just found this on google which can match the color of the worms i have. i try to download the image but the color changes so i put the direct link here. https://solanacompost.files.wordpress.com/2008/10/worms3.jpg?w=500 just look at the smaller one on the top left corner. its bright red on every segment(stripes) and very small, so far it is eating like the worms, sticking around the brussel sprout leaves i gave. im scared if i end up feeding a bunch of parasitic worms lol. so i really appreciate all your inputs. regards,

To give up defeats the whole purpose of vermecomposting. The worm industry has chosen for the gain of money to sell Eisenia foetida, and "European Night crawlers. Very few if any sell a native worm to the area. To be Green is to change,not to give up.Below is part of a study, WORM COMPANY'S WAKE UP!!!!!!!. Eisenia foetida, or"European Night crawlers."are non native worms,This is why we with any non-native species, it is important not to allow them to reach the wild. Their voracious appetites and reproductive rates (especially among the red wigglers) have been known to upset the delicate balance of the hardwood forests by consuming the leaf litter too quickly. This event leaves too little leaf letter to slowly incubate the hard shelled nuts and leads to excessive erosion as well as negatively affecting the pH of the soil. So, do your best to keep them confined! Eisenia foetida From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Eisenia fetida, known under various common names, including redworms, brandling worms, tiger worms and red wiggler worms, are a species of earthworm adapted to decaying organic material. They thrive in rotting vegetation, compost, and manure; they are epigeal. They are rarely found in soil, instead like Lumbricus rubellus they prefer conditions where other worms cannot survive. They are used for vermicomposting. They are native to Europe, but have been introduced (both intentionally and unintentionally) to every other continent except Antarctica, occasionally threatening native species. Established ecosystems have developed their own natural balance and controls over time, and the plants and animals within those systems find this balance suitable for survival, or they have been able to adapt in order to survive within those conditions. When non-native species from other ecosystems are introduced, they can upset that balance and bring harm to the established plants and animals, and the whole ecosystem. Non-native species come from somewhere else and they are not natural to the ecosystem they have been introduced to. They may be harmless and beneficial in their natural surroundings, but they can totally devastate different environments. When alien species enter into an ecosystem, they can disrupt the natural balance, reduce biodiversity, degrade habitats, alter native genetic diversity, transmit exotic diseases to native species, and further jeopardize endangered plants and animals. When there are no established natural controls, such as predators to keep the non-native harmful species in check, there can be a population explosion of the invasive non-native species causing an ecological catastrophe. http://www.eco-pros.com/invasive_non-native_species.htm Here is a link that might be useful: INVASIVE NON-NATIVE SPECIES

Hi all, We recently moved to Torrance, CA. I need to start my worm bin all over. I am looking for few red wigglers. Pls email me if any of you can share few with me or refer somebody local who sells these. My email - Vid_nand2002@yahoo.com.. Thanks in advance.. Vidyaa

As mom always said, "Chew slower and you'll enjoy the experience." "Don't count your tomatoes before they're picked!" comes to mind as well. Being accused of optimism isn't the worst thing in life though. I think it is a higher risk strategy and yours is experienced advice. I personally don't mind failure or setback and not meeting an optimistic prediction (story of a few things in life). I am one who derives most of the pleasure with tinkering and tools - the right, nicely crafted tools for the job. The sunk cost if anything will keep me motivated. I'm not sure if a bucket or tote will have the same effect, nor that the environment I could created as I learned would be the best either. The materials for my whole setup were around $25 plus worms and the material is sitting around already purchased and just taking up space in the garage. If I don't use it, they stay in the bucket as I don't want to buy a tote as my heart is set on wood. Faced with the two options of a 4 gallon bucket or getting the wood out of my way in the garage (which is like money burning a hold in a child's pocket in a candy store), I don't see why I should deal with plastic at all. But you are right. After careful consideration, which was taking into consideration your prior post along these lines, good advice I should stress, I will build only two trays, one of each height, and though I'll work on them one at a time in sequence would you think that would be the best way to get hands on experience in what I'm trying to do? One issue here which I need to emphasize which you may have skimmed over. Temperatures will soon enough routinely go over 90 F and even the garage gets hot. Do you really think I can be trusted to maintain a small bucket with proper humidity and pH and no escape for the worms if I mess up? If so monomer, you have more confidence in me than I do. Or are do you think the additional work is worth it with an interim smaller setup getting to a functioning worm community on a smaller scale is ok? I don't want two bins here, one is already enough, so the training wheels would eventually be tossed and the worms would have to be moved if I had a lucky first time success. I am still unclear what argument there is for adding an extra modest bin stage to get my ecosystem going, while the materials I bought sit around, is there? I worry about having the mass to level temperature through these hot days, and it appears that at these temps the ANCs really are favored (call it 84F) The cost of anything more than a bucket will be more time and the same money than a tray in the modular tray set up, unless I'm missing something. If I fail, I just dump everything, wipe the dust off my trousers, get up, clean it all up and do it again. I want to get friendly with my wormies (the "staff" lol). Note to otis: I did not buy peat for this especially, I use peat in gardening and have plenty of the good stuff on hand, and it was only for the intended temporary quarters after the mailbox. There is about 2 quarts of peat in there. I have over 50 gallons of it in the garage taking up space :-) Cheers PC