Can red wigglers live with Nightcrawlers?

Asked by: Kyle Tuttle

Red wigglers and nightcrawlers are two worm species you can use on your farm to maintain and/or increase the fertility of plants’ soil. But, the question you’d like answered is, “can you mix red wigglers and nightcrawlers?” Yes, you can.

Can you compost with nightcrawlers?

African nightcrawlers, also known as Eudrilus Eugeniae, is a very common commercial worm. It can be used as bait for fish, and also for composting. These African worms can be found in composting bins and worm farms; and can also produce its own batch of rich worm castings, just like Red Wiggler worms.

Can you mix different types of worms in a worm farm?

Yes you can mix different composting worm species with each other. However there is one caveat to this! Over time one specie can begin to dominate and even out populate any other type of specie you have in the worm bin. This is very typical due to certain conditions within the worm bin.

Are nightcrawlers and red wigglers the same?

Earthworms, AKA nightcrawlers, and red worms – known to many as “red wigglers” – are two of the most common species of worms for gardeners to increase the health of garden soil and producing compost, respectively.

Can worms be mixed?

Mixing Worm Species Sacrifices Reproduction Potential

Contrary to some wives’s tales, worms cannot interbreed or hybridize. But this does not mean that worms are unaffected by the population around them.

Can you mix nightcrawlers and red worms together?

Red wigglers and nightcrawlers are two worm species you can use on your farm to maintain and/or increase the fertility of plants’ soil. But, the question you’d like answered is, “can you mix red wigglers and nightcrawlers?” Yes, you can.

What’s the difference between European nightcrawlers and red wigglers?

The European nightcrawler worm is actually the worm cousin of red wrigglers. But they only differ in the size (European’s are larger). You can find them burrowing and thriving in most compost heaps or piles of animal manure.

Can nightcrawlers live in potting soil?

Gritty soil particles also aids the worms’ digestive process. Potting soil, or soil from outdoors is fine.

Should I stir my worm bin?

There is definitely no need to completely mix up your worm bin contents. The worms themselves – along with various other critters do a lot of mixing on their own.

Are red wigglers more active at night?

Red wigglers are nocturnal:

They are active during the night (nocturnal).

What is the lifespan of red wigglers?

4 to 5 years

Red Wiggler worms life cycle and stages start as eggs, and ends after death. So their life span may go as long as 4 to 5 years. But this may also depend on a few more other factors such as using them for fish bait, or containing them in very unfavorable surroundings.

How do you fatten up red wigglers?

Measure out one cup of the powdered eggshells and add them to your food supplement mix in place of the lime. According to Janet Hogan Taylor, co-author of “The Worm Book,” grit materials, such as eggshells and lime, allow your worms to grind up and digest their food more quickly.

How deep do red wigglers go?

They like to tunnel in the soil, sometimes 3 feet deep. They come to the surface foraging for organic matter, which they take into their furrows. They mix sub-soil with their food and deposit their castings on the surface.

How fast will red wigglers reproduce?

The breeding cycle is approximately 27 days from mating to laying eggs. Worms can double in population every 60 days.

What are red wigglers favorite food?

Best Foods to Feed Red Wiggler Composting Worms

• Vegetable scraps: apple cores, peels, carrot tops and wilted lettuce or trimmings. …
• Non-citrus fruit work best, such as watermelon rind, strawberry tops, old blueberries, etc. …
• Used tea. …
• Coffee grounds and filters. …
• Dried leaves.

What is the best habitat for red wigglers?

Red Wiggler Habitat

Found in the top 6 inches of soil, red wiggles congregate in dark areas full of organic matter. Decaying materials, such as dead leaves, aged animal manure and garden waste, all serve as food for the species. Unlike earthworms, red worms eat the decaying matter in the soil.

How often do red wiggler worms multiply?

How Fast Can Red Worms Reproduce? It is easy to cultivate a massive worm population in a very short time period. An adult red wiggler worm can produce 2 to 3 cocoons every week, and each cocoon can hatch up to 20 baby worms!

Why are my red wigglers turning white?

White worms themselves are completely harmless in a worm bin, but again they may be and indication that you are overfeeding, or perhaps adding too much acidic waste.

How often should you feed red wigglers?

Under ideal conditions, worms can eat their weight in scraps per day. So if you have 1 pound of worms, you can theoretically feed them 1 pounds of scraps. However, we recommend you play it safe by feeding an amount they can handle every 2 or 3 days.

Will red wigglers eat grass clippings?

A hefty serving of grass clippings seems like all the food a herd of red wigglers should need in a week. But, alas, that just won’t do. A fresh pile of grass clippings soon begins anaerobic decomposition in a worm bin creating heat and foul odors.

Can red wigglers eat oatmeal?

Fruits and vegetables (uncooked or peels) – you can feed your worms any variation as long as it’s not citrus based (you’ll have to stay way from lemons, oranges, pineapples and all that since it has high acidity levels) Starchy food wastes – these can be in the form of bread, oatmeal, and pasta.

Is celery OK for worms?

Eating organic material is their method of composting and providing nutrients for the worms to grow and remain healthy. Cellulose is in all plants. Fiber found in foods like celery are favored by worms for their crop and gizzard.

Can red wigglers eat banana peels?

Banana peels are welcome hosts for fruit fly larvae, and these eggs are often laid before the food waste ever goes into the bin. So for food wastes like banana peels which are generally considered safe to let sit for a few days, I recommend freezing them in order to kill off fruit fly larvae.

Are tea bags good for worms?

Add cooled loose tea to the worm bin. Tea Bags: Yes! The tea bags will start to break down in the worm bin, and the worms will finish off the contents. The string and paper tab might not break down as quickly.