When you need worms for vermicomposting, your best bet is to order Red Wigglers from Uncle Jim’s Worm Farm. We ship all over the contiguous United States and the worms are guaranteed to arrive alive, or we will replace them. What can you expect when you order live vermicomposting worms?
Always remember that these worms are living creatures. They are hearty earth-dwellers who can survive in a fairly wide temperature range. However, in a package, they can get too hot, too cold, too hungry or too dry.
We want our dear worms to survive the trip. That’s why we take extra care to help ensure their safe journey to your home, garden, business or school. Here are some of the methods we use.
Shortest Trip Possible
We ship only to the contiguous United States, not Hawaii, Alaska or territories. This means we can use the trusty United States Postal Service to deliver the goods in 3 days or fewer via priority mail. The vast majority of the time, the journey length falls into these safe parameters.
Additionally, we ship on Mondays. This point in particular can rattle our customers. For example, some customers order in the middle or end of the week and expect a package to show up a couple of days later – even right after a weekend. Unlike shoes or clothing, worms are alive. Imagine if you were a worm in a package with 1,999 other worms, and you were stuck on a hot – or cold – loading dock over the weekend. You wouldn’t make it. Many of our customer service calls are some variation on “Where are my worms?” and most of the time, the answer is, “They will ship out on Monday via Priority Mail.” We usually send an email to our customers when the worms ship that includes a tracking number, so you can see where your worms are.
If the weather is extremely hot, or extremely cold, we may delay shipping by a few days or a week. Better they arrive late than… late!
We receive orders and inquiries every week asking us to ship to Canada or overseas. Unfortunately, for our worms’ safety and for export reasons, we can’t ship outside of the USA.
The New Home Must be Ready
It’s important to get your worms set up in their new homes as soon as possible after they arrive. They need to get put into their composter, with fresh bedding that is as moist as a wrung-out sponge. (Note: Do not over-react by dousing your worms with large amounts of water when they arrive or they will likely drown.) They also need food in their new home. If a customer orders one of our composters, such as our best-selling Worm Factory 360, we delay sending the worms until we are sure the new composter has had time to arrive. That way, you have a chance to receive the box, open it, and follow directions to set it up.
Sometimes this means you order on a Wednesday, your composter arrives the following Tuesday, we ship the worms the following Monday and you receive them Wednesday or Thursday, two weeks after placing the order. If this happens, don’t panic! We are looking out for your worms’ welfare! It is also less work for you than having to set up a temporary compost bin, which is about as much trouble as setting up a permanent bin.
When you order worms without a composter, make sure your compost bin is ready. You might need to run to the garden store to buy some peat moss or other suitable vermicomposting bedding. Have some easy-to-break-down food scraps ready for the first feeding, such as left-over applesauce, vegetable peelings, and fruit pieces. Your worms will set to work and start eating the scraps and bedding. In a short time, you will have plenty of dark organic fertilizer to put on your plants, as well as “compost tea” to spray on your lawn.
Proper Packaging
We pack our worms in dry peat moss and place them inside a special breathable bag. This is placed in a sturdy box, such as a USPS priority mailing box. Sometimes the box gets a bit crushed but the bag of worms is kind of squishy, and usually flexes when com3pressed.
Keep Them Safe
It’s best to have someone available to receive the worm package, if possible. This is especially true in extreme weather. If you end up having to leave your worms in their bag overnight, beware of pets (indoors) and wild animals (outdoors). Put them someplace where they can breathe, not get too cold or too hot, and out of the reach of curious or hungry animals.
We have additional information about choosing worms, ordering worms, choosing a composter and setting up your composter on the Uncle Jim’s Worm Farm website. Enjoy your vermicomposting experience! It helps save resources and nourishes the earth–literally!
18 thoughts on “Ordering Worms from Uncle Jim’s: What to Expect”
I ordered 1000 red wigglers on a Thursday, when will they arrive?
Hi Jackson,
I am not finding any orders placed this past week under the last name “Shrum.” If you could send us your order number or contact us directly by emailing sales@unclejimswormfarm.com, we would be happy to look up your order and send you the shipping information.
Sincerely,
Bethany – UJWF
I want to order worms for my backyard to feed the Robins
Order dried mealworms from the pet store then
My order just arrived and I was here to take it from teh FED EX driver. I’ve shredded bedding for them and soaked it, rinsing out the chemicals in the paper and cardboard and so far, have them in the bin with about a half a cup of applesauce, divided. I’ll pop some salad trimmings after I make dinner tonight. They are safe, warm (the sunroom stays about 61 this time of year) and I poured a half a cup of room temperature water over them, as per the included directions. I have ordered some coconut coir bricks and expect them by Monday. I’ll mix that into their bedding with more shredded boxes (including the box they were shipped in) and paper. I’ll email any questions I have. Thank you <3
What’s the best place to keep my worms- indoors or out- and at what temperature?
I just received my worms today and not a single one appears to be moving. I did read they lose a lot of their weight and can appear “half-dead” but these guys seemed all the way dead. Should I be worried?
I just received my worms. There’s a thin white flat pack in the box outside the worm bag. I did tear it a bit to see what it was and it looks like soil. Is this food for the worms I’m supposed to add to my compost 5 gallon pail? This is all new to me. I’m starting an inside pail compost for my veggies and egg shells, etc. I’ve added about a 1/4 pall full of pleat moss to the 5 gaoon pail, added about 3/4 cup water, added scrap veggies and egg shells then added wet newspaper on top. Closed lip and put in darker area. I added 4 drain holes on the bottom. Is this enough? Am I supposed to leave the cover off? Any advise would be very helpful.
Thank you.
Brenda P.
Hello Brenda;
Thank you for your comment. That small pack is a reptile heat pack we put in the box in the winter to keep the worms from freezing. Please discard it. We are sorry for any confusion.
Uncle Jim’s worm Farm
They just arrived got into their home, but they are not moving barely, is that normal to look half dead?
Hello Michael;
If the worms are not moving, they are most likely not alive. This will happen sometimes with live shipments and that is why we have our 100% live worm guarantee! Contact us at our Customer Service department and we will get a replacement order out to you.
Uncle Jim’s Worm Farm
Thanks, I followed up with an email through customer service on the website for replacement, please let me know if received or not
Hello Michael! That replacement order was shipped to you and is to arrive on the 23rd. Thank you.
Uncle Jim’s Worm Farm
Thanks for the wriggly friends! I used spring water to wet the bedding, but is it acceptable to use chlorinated city tap water?
Hi Sophie,
Great question! If the tap water is chlorinated, it can harm the worms. You will want to let it sit out in a container for a day or two to allow the chlorine to dissipate before using it on your bed. I hope you find this information helpful.
Uncle Jim’s Worm farm
When you all ship worms are they small cause they are young or is it something else .
Thanks for the 1k worms!, arrived and were the size and movement was as expected! And I’m pretty sure they’re all alive because they had scattered by the 3rd day! Approximately how many days old are the worms you ship? I’m curious when they’ll start multiplying. Thanks!
Hello Rolfe;
Thank you for your question. Our worms are all ages and sizes, some adults some newly hatched and every age in between…it is hard to say. We pull our worms directly from the beds and do not separate them by age or size. They are referred to as Bed Run Worms. The mature adults in your mix will lay eggs as soon as they get settled in.
Uncle Jim’s Worm Farm