CATDOLL : CATDOLL: How to control the humidity of earthworms (How to control the humidity of earthworms)

1. Why do the earthworms become fewer and fewer and the soil becomes wetter as we raise them?

It must be too much humidity.

Grab a handful of soil with your hands, and if you squeeze it and it seeps a little water, it is the right humidity. Put less watermelon rinds, and it is best to put some dry fallen leaves in the soil to adjust the humidity, increase the looseness of the soil, and it is also a good food for earthworms, killing three birds with one stone.

2. What are the requirements of earthworms for their living environment?

1. The activity temperature of earthworms is 5-30℃, they enter a dormant state at 0-5℃, and die below 0℃. The optimum temperature is 20-27℃.

2. The humidity of the feed should be maintained at 70%. Earthworms use their skin to breathe, so their bodies must remain moist. Water in earthworms accounts for more than 75% of their body weight. Preventing water loss is the key to their survival.

3. They feed on decaying plants or other organic matter. They eat soil and sand to obtain organic matter. Earthworms grow in a pH range of 6-8 and produce the most cocoons.

3. After a heavy rain, earthworms crawled to the ground one after another. This is because the rainwater filled the gaps in the ground, making it impossible for the earthworms to breathe. So what is the factor that affects the distribution of earthworms at this time?

This shows the humidity and air content.

1. Temperature

Generally speaking, earthworms are active at 5-30℃, enter dormancy at 0-5℃, and die below 0℃. The optimum temperature is around 20-27℃, which is also the optimum temperature for earthworm cocoons and eggs. Growth stops above 32℃, and death occurs above 40℃. Therefore, in earthworm farming: in summer and autumn, shade sheds should be built to cool down (mulberry gardens have natural shade conditions, but mulberry trees still need to be temporarily covered with shade after summer felling and before germination and growth), and in winter, fire should be added to the shed to heat up (equipment already in the silkworm room can be used) or wheat straw should be covered in the mulberry garden to keep warm and heat up, so as to facilitate the normal growth and reproduction of earthworms.

2. Humidity

Earthworms use their skin to breathe, so their bodies must remain moist. Water accounts for more than 75% of their body weight. Preventing water loss is the key to their survival, so the humidity of the feed should be kept at around 70%.

3. Acidity (pH value)

Earthworms grow best in a pH range of 6-8 and produce the most cocoons.

4. Ventilation

Earthworms breathe by relying on oxygen diffused into the soil from the atmosphere. The better the soil is ventilated, the more vigorous their metabolism is. Not only do they produce more cocoons, but their maturity period is also shortened.

5. Food

Insufficient or low-quality food will cause maggots to compete for food, leading to decreased fertility, the spread of pests and diseases, increased mortality, and the escape or slow growth of some earthworms.

4. What kind of environment do earthworms like to live in?

Earthworms like to live in dark and humid environments. Living habits:

1. Humidity The water content of earthworms is 70% to 80%. They usually maintain their balance by secreting body fluids. Therefore, they must live in a humid environment. The humidity adaptation range is 30% to 80%. For example, the suitable humidity for Pheretima Williamii (green earthworm) is 30% to 45%, while the suitable humidity for Eisenia fetida (red earthworm) is 50% to 80%. This habit of earthworms makes them live in burrows and nests. High or low humidity environments are not conducive to their normal survival. If the humidity is lower than the limit, the earthworms will be dehydrated and extremely atrophied, semi-dormant or die. On the contrary, they will die as the temperature rises.

2. Temperature Earthworms are cold-blooded animals and are very sensitive to changes in temperature. When the temperature drops to 10°C, earthworms stop eating; when it drops to 4°C, they enter a hibernation state; below 0°C, they will freeze or die. Generally, large and medium-sized earthworms hibernate deep underground; while small earthworms mostly gather in groups and form balls in warm soil to hibernate. When the temperature rises to 8-10°C the following year, they crawl to the surface to move around. Weak and shrunken earthworms have a very low survival rate and it is difficult for them to survive the spring. When the temperature exceeds 30°C, their growth is also inhibited, they quickly shrink, their body color becomes darker, and they burrow into the deep soil and do not move. When the temperature is above 35°C, they completely stop eating and enter a dormant state, their bodies completely shrink, and they feel extremely dull. Once the temperature drops, they can return to their original state. The best temperature is 20-25°C.

