If you’re looking for another reason to eat fresh and eat healthy, this may be it! What earthworm can not eat? Worms can eat pretty much any organic matter that was once living, which encompasses a lot of healthy food such as fruits, vegetables and grains!
- That’s a pretty good incentive to buy fruits and vegetables more often. Not only is it great for your health, it provides food for your small wiggly friends as well.
Want to success to breeding them? Please What earthworm can not eat?
One small problem some people run into is not having the appropriate food for their worms and trying to feed them food scraps on the non-approved list! If your eating habits include more processed food than organic food, then you may find some difficulty in coming up with enough organic matter to feed your red worms.
- We’d be talking about meats, dairy foods and processed foods of epic proportions here and an almost utter absence of fruits and veggies, so you probably don’t fall into this category!
Perhaps the household in which a worm farm would thrive the most and find the greatest abundance of food is one that is vegetarian! This isn’t to say that people should avoid meats or dairy, or yummy desserts for that matter, but worms love organic food scraps so it’s always good to have a little on hand, and most people do.
The more fresh fruits and veggies scraps you’re able to feed your worms, the better. Otherwise, your worms will have to settle for a steady diet of coffee grounds, dead flowers, newspaper and cardboard. That doesn’t sound too appetizing does it?
We’d like to quickly go over some of the food scraps that should NOT be fed to worms. Familiarize yourself with them and you’ll quickly gain a good sense of what types of foods worms like and what types they don’t. Worms are like men, you see, the quickest way to their heart is through their stomach. But, you have to know what kind of food they like in order to do that!
What earthworm can not eat?
Worms live in a condensed, confined area so it’s important to keep their environment free of certain types of food that they don’t like to eat or can harm them. For instance, the pH levels of the bin cannot become too acidic or it will harm the worms. Also, worms must breathe through their skin and certain types of food will irritate that process. Other foods will stink up real bad when thrown into a composter and that can attract rats and other vermin. These are just some of the reasons you should avoid putting the following food scraps into your worm composting bin:
- Meats, bones, fat and anything oily or greasy.
- Dairy products including butter, sour cream, milk, whole eggs (egg shells are ok) and cheese.
- Canned sauces, peanut butter and other processed food.
- Citrus foods like lemons, limes and oranges.
- Onions and garlic.
- Spicy foods such as hot peppers.
- Yard trimmings that have been treated with pesticides.
- Plastic, metals, glass or other non-biodegradable items.
- Soap
- Paper that has a glossy finish or colored ink
- Poison ivy, oak or sumac or other poisonous plants.
If you have a worm farm, and especially if you have a larger-scale vermicomposting system , then buying plenty of fresh fruits and veggies will do you AND your worms a lot of good! Always remember your worms when shopping at the grocery store!