How can I control soldier fly larvae in my worm farm?

Hi Beryl, the soldier fly enjoys anaerobic rotten organic waste, the sloppier and warmer the better. Pick out the larvae if you can, they are great feed for chickens. Don't overfeed your worms, excess food attracts the flies. Add shredded cardboard, newspaper, coir fibre or peat moss to the bedding as the soldier fly does not like this material and the worms will eat it. Keep a layer of damp newspaper or a worm blanket on top of the worm food to prevent the adult laying its eggs. The addition of lime to the worm farm helps break down the organic matter quicker.

To help get rid of the solider fly larvae, get the worms to migrate to another layer by laying new bedding and dispose of the organic matter that the soldier fly larvae have established in. Worms don’t like competition so populations will decrease as the soldier fly larvae population increase. Worms will survive on bedding (newspaper, coir, peat moss, cardboard) but the soldier fly larvae won’t. Suggest slow down the food to the worms and only give them what they can consume – 2cm layer of food over half the surface of the bedding.