticated freshwater bass, catfish, bullfrogs or tilapia in a small pond or converted pool is a cost-effective and sustainable means of supplying you family with a healthy, year-round protein source. Live or dried soldier grubs may be fed directly to your stock, reducing demand for commercial grade feed. 

Buying products over the net can be challenging.  When buying LIVE ANIMALS, you put your trust in the seller that the seller knows what he is doing, knows how to properly and safely ship product, and has good quality product. 

Even in this economy, most people aren’t necessarily worried about the cheapest product.   What they want, expect, and deserve is VALUE!   I’m old enough to remember when Customer Service actually meant something, and I’ve built my business based on providing great products at fair prices.  The end result, GREAT VALUE!   Nobody remembers that they saved $3 on a worm purchase.  What they DO remember is receiving a box of worms that exceeded their expectations.  They also remember sending an email with a question, and having it answered professionally THE SAME DAY!

You are probably wondering what sparked today’s blog?  It’s customer emails like the ones received today(See below) that remind me that although my business has grown to the point where I’m now one of the largest players in the industry, my goal is to give the same service as when I was excited to sell a pound or two of worms.

“These worms were Head & Shoulders above the quality of the ones I received last year from another source.  I will recommend you to friends!!”

-Sandy B

 ”I ordered a compost bin and worms from you and I received them today at 11:21am.  I just wanted to say that was a really speedy delivery and thank you.”  

-Danyelle B 

“I put all my worms in my back yard compost piles and forgot about my pile in
the side yard, so I’m ordering more.  I also want to share some with my
nieghbor, who is also an avid gardner.  He thinks I’m exaggerating when I
told him the Jumpers are a lively bunch…really lively….Have a safe day”.

-Linda S

If you’ve watched the video of the BSF (Black Soldier Flies) devouring a hamburger in only 5 minutes, you’re either disgusted…or completely fascinated.   Soldier Flies are not for everyone, as they will never replace the “Cuddly” factor of worms.    For those that are fascinated by these incredible creatures……Now Available from www.TheWormDude.Com The Biopod Plus.  To Purchase, go to:  http://www.thewormdude.com/shop-categories/

Features:

Benefits:

Specifications:

 26 1/2″ long x 15 1/2″ wide x 16″ Tall
9″ diameter of circluar top ventilation portal
Drainage Plate: 27 cm long x 44 cm wide x 0.3 cm thick
Digestion Capacity: maximum of 5 lbs (2.2 kg) per day
Food scraps (including meat) from 4-6 adults
15-20% Bioconversion of food waste into BioGrubs
5% bioconversion of scraps into dark, friable castings  

Many of you probably think that worms are the ultimate composters.  Though they do a good job, and are wiggly and cute, there are other creatures that are actually far better composters than worms.   If you’ve ever seen Black Soldier Fly Grubs (Hermetia Illucens) in your worm bins, you know that these are pretty freaky looking, but did you know that Soldier Flies compost MUCH faster than worms?   This video shows what a group of  Black Soldier Fly Larve can do to a hamburger in only 5 hours!

Warning….This is not for anyone squeamish.  You may never think the same way about a hamburger again.

Hi Everyone,

Take a look at this video.   Bentley from WWW.RedwormComposting.Com has continued his quest to max out The Worm Inn, and no matter how much food he puts in,  The Worm Inn  continues to outperform at a level never seen before in ANYcommercial home composting system.

In the past month, 44 pounds of food scraps has gone into this system.  With ANY other home composting unit, you would be lucky to process 10% -15% of this.

I’m comfortable saying that The Worm Inn processes your scraps 5X-10X FASTER THAN ANY OTHER COMMERCIAL HOME COMPOSTING SYSTEM.

Wholesale pricing is available on bulk orders.  These units are PERFECT for home use, business use, and particuliarly school use, where worms are often killed by overfeeding.

If you have a lot of scraps that you want turned into RICH AND CRUMBLY BLACK GOLD CASTINGS,  THE WORM INN IS WHAT YOU WANT. 

