Red worms, or Eisenia foetida, are a species of earthworms that are adapted to survive in decaying environment. This is unlike the other species of earthworms, which are more suited to live in common soil. In another words, Eisenia foetida are the species of worms most cut out for the job to produce worm castings!
So, how do red worms actually convert organic waste to castings? Red worms do so through a process known as composting. These composting worms would eat and digest the organic decaying matter that is available to them, and the ‘poo’ that is pass out is known as worm castings. Thus, you could see how easy it is to do worm composting, as the red worms would do everything for us! Our task is to provide a proper and suitable environment for the worms to live, reproduce, and thrive in.
Red worms are hermaphroditic, which means that the worm has no sexes, and each worm have both male and female organs. However, it still requires two worms to reproduce. Each pair of worms produces white cocoons that contain many eggs, which would later turn brown when a few worms hatch from their eggs. Do not worry about red worms reproducing too much, as they reproduce according to the amount of space they have. If the population is overcrowded, they will simply stop laying eggs.
Red worms’ form of defense mechanism is to produce a pungent liquid when threatened. Therefore, when roughly handled by humans, they may release this pungent liquid to ward off predators. To humans however, this pungent liquid is barely noticeable and will not cause any odor issues within the home.
Red worms are native to Europe, but have been brought to other parts of the world, including Singapore. Companies like us breed red worms for sale for people who have a heart for nature and would like to do their part in recycling.
Do contact us for more information if you would like to purchase red worms for your composting purposes.
