Whenever you see a worm a thought must have crossed your mind What do Worms Eat? Warms are long cylindrical animals with no legs. There are thousands of different species and types of worms in the world. Often the worms are confused with caterpillars and grubs. Caterpillar and grubs are insects who are in their larval stage and they do not look anything like a worm. Worms have a long, soft, rounded body with no backbone.
In the species of worms, you will find some microscopic worms, as well as some worms, can be a few feet to a few meters long. Some also develop touch sense and they can respond to the chemicals in their surroundings. You may also find many species of worms with eyes and many with eyespots on their head.
Below we have mentioned everything you must know about what do worms eat?
What Do worms eat?
The worms eat dead plants, grass, leaves, fungus, and bacteria that grow on leaves. The food worms eat depends on the place they live in. They eat many different kinds of foods.
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What Do Surface Worms Eat?
Surface worms mainly eat fruits and vegetable scraps thrown by humans. They eat organic matter and dead animals too. They like to eat coffee ground, cardboard, and wood shavings. They can also eat hairs in small portions. The worms are also used for vermicomposting
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What Do Parasitic Worms Eat?
Parasite worms are the worms that live in human, animal, or plants body and eat the food that its hosts consume. The ones that live in water eat algae and bacteria and some also eat grains of sand and soil
What Do Worms Eat In A Worm Farm Or Vermicomposting
If you have a worm farm are a vermicomposting then you must know what to feed worms? Worms flourish on a balanced diet. They prefer eating food that begins to decompose. You must keep a balance of green and brown food for them.
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Fruits And Vegetables
Feed them with scraps of fresh fruits and vegetables. Worms do not like strong-flavored foods like garlic, onion, and citric fruits. You must avoid hi acidic foods and also be careful that the fruits you are giving have no insecticides as they may kill your worms.
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Egg Shells
Eggshells help to neutralize the PH level in the worm bin. The benefit of eggshells is that they are very high in calcium and gives your farm very high benefits. If you feed lots of fruits in your worm bin it will increase the acidity in the bin and the reason is the high sugar content. Agricultural Lime is another element that you can add to your worm bin if you feel the need.
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Add Carbon For Bedding
It is very important to add carbon to the bedding. Add shredded papers, egg cartons, and cardboards to the bin. Whenever you feel the need add more papers to the bin. Remember that paper and cardboard should be shredded and also soaked in water before adding them to the bin.
List Of Food For Worms
Here is a list of food what do worms eat and what you must feed your worms.
- Vegetable and green scrapings
- Vegetable peels
- Fruits
- Eggshells (crushed)
- Leaves
- Cereals
- Grains and its products
- Paper and Cardboard (shredded and soaked in water)
- Clippings of hairs and nails
- Rags of cotton
- Teabags
- Coffee grounds
- Moldy Bread
- Horse and cow dung
Food To Avoid (do not add)
As you know now what do worms eat you must also know what you must not feed worms. Here’s a list of food that is bad for worms and compositing for many reasons. Some of the foods create a smell when they breakdown while some may attract rodents. Some of the following items may also kill your worms. Although some of the foods like bread ate ok in a very small amount like bread yet it is better to avoid it as far as possible
- Onions, Tomatoes, and garlic
- Meat and bones
- Anything oily and greasy
- Dairy products like butter, cheese, cream, milk, or whole eggs
- Citrus foods like lemons and oranges
- Pineapple & Papaya
- Vinegar
- Canned or processed food
- Bread
- Rice & Pasta
- Spicy food
- Any non-biodegradable items (like plastic, metal, or glass)
- Paper that has color ink on them or is of glossy finish
- Anything treated with pesticides
- Poisonous plants
- Oak or sumac
- Soap
- Grass
Quantity Of The Food
Do you know that worms eat nearly half of their body weight every day? But when starting a new bin the worms in time to settle in. The worms may take a week or two. The worms need to adapt to the new environment.
1000 worms may weigh nearly about 1 pound or 500 grams. you need to feed 250 grams of food each day to 500 grams worms. Also, remember that the worms population may increase. Generally, Red worms population can double in nearly 60 to 90 days.
Do not overfeed your worms. Feed them once their last meal is nearly finished. Overfeeding is the biggest mistake in a worm bin. If the bin has too much extra food it will begin to rot even before the worms can eat it. This leads to a toxic environment in the bin.
The best way is to feed your worms is in a small amount and one place at a time. Try rotating between the section of the bin or add food to alternate sides. Also, keep an eye on the water content in your food that you may add for example foods like zucchini and watermelons should not be in excess amount. Too much moisture in food is also not food for worms.
How Do Worms Eat?
Different kinds of worms have different mouths some have small whereas some have big mouths. Their body consists of the following organs pharynx, esophagus, crop, gizzard, and intestine. The food they eat is first pulled in their mouth using the pharynx and its acorn which helps them in the suction of the food. This is the reason worms are able to eat a large amount of food in very little time. The organ gizzard grinds the food.
The gizzard helps them grind the food into pieces and then the food travels to the intestine. There the food gets absorbed in their blood. Do you know that they eat so much food that when they produce excreta it is equal to their body weight and their excreta is the best manure for the soil?
FAQ
Do Worms Eat Plants?
Worms eat different rage of matters. They are omnivorous they eat decaying planta and animals.
Do Worms Drink Water?
Food, Oxygen, and moisture are all worms need to survive. They breathe through their skin and get oxygen from the water in the ground through their skin. You would have noticed that when it rains heavily worms come up on the surface that is because of too much water in the ground.
How Do Worms Die?
If the skin of the worms dry, they die. This happens when the home of worms is flooded and they come on the surface searching for less soggy conditions. Many times when the worms get disoriented and are not able to find the way back to the soil they dry up and die when the sun is up high.
What Do Worms Eat In Soil?
Worms get the nutrition that comes from the things in Soil. Worms eat decaying roots and leaves and also animal manures.
Do Worms Have Eyes?
Generally, worms do not have eyes. Although some worms have black spots on their head.
Where Do Worms Live?
Worms live anywhere in the ground where there is moist soil plus dead plants. Some species live on land while some in freshwater.
Do Worms Eat Rice?
Bread, rice, pasta, processed foods – you can add the odd crust or bits of cooked rice off the dinner plate, but don’t add lots of starchy foods. Worms don’t like them and they may go off or attract pests.
How Long Can A Worm Go Without Eating?
Worms can live for 4 weeks without fresh food.
What Do Worms Hate Eating?
Worms hate: meat or fish, cheese, butter, greasy food, animal waste, spicy and salty foods, citrus.” The food-to-worm ratio is not precise, nor is the amount of castings they will produce. The rule of thumb is that a pound of worms will eat one to two pounds of food in a week.
Conclusion
Worms eat nearly anything and everything in the soil. While feeding worms avoid the food that may attract rotten and kill them. Avoid feeding a large quantity of food at a time and also remember to rotate the sections in the bin while adding food to it. Worms are a very important part of the chain circle. Now when you know what do worms eat we hope it may help your worm farm and worms grow better.
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