Lesson 3 Pests

In a perfect world we would not have to learn about these little critters, because they would NOT be pests, but this is not a perfect world.

Pests, some good and some bad;

• Flying insects/Fruit flies, etc.
• Probably the first pests you will encounter in a small indoor kit is Fruit flies.  They come in on your fruit! When you add the peels to the kit, they hatch out and bingo, fruit flies.  First off do not add citrus peels (orange, lime, lemon, grapefruit) to kit, worms do NOT like citric acid.  I  don’t add fruit  “seeds” or “pits” to it either, unless I want them to sprout!
• To help control flying insects, attach a “fly strip” to the top of the unit, on the lid, or underside of the top of the cabinet.  Don’t let it just hang down!

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  Fly Strip attachment to top/lid of kit

• I take a stiff piece of cardboard cut a little wider than the fly strip, about the length of the kit from front to back of the top.
• Uncurl the fly strip on it cut a little longer than cardboard strip, tuck the ends under.
• Fasten to underside of top/lid using wire ties/trash bag ties. About six ties total, poke holes in lid/top so they can be securely tied on top. More if it sags. Change fly strip as needed.
• By covering the new food with a thin layer of paper, stops most of these problems and only adding food that will be consumed in a short amount of time.

The next Pests like the outdoor units, here again some are good and some are NOT.

• Fire Ants in this part of the country, I would say are the biggest “pain”.  They set up residence fast, are very defensive, and attack anything that moves!  When I see the first indication of them I grab the water hose and flood the bed. They all rise to the top of the water where I have a “rescue vehicle” waiting…usually a piece of wood.  When they get nice and comfy on it, I quickly, carefully take the wood out with them on it and spray them down with ant spray, dump boric acid on them, or any other means to kill them fire/hot water, etc.  I only use bug killer on a few things, Fire Ants are top on that list!  NEVER spray them while they are in the worm bed/bin!  REMOVE the Fire Ants first. Do NOT put the wood back into the bed/bin after it has been sprayed or boric acid has been used on it.
• Keeping the bed/bin at the right moisture content discourages Fire Ants, they like it on the dry side!

Next Lesson 4, will be the other Pests good or bad?