Where can you buy red worms in Louisiana

Estimated reading time: 6 minutes



You’re in luck if you live down south and want to buy compost worms in Louisiana. There are quite a few different places you can find worms to compost your food and paper scraps. If you’re looking to skip the search and buy some compost worms online, you could always visit our friends over at Meme’s Worms (clicking this link helps support the website, thanks in advance!).

Let’s jump into a few locations in the state of Louisiana where you can find or buy worms for vermicomposting.

Where To Buy Worms In Louisiana

Dig In The Dirt (The Free Method)

Before I start sharing places to buy worms, let’s cover the free and fun way to find worms, digging in the dirt. You don’t even need to search very far in many cases. Red worms are composting worms and love to live in leaf litter. After a good rain, check wooded areas in the leaves or piles of decaying matter.

This is one of my favorite methods because

  1. You use native worms (releasable back in nature)
  2. Harms fewer worms in the process
  3. It’s free
  4. Fun and kid-friendly
  5. Includes beneficial bacteria to help your worms get established

A side benefit of this method is the small amounts of dirt you collect along with the worms. Soil from the outdoors contains beneficial bacteria and microbes. These additional soil decomposers help worms break down food faster and more efficiently.

Louisiana vermicomposting buy worms
Louisiana has a wide variety of bayous, forests, lakes, and streams

Contact Fishing And Tackle Stores

If you don’t want to dig in the dirt, your local bait and tackle store is the next best place to find worms. Many people overlook bait shops because they assume they only sell fishing worms, like giant earthworms. However, it turns out many bait shops carry a variety of worms.

It is best to call ahead and ask the tackle shop owner if they carry red wigglers or if their scientific name is Eisenia fetida. Some people may know them as tiger worms or red worms. The blue worm is another variety of composting worm used for vermicomposting.

More experienced vermicomposters may want to try to use earthworms. However, earthworms do not like to live near each other and live deep in the soil. Often it would be best if you had a unique setup to compost with earthworms correctly.

If you arrive and discover that different worms are all mixed, it will be okay, especially if they are blue and red worms. These worms work superbly together, and both fall under the Eisenia type of worm, which likes to live on the soil and feed on decaying matter.

Check Farm And Garden Supply Businesses

The last place you may find worms is at the local garden supply store. As people’s consciousness grows about climate change, more people look for ways to reduce food and paper waste and use natural fertilizers that complement the environment.

Red worms are an excellent way for people to increase soil biodiversity. Some farmers release them directly into their soil; others use them to vermicompost and create castings for compost tea.

It is essential to call ahead to check that they carry worms and not worm castings. Worm castings are the same as vermicompost or the nutrient-rich poop of your worms.

Local Online Sellers

Social Media Marketplaces

If you have no success finding a place in your town to purchase worms, you can always look online. There are a lot of people selling worms on social media marketplaces. Facebook’s marketplace is home to many listings of people selling worm castings and compost worms for a little extra cash.



It was through a Facebook Marketplace that I started vermicomposting. I asked if anyone had some worms for sale or trade. Within an hour, I contacted a woman who said I could have a free bucket of worms as long as I supplied the bucket.

It was lovely to talk to her about composting and her indoor and outdoor composting journey.

Share the joy of composting and meet someone in your community—a win-win.

Buy Worms In LA On Craigslist, eBay, and Etsy Sellers

You can also check websites like Craigslist to get started. This is a great way to support a local seller. Here are some quick links to buy worms in Louisiana on Craigslist.

Another online resource that can help you buy compost worms in Louisiana is eBay or Etsy. You can filter the results by zip code. Start with the closest distance option. If there are no results, expand to the next closest option until you find a seller. Often people can find a seller within 25 miles of their home.

Composting worms Ebay
Add your zip code to find sellers near you

Click here to check eBay

Click here to check Etsy

Worm Stores In Louisiana

Thankfully, if you want to purchase worms from a worm breeder in Louisiana, you have some options. Below I’ve listed a few different places you can find worms. These also include some home and garden stores that sell worms as well. If you know a brick-and-mortar business where you can buy worms, please share their information below!

New orleans composting worms louisiana.
Louisiana is home to two different locations that currently sell compost worms.

Here are a few stores that you can check out.

Urban Naturalist
216 Madison St
Lafayette, LA 70501
(337) 258-0878

WURM WORKS
Serving Louisiana


Add a website

If you know of other websites to directly buy red worms in Louisiana, please share them below. Our goal is to make it easier for vermicomposters to get started.