The Worm Inn is available here: http://www.thewormdude.com/shop-categories/  along with an optional  custom no bend, no stoop stand kit.

I am happy to say that my worms are doing GREAT! When I poke around in my bin, they are very active, are VERY plentiful, and are even laying cocoons!! I’m very excited This brings me to my question…. since I am very excited, I do poke around in the bin about once a day. Even if I’m not in there to feed, I just like to see what they are up to. I never dig around too much, just move a few spots around to see if they are swarming certain foods, or to see if I can spot any cocoons. I am worried, however, that I am bothering them (I feel silly saying that). So, will poking around in the bin bother the worms any? I don’t want to stress them out, or interfere with their daily lives. (still feel silly saying this- who thought I’d ever care so much about worms)

Also, on an unrelated note- how long does it take for the cocoons to hatch?

Thanks for being such a great help!!

Hi Jamie,

Love your excitement!  So much….I’m going to feature your question on today’s blog.

Who would have thought you could have so much fun for so little.

Cocoons take anywhere from between 1 to 3 months to hatch.  A temperature of around 75 degrees will optimize your hatch rate.

Initially your cocoons are greenish yellow….the yellow…then redish, then dark red when they are ready to hatch.

Worms can handle a lot more than you peeking at them.  Just make sure you don’t get so excited that you go overboard with food or water.

If you have not realized it yet, I am the Manufacturer of the Award Winning Composting System, The Worm Inn.   I was not the designer of this innovative system, but I was smart enough to realize what a great system this is.  So in December of 2009, I bought the company from it’s inventor, Robyn Crispe.

The Worm Inn will soon be sold through distributors around the world.  I’m currently working with a UK Distributor, and have been in negotiations with distributors from other countries.   The Worm Inn sets the standard for Home/School composting.  Most composting systems can handle a pound or two of scraps for a pound or two of worms.  The Worm Inn is different.  Because of it’s unique breathable design, it can do the job of several conventional systems.

Because of  The Worm Inn’s unique breathable design, your food waste is less apt to go anaerobic, so you don’t worry about creating a sewer just because you need the worms to process a little more than normal. 

There is no comparison between a conventional plastic bin and The Worm Inn.  If you are SERIOUS about waste reduction, The Worm Inn is what you want.

Watch these series of YouTube Videos produced by Bentley at http://WWW.RedWormComposting.Com   In typical Bentley style, he’s just having fun filling the bin to the max.  He’s shown feeding a small amount of worms 15 POUNDS OF SCRAPS, with the caveat, DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME.  If you tried this in a plastic bin, you would create a sewer in less than a week…killing all of your worms, and giving your spouse the perfect excuse to grant you a divorce!

It gets better.  The next week, BENTLEY ADDED 10 MORE POUNDS OF SCRAPS TO THE WORM INN.  If this doesnt mean anything to you, you have never raised worms.  I’ve never seen, nor heard of anyone doing anything like Bentley has done.  The AMAZING thing about this is….his Worms are doing GREAT!

POUND FOR POUND, THE WORM INN IS ABSOLUTELY THE MOST EFFICIENT HOME/SCHOOL COMMERCIAL PROCESSING UNIT AVAILABLE.  NO OTHER SYSTEM COMES CLOSE .

Have fun watching these three videos:

USA Manufactured Award Winning Worm Composting System Sets The Standard For Food Waste Processing

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Plastic composting systems have become popular because they are inexpensive, but since plastic is non porous the body of a plastic system does not breathe.  Plastic systems are known for creating muddy castings, and inefficiencies, resulting in limited processing capabilities.  The deficiencies in plastic systems are commonly known in the world of vermiculture.  If you attempt to put a large amount of food scraps in a plastic system at once, the systems are subject to turning anaerobic, often creating sewer like conditions, and killing worms.

