What Do Earthworms Eat?

All squiggly and slimy living in the dirt... yes that is a worm. Whether you are using earthworms to make your garden more productive, to build the quality of your soil or to fish with as bait, you need to know what they eat to make them healthy.

If a worm could have a favorite food it would probably be manure. While to most of us that sounds just gross, worms find very rich nutrients in the waste material of cows or horses. The nutrients have already been digested so it makes their jobs easier.

They also love septic tank sludge, as this too has high nutrient content. To mimic these conditions as much as possible, be sure and wet the items that you are putting in your compost pile. Don’t soak it down; but, just add enough moisture to keep it damp.

What Earthworms Should Not Eat

Some items that are harmful to your worms are metal, foils, cans, chemicals and cleaners. It also isn’t good to put spicy or rich foods in the compost pile as these can harm your worms and may drive them away.

Citrus fruits such as oranges and lemons are bad items to place in the compost pile. The worms also don’t care for dairy products and after a while, they will cause a foul odor. If your pile is close to your living quarters, the smell may be unpleasant enough to make it unbearable.

Other Tips

If you are trying to generate good soil to use for planting, adding damp cardboard, newspapers, tea bags and wood ashes to give your worms some variety.

As you rotate your compost, try to get in the habit of moving zones. Divide your compost pile into four zones. Begin by moving aside the good soil to expose the fresh compost material. Allow the worms to work for you and break down more soil. The next time you come back to tend to the compost you can reverse the compost movement. Move aside the new soil and move the old compost to the other side, exposing the compost and allowing it to be worked by the worms.

The worms move through the grass and the compost using a small group of hair like cilia to propel it through the grass and over land if the grass is damp enough. Worms require a lot of water to stay hydrated. They can’t drown in excess water; but, they can die if exposed to sunlight for more than a few hours. When they are exposed to sunlight and dry out they can’t breath and they suffocate.

Uses of Earthworms

The earthworms can be great workers when used to create compost and replenish your soil for growing plants. They break up organic matter and digest it, leaving nutrient rich soil behind. 

Earthworms are also great pest control instruments. They eat nematodes, bacteria, protozoan and fungi in the soil. This leaves your soil healthier for growing plans and especially for growing vegetables in a garden.

Cultivating Earthworms

The best way to cultivate earthworms is to build a compost heap where you can throw your kitchen waste, grass clippings and other garden waste. With the proper layering of these wastes and by tending to the compost pile, you can create the absolute best soil you could hope for.

A good compost pile is constructed by using wooden slats that stack up on alternating sides. Lay one layer of slats along the front and back of the box and then alternate along the left side and right side. Continue to build this box by alternating front and back and then switching to right and left.

Build the box until you have a height of about three feet. Now you must layer waste products from your kitchen and garden in the box. Add a layer of straw every few inches to allow the worms to move and work their way through the compost. They will eat the grass and kitchen peelings, leaving behind rich earth.

Rotating your compost every few days will help the worms to work the compost and generate your compost in the quickest amount of time.