Keeping Pet Worms

Reader Contribution by Claire E
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Whatever the pits were, they didn’t break apart very easily. Black things that had once been part of fruit, they finally snapped in half to display a waxy, vaguely pinkish inside. My mother and I found the pits while we were cleaning out our worm bins, of which we have two.

Worms are probably the lowest-maintenance pets you can get–all they ask is vegetable wastes from your kitchen. They’re inexpensive to buy and even more so to keep–effectively, their food costs nothing; it’s just your food, the part you didn’t eat. They keep food waste out of the trash, and although a regular compost bin would do that just as well, worms don’t smell. Plus, they’re fascinating. For example, did you know that you can tell when your worms are happy with your eyes closed? A happy worm bin has a distinct sound: the noise of worms slithering through the castings, and a gentle popping sound.

This is not to say they don’t have problems. For one thing, worm bins may become infested with flies, moths and their larvae, who coexist with the worms and try to eat their food. My mother occasionally resorts to scooping up the spiders that set up camp in our basement and dumping them in the worm bin to catch pests.

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