What to Feed Night Crawlers in a Worm Farm

Worm Farm Setup

• When setting up a worm farm, certain things must always be included. All worm farms require drainage. Any excess moisture will collect in the bottom of the farm, and if the liquid cannot escape it will eventually kill the worms. Air circulation is important, and in plastic or wooden worm farms, ventilation holes must be drilled around the upper edges, to ensure that enough air gets to the worms. Bedding is also essential. Although many different things can be used for worm bedding, one of the easiest and most affordable is newspaper, torn into strips about an inch wide.

Natural Food for Night Crawlers

• In nature, night crawlers eat a variety of decomposing plant matter such as old leaves, rotting branches, dead grass and anything else they find in or on the ground. Typically, these worms come to the surface at night, especially when the ground is wet, and scavenge for bits of food they can eat on the spot. They will often drag larger food items, including entire leaves, down into their burrows to be consumed at their convenience.

Feeding in Captivity

• Night crawlers kept in a worm bin can eat the same foods that they eat in the wild, but their diet can also be expanded to include many other items as well. Captive night crawlers can be fed such foods as newspaper, cardboard, coffee filters and coffee grounds, kitchen and garden scraps, corn meal, dry cereal and chicken food. As long as they are not fed meat, grease or dairy products, night crawlers will consume almost anything put in the bin.

Methods of Feeding

• It is important to keep the food and bedding damp, since the worms cannot survive without moisture. When feeding them, moisten the food first, then bury it a few inches under the surface of the bedding, and be sure to cover the food with a layer of bedding or a piece of cardboard. Covering the food discourages such pests as flies, ants and rodents. The food should be buried in a new spot each time the worms are fed, to allow them time to consume the old food before adding anything new to the same spot. They do best if fed several times each week, but healthy worms can skip several feedings without it doing them any harm.