To make them happy and to encourage them to move over, I added food...
I always nuke my feed in the microwave to prevent fungus gnats, which I had a nasty infestation when I first started composting. I also checked my first bin, my original worms....
They're ready for harvesting, too! The worms in the original bin, are much more active and aggressive feeders. They don't mess around when they're hungry. I'm hoping my second bin of worms will grow to the size of my original bin soon!
Interesting! How long do you nuke the food for? Is that the main way fungus gnats find their way into the bin?
ReplyDeleteYes. It's kind of gross but the gnat eggs are already in the skins of fruits and veggies. I think most fruits especially have a some trace amount of protein, I think the protein comes from gnat eggs. :-P I usually nuke the food for about 40-45 seconds. Freezing also works.
ReplyDeleteAAAAAHHH!! That is disgusting!!! I had no idea I was eating bug eggs all the time. Though, I probably am also eating some flies while sleeping. Yuck.
ReplyDeleteIt is pretty disgusting. Makes you rethink about peeling an apple or just biting into the skin, huh? I used to wonder how fruit flies magically appeared when my bananas were ripe. Well, now you know! Oh, the way to tell between a fungus gnat and your average fruit fly.... fungus gnats are larger (if that doesn't gross you out even more) and SLOW!! You can pretty much catch a fungus gnat with your bare hands.
ReplyDeleteBarf. I guess I'm peeling everything from now on.
ReplyDelete