Earthworms need moisture to live since their bodies are 80% water, but because they breathe through their skin, too much water can drown them. Soil Texture. They prefer loamy soil. Overly sandy soil is abrasive and dries out too quickly.
Silty soils with high water holding capacity and organic matter provide ideal habitat for earthworms compared to sandy soils, which have lower organic matter content and water holding capacity, and dry and reach uncomfortable temperatures quickly.
Worms are not able to live in very sandy soil, such as is found in many desert areas, as there is not enough moisture for them. Any soil used for worm farming, especially if it is used instead of bedding, must be able to hold moisture. Organically rich soils work best.
Earthworms like moist soil. They can survive in dry soils but they are not active. However if the drought is severe, they will die. In dry conditions, they can burrow deep into the soil to 1 metre, tie themselves in a knot, secrete a coating of mucous about themselves which dries and helps prevent water loss.
To survive, worms need moist soils that contain enough organic matter for them to feed on. So, by digging up a spadeful of soil and counting the number of worms in their sample, farmers can get a pretty good indication of their soil's health.
Earthworms are some of the hardest-working critters in the garden. They process organic material (both in the soil and in your compost pile) and recycle the contents into nutrients, they help improve soil structure, and they create tunnels in the soil for air, water, and plant roots.
Earthworms prefer soils with loamy texture.
Worms like a light airy soil and rely on decaying organic matter for nourishment. My garden needed some serious soil improvement work. I began by tilling to a depth of six inches with a pitchfork, then putting a three-inch layer of compost on top and digging that in.
A humus-rich soil that is high in organic matter is the perfect habitat for a congregation of earthworms, which in turn gives nutrients back to the soil for the benefit of the accompanying crops.
The container should be between 8 and 16 inches deep, with holes drilled in the bottom and sides for aeration and drainage. You can build a wooden worm bin, or use a plastic tub with a lid. Worm bins can handle about one pound (or one quart) of food scraps per week per square foot of bin surface area.
Earthworms can easily overpopulate
Additionally, if there are too many earthworms in one area, they can actually eat all the organic matter in the soil, which may leave plants without enough to feed off of.
There are certain pesticide families that are considered as harmful to earthworms i.e. neonicotinoids, strobilurins, sulfonylureas, triazoles, carbamates and organophosphates (Pelosi et al., 2014).
There is no need to stir up any composting worm bin IF you have proper drainage and holes in the bottom and sides of the worm bin. composting worms do a great job on their own of stirring up the compost this allows for the autonomous drainage/aeration of the contents in the bin.
They live in soil, consume decaying matter, and prefer highly acidic soil. For this reason, you are more likely to find pot worms in places that are very moist and have high rainfall. You might also see pot worms in your potted plant or garden if you use coffee grounds or compost to feed your plants.
Some beetles are predators of earthworms, especially larger ground beetles (Carabidae) and rove beetles (Staphylindae) such as the devil's coach horse (Ocypus olens). Centipedes are also known predators of earthworms and although it may seem unlikely there are even reports of spiders eating earthworms.
Clay soils are better for earthworms. They are potentially fertile as they hold nutrients bound to the clay minerals in the soil. Clay soils also hold a higher proportion of water due to the capillary attraction of the tiny spaces between the numerous clay particles. Earthworms need moist soils to survive.
Worm Bedding: Worms love compost or manure, but if you don't have any handy you can buy worm bedding for your bin. We sell a specialized worm bedding mix or you can build your own with a mix of topsoil, coconut coir, or peat moss AND shredded newspaper or cardboard.
What do worms need? Worms can survive a wide variety of temperatures, but they thrive best at temperatures between 55 and 77 degrees Fahrenheit (13–25 degrees Celsius). They need a moist, organic substrate or “bedding” in which to live. They will eat the bedding and convert it into castings along with other feed.
Earthworms eat soil! Their nutrition comes from things in soil, such as decaying roots and leaves. Animal manures are an important food source for earthworms.
Provide food. A year-round food supply is essential for a healthy worm population. Leaving stubble on the surface and chopping straw are relatively simple ways of providing surface material for worms to incorporate. Fungi often colonise straw on the surface, which in turn attracts worms.
Usually, worms dying in vermicompost systems can be traced back to one of a few problems: incorrect moisture levels, problematic temperatures, lack of air circulation, and too much or too little food. Keeping a worm farm means constantly checking it for these key items.
Whether you call them jumping worms, crazy worms, Alabama jumpers or snake worms, they are bad news for our gardens and natural spaces. These invasive worms live near the soil surface devouring leaf litter and the organic matter that plants depend upon.