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Grindal Worm
- Thread starter logi-cat
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Edvet
Member
Any live food buffs that can help me??
I seem to have a whitefly infection in the Grindal worms, and a mite infection in the Whiteworms. Do these stop the cultures?
I managed to get some clean whiteworms transferred to a next culture and put it at 9 degrees C, but the grindal worms are worse. There are a gazilllion tiny little white things jumping and crawling around. Even getting the culture much wetter doesn't phase them.
I seem to have a whitefly infection in the Grindal worms, and a mite infection in the Whiteworms. Do these stop the cultures?
I managed to get some clean whiteworms transferred to a next culture and put it at 9 degrees C, but the grindal worms are worse. There are a gazilllion tiny little white things jumping and crawling around. Even getting the culture much wetter doesn't phase them.
Hi all,
Mites are a problem, if they are brown and fairly active they are "House mites", if they are white, almost circular, inactive and have a slightly unpleasant sweet smell they are "Cereal mites" (Acarus siro).
House Mites are difficult to deal with and cause your culture to crash. I tend to throw away culture where I see them and re-culture from a clean source.
I always have Cereal mites, which just compete with the Grindal worms for food, and you can control them by feeding Rolled Oats rather than "instant porridge oats". I just add the oats under the glass and then wait a couple of days, without feeding. The Grindal worms will disappear back into the compost, but the Cereal mites will have a field day amongst the Oat grains, meaning that you can skim the whole surface layer off mites and oats off (I just use a spoon) and dispose of it.
cheers Darrel
Ed they sound like spring tails (Collembola), I find numbers tend to fluctuate, so they may just die down again.
Mites are a problem, if they are brown and fairly active they are "House mites", if they are white, almost circular, inactive and have a slightly unpleasant sweet smell they are "Cereal mites" (Acarus siro).
House Mites are difficult to deal with and cause your culture to crash. I tend to throw away culture where I see them and re-culture from a clean source.
I always have Cereal mites, which just compete with the Grindal worms for food, and you can control them by feeding Rolled Oats rather than "instant porridge oats". I just add the oats under the glass and then wait a couple of days, without feeding. The Grindal worms will disappear back into the compost, but the Cereal mites will have a field day amongst the Oat grains, meaning that you can skim the whole surface layer off mites and oats off (I just use a spoon) and dispose of it.
cheers Darrel
Edvet
Member
Ah good good, look like the cereal ones, tiny white blobs , move little.
Thx, again
Thx, again
Nathaniel Whiteside
Member
Ah good good, look like the cereal ones, tiny white blobs , move little.
Thx, again
Submerse your worm culture for about half an hour, all springtails will die, but white worm etc survive.
