Tiny white worms in compost

[Joanne1972]

I have just opened a bag of all be it last years horizon organic compost to plant some seeds, upon watering the compost tiny little white worms appeared. Are these good or bad. My gut feeling is bad but don't know. I have read before not to use last years compost but as it wasn't open thought it might be ok. Hope someone can help.

[selfraising]

Do they look like little white maggots about 1cm long with a brownish bit at one end? If so they could be vine weevils.

[Nippy]

I was thinking the same, it sounds a bit like it.
I tipped out a tub this morning and it was riddled with them.

[selfraising]

I had a load in a tub last year. Emptied the whole lot out on a flower border and exposed the weevils so the birds could have them.

[Nippy]

Mine are in a bag ready to go to the tip!

[selfraising]

Probably best place for them! I checked all my pots this year, getting paranoid cos I think they eat all the roots.

[Nippy]

Yes they do. Especially tender plants. I had Polyanthus and pansies in tubs last year and wondered why they were withering. When I touched them they just came away from the soil, deaded!

[Mrs Jackson]

Can't you just bake the compost for a bit to kill them? It would save chucking a load of perfectly good compost.

Mrs J

[Digger-07]

I have just opened a bag of all be it last years horizon organic compost to plant some seeds, upon watering the compost tiny little white worms appeared. Are these good or bad. My gut feeling is bad but don't know. I have read before not to use last years compost but as it wasn't open thought it might be ok. Hope someone can help.

My worm compost has lots of White worms (Enchytraeus albidus). They do no harm and will die in the garden as the conditions are wrong for them. There is a thead elsewhere about them.

[terrier]

You could just spread the compost onto a plastic sheet in your garden and let the wild birds clean it up for you. You end up with well fed birds and useable compost.

[Joanne1972]

Thank you everyone for replying they weren't vine weevils too thin. But as someone else has said they don't seem to wriggle when exposed to the outside world. So hopefully they should die out on their own I'll keep you posted.