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  • Home
  • Buy Worm Farm Manual
  • About
  • Contact
  • Shop For Worms List
  • About European Nightcrawlers
  • About Red Worms
  • Worm Shipping Information
  • European Nightcrawlers and Redworms Uses
    • Earthworms For Fish Bait
    • Earthworms For Pet Food
  • Caring For Your Worms
  • Vermicomposting
    • Make Worm Compost
    • About Earthworms
    • About Vermicomposting >
      • Worm Compost bin
      • How To Make Worm Compost
      • Worm Composting Problems
  • How To Worm Farm
    • Worm Farm Guide
    • Worm Farm Tips
    • How To Raise Worms In Winter
    • How To Raise Worms In Summer
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  • FAQ
    • Ants In Worm Bedding
    • Feeding Worms
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Earthworm Works

About Red Worms - red wigglers

Red Worms a.k.a. Red Wigglers

Eisenia fetida: Fetida is Latin for "to stink".  Now, does this mean the redworm smells bad?  Lucky for us, these worms are only odoriferous to their predators.

Red worms, or red wigglers, have a substance inside their bodies called colemomic fluid.  This self-defense mechanism is foul tasting to birds or other predators attempting to have them for lunch.

When the worm is startled or senses danger, it squirts this yellow fluid from behind, in hopes of discouraging it's attacker. Apparently is works, for the worm seems very vulnerable indeed, with no other means of defense other than crawling

A Worm by Any Other Name....

E. fetida is not only known as the redworm.  Other monikers of the worm include red wigglers, top feeders, bandlings, and manure worms.

In the wild, worms live just below the soil's surface, feeding on decomposing organic matter and manures.  They are responsible for the top soil of our planet and life on earth would not exist as we know it without them.

In the garden, you don't have to worry about worms eating your plant's roots or foliage in your garden, they only go for the rotten stuff.

Worms are dependent on microorganisms to start the decomposition process and make digestion possible for them.  That's why, when you start your vermicomposting project, you should enhance the worm's bedding for microorganisms.  VermaPlex® is what we use.
Picture

Red Worms and Composting

Why is the red worm considered the Master Composter?  This hardy breed of worm:
  • Is readily adaptable to captivity and dietary changes.
  • Is more tolerant of temperature extremes than other worms.
  • Eats more, reproduces faster and in greater numbers than the "burrowers".
  • For these reasons, the red worm or red wiggler, Eisenia fetida, is the worm most often recommended for vermicomposting.
  • ​Shipping of Red Worms is Currently Suspended.
Grow Your Own Worms!

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