FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQ):We get asked many questions about worms and worm farming in general.
At times the questions asked are very similar, so we have decided to save time and phone calls by adding the most frequently asked questions to our web page.
Please feel free to ask any questions you like about worms or worm farming and we will endevour to add your questions to this page. You can ask a question on our "Contact Us" page by just filling in the form.
QUESTIONS ASKED BY OUR CUSTOMERS:Q1: Do worms eat dog poo?A1: Yes, worms will eat dog poo. Worms will also eat cat poo in paper based kitty litter and worms will eat all other animal poo (including human poo:-). Just beware of any worming medication that the animal may have been given. These worming medications will kill your compost worms as well. If the animal has been recently wormed or you are unsure, allow the poo to age for a month before feeding it to the worms.
Q2: Do you sell worms to South Australia? Its a long way from Queensland.A2: Yes, we do sell worms to South Australia. In fact we sell our worms all over Australia, including Northern Territory and Western Australia. Our prices include Australia wide delivery. We have now received approval to send worms to Tasmania, so all states and territories are now covered for deliveries of worms.
Q3: Do you currently have worms in stock?A3: Yes, we have worms in stock all year round. We breed our worms in a climate controlled shed. This means that we are not reliant on the weather before our worms will breed. We believe that we are the only worm farm in Australia that can supply worms all year round. We also breed ALL of our own worms. We do not have to rely on other worm farmers for worm stocks, so we can supply your order immediately we receive notification of your payment.
Q4: How many worms do I need for my plastic bin worm farm (Reln Worm Farm, Can-O-Worms, Tumblweed Worm Farm)?A4: We recommend that you initially buy 1000 compost worms for each member of your household. Therefore if you have 4 members in your household, your worm farm would work best if you ordered 4000 compost worms. You can buy 1000 mature worms in our Bag O Worms and make up the remainder with our Worm Bombs which have smaller worms and eggs and are therefore much cheaper. Your worm farm will still work with less worms, but it will be much slower in converting waste.
Q5: What are the best foods for my worm farm?A5: Compost worms will eat most things that have been living, but are now dead and rotting. They actually prefer to eat the micro-organisms that are causing the organic matter to rot. Worms have no teeth, so rely on other organisms to break down their food first. Kitchen scraps are a good food source for worms. Other household wastes that are good for worms include paper, cardboard, lawn clippings, animal poo, leaves etc. If you don't like maggots, don't feed your worms meat. Remember that worms do NOT have teeth, so chop, shred or mush the worm food first. Also remember that worms like a varied diet, just like all animals. So mix your food up and try to vary it as much as possible. Everything in moderation.
Q6: How much food do I feed my worms?A6: It has been said that Compost worms will eat up to half their body weight per day. In our experience, this figure varies tremendously. We have fed our compost worms from as little as 1/100th of their body weight per day (bran) to as much as 10 times their body weight per day (mill mud/filter press). It all depends on the type of food, what particle size it is, what its nutrient content is etc etc. If you mainly feed your worms kitchen scraps and you chop or mush them up, you can expect 1000 worms to eat 1/2 a cupfull (125 ml) per day.
Q7: Will my worms breed too much and overcrowd my plastic bin worm farm?A7: No, compost worms have a natural mechanism that stops them from breeding when they get to a maximum food/volume density. This means that the worms will self-regulate their population depending on the amount of food you give them and the space in which they are kept.
Q8: How many worms do you breed?A8: We can breed between 3-4 tonnes of African Nightcrawlers per year and 1-2 tonnes of compost worms per year. We are still growing and may well be breeding much higher volumes in years to come.
Q9: How much worm cast do you produce?A9: On average our worms produce 2 tonnes of worm cast per week.
Q10: How long have you been breeding worms for?A10: Kookaburra Worm Farms was established in 2003. George first worked with worms in the early 90's when he was the founder of a company called "Waste Organic Recycling Management Systems" (W.O.R.M.S.).
Q11: How do we keep the African Night Crawlers through winter? We live in the southern states of Australia.A11: The Africans need a bedding temperature between 15 and 30 degrees C. There are many ways to keep the Africans warm during winter. We have come across many people who are very inventive in the way they keep their worms warm. One person has used a brewing heater to wrap around his worm farm. Another person has placed his worm farm in a shed with a wood fire. One can use old blankets or old carpet to cover the worm farm. Biological heat can be used from decomposing organic matter ie: hot compost, but this should only be done by people with experience in this area. Other people have bought the worm farm into the house and keep it in the laundry or similar utility room.
Q12: How long does it take to deliver my worms?
A12: These are the standard Australia Post delivery times:
Q13: Can I put these worms into my garden?
A13: We have 5 varieties of worms. Some will survive well in most gardens, others will need a good cover of mulch and plenty of water to allow the worms to survive. Perhaps a better way to go is to use our Garden Bed Worm Farm which provides the perfect environment with food and moisture for the worms. You can look up this Garden Bed Worm Farm on Our Products page.