3. Diet Earthworms are omnivorous animals that can eat both meat and vegetables. The plant feed sources for earthworms are extremely rich. In artificial breeding, waste is almost always used to feed them in rural areas. The feed sources for earthworms include a variety of livestock and poultry manure, manure, grass, water plants, straw, etc., as well as leaves, waste vegetable leaves, rotten claw fruit, dregs, biogas residues, waste paper pulp, etc. There are also animal feeds, which have a more significant effect on the weight gain and reproduction of earthworms. For example, the leftovers and sewage after slaughter, the leftovers of meat and vegetables from canteens and restaurants are the feed sources that earthworms like.

4. Illuminance Earthworms are photophobic animals that hide during the day and move at night. They like to live in dark and humid soil environments. They are extremely afraid of direct ultraviolet rays, so they don't show up easily in sunlight or strong electric lights. They will only leave their nests and expose themselves when they encounter enemies, pesticide damage, flooding, high temperature, dryness, hypoxia, etc. But earthworms are not afraid of red light. The role of earthworms in nature: They can loosen the soil, increase soil organic matter and improve the structure. They can also promote acidic or alkaline soil to become neutral soil, increase fast-acting components such as phosphorus, and make the soil suitable for the growth of crops. Because earthworms are rich in protein, they can be used as feed for livestock, poultry and aquaculture to increase production. Earthworms also occupy a certain position in pharmacology. They are common Chinese medicinal materials with antipyretic, antispasmodic, activating, antiasthmatic, antihypertensive and diuretic effects. Earthworms can secrete a special enzyme that can decompose protein, fat and wood fiber. Therefore, leaves, straw, livestock and poultry feces, domestic garbage, activated sludge and waste from papermaking and food industries can all be its food. Earthworms can eliminate environmental pollution to a certain extent. Therefore, in recent years, many countries have established earthworm breeding factories and called earthworm breeding factories "environmental purification devices." Because earthworms can absorb trace metals such as mercury, lead and cadmium in the soil, the amount of these metal elements accumulated in the earthworms is 10 times the amount outside. Therefore, some scientists believe that earthworms can be used as monitoring animals for heavy metal pollution in the soil.

5. How to control moisture when raising earthworms?

Too much water flow will take away the nutrients on the culture surface, and will also increase the physical energy consumption of the water earthworms themselves, which is not conducive to increasing production; long-term static water state or too low flow rate is not conducive to the supply of oxygen and the removal of harmful substances such as metabolic waste, resulting in deterioration of water quality and mass death of earthworms. The flow rate and flow rate of water should be controlled. It is more appropriate to control the water depth at 3 to 5 cm. In spring, the weather is fine, the pool water can be shallower during the day and deepened appropriately at night. In the hot summer season, the pool water should be deeper to reduce solar radiation.

Water earthworms are very sensitive to harmful substances such as pesticides in the water. Industrial wastewater, field water that has just been sprayed with pesticides, or pond water containing medicines used to treat fish diseases cannot be used.

6. Earthworms will die in a few hours in a dry environment

No more than 4 hours.

Earthworms like a humid environment, and the suitable humidity is 20% to 80%, with a wide range of humidity. Because earthworms absorb oxygen dissolved in water through their skin, it is most important to maintain a moist soil environment. If they are in a dry environment for a few hours, they will die. If they are placed on a cement floor under direct sunlight, they will die in a few minutes. The suitable temperature for earthworms is 6 degrees Celsius to 30 degrees Celsius. When it is below 5 degrees Celsius, they will enter a dormant state. When it is below -5 degrees Celsius, they will die. The highest lethal temperature is slightly lower than that of other invertebrates (such as 35 degrees Celsius for Eisenia fetida and 36 degrees Celsius for Heteroliphagus foetida). The suitable breeding temperature is 15 degrees Celsius to 25 degrees Celsius. The higher the temperature within this temperature range, the shorter the hatching time, but the hatching rate is reduced. Earthworms breathe by relying on oxygen diffused from the atmosphere to the soil, the oxygen in the bait, and the dissolved nutrients in the water. The more abundant and fresh the air, the more vigorous the metabolism, the faster the growth, and the more eggs they lay.