Because plastic systems are by definition oxygen inefficient, it is often difficult for people trying to “Go Green” to process large amounts of food scraps at one time without having massive amounts of worms.  The sad reality is that most plastic systems are cute and easy to produce, but do not perform as well in processing waste as most people would like.

The Worm Inn is DIFFERENT.  The secret to The Worm Inn?  Complete breathability!  Ask any gardener how to get a compost pile going efficiently, and they will tell you to add oxygen.  Cutting off air flow creates stink, encourages anaerobic bacterial growth, and often kills worms.  The Worm Inn has solved this problem by being the MOST BREATHABLE HOME COMPOSTING SYSTEM IN THE WORLD!

Hows it going?
My wife and I have a worm factory back home in Florida and I am thinking of
doing something much bigger.  At Fort Lewis (where I am stationed) in the
motor pool there is a wood scrap area that has lots of good wooden pallets.
I would love nothing more then to load my truck with several of these and
build a large worm house.  I have lots of shredded newspaper that I have
collected at work and would eventually like to order a pound of African
Nightcrawlers from you.  Is there anything else that I’m going to need as
far as getting this worm house going, and is there any possible risk to the
nightcrawlers if I use the pallets?  Thanks for you time on this one and
tell everyone there I said greetings from the Middle East.
   V/R
Zenon H.

Hi Zenon,

Worms are as easy as you are thinking, with a few caveats.

The biggest caveat is that I only have African Nightcrawler Cocoons available at the moment, but I think coming up with a pound of live African Nightcrawlers is the least I can do for someone like yourself.

The risks are minimal:

You did not mention a feed source.  Worms gotta eat! 

Watch out for nails and splinters when working with scrap wood(Gloves and updated tetanus shots would be advisable)

Figure out how to provide some shade for the African Nightcrawlers.  People have some mistaken notions about the tolerance of these worms in general.  Even though African Nightcrawlers are known for being more heat tolerant, they are just worms!  The physics say a 1/10 ounce body  will break down when left in direct sun!  It’s the same with cold…though African Nightcrawlers are more sensitive to low temps than some other types of worms, when tested in bedding,  they easily hold up to ambient temps in the 50’s.

Finally, realize that any worms raised totally on the ground are subject to contamination.  You are likely to  end up with mixed worms (Greatest chance is attracting Red Wigglers).  Not a problem for 99% of the world…but if you are thinking of raising bait, it could be a problem.

I had ordered some worms from xxxxx before finding your site.
After about 2-3 weeks they have almost all died off. I have a worm factory
in my kitchen pantry and followed the directions, I believe. I have had
about 10-15 escape, but most have just disappeared. The few I have remaining
look very sluggish and sick. I had tried adding moisture, adding dry
shredded newspaper in case it was too wet. I had added crushed egg shells, a
bit of sand for grit, plenty of food (too much??). I was feeding them
blended apples, lettuce, banana peels, onions (on one occasion), carrots,
etc. Any ideas? I want to order a pound from you now, but am afraid I am
doing something wrong in my composter and need to figure that out first
before spending more $ on worms. I should mention that I didn’t have any
composted soil to begin with, so I added a handful of potting soil. I only
have a few fruit flies in my bin, otherwise it’s pretty bug free.
Thanks,
Travis 

Hi Travis,

Your experience is due to classic overfeeding.

Worms live in bedding, and eat food.  You cannot have too much bedding…the
worms love it, and it is your barrier so the flying bugs do not swarm the rotting
vegetation.  If they can smell it, they will swarm it.  Food goes in the corner on the bottom only.

A pound of worms is about the size of my fist.  That is the amount you
should be feeding your pound or worms,  especially if you are using a plastic bin.

Excess vegetation (especially throughout the bedding), turns into vinegar.
Vinegar is an acid.  Give your worms an acid bath…worms disappear (die).  Bury the scraps in a corner and the worms can either come to the scraps, or not.  Either way you don’t lose your worms.  Even if the food turns nasty, the microbes will break it down into water over time.

I use the analogy…I like Ragu, but I don’t want to live in Ragu.  No
different for the worms.