?? have problem with worm bin

im4satori

im4satori

Well-Known Member
so I just got my worm today and put them in there new habitat

why are they working so hard to escape?

there crawling up the sides and out

theres shredded paper and card board and a couple tsp of egg shell flour

been sitting damp for maybe 2 weeks before I got them

just had to pick them all up off the floor and get as many as I could back in the bins

hose them down to the bottom.. but with in minutes theyre climbing back out again
 
Richard Drysift

Richard Drysift

Well-Known Member
If they are escaping they don't like the conditions in there. They like a lot of airflow so your bin is like a homemade tote you might need better aeration. Adding perlite and more air holes might help. Also they need food to keep them busy; bedding and grit alone will not feed them. Add some fresh veggie scraps in there....
 
Richard Drysift

Richard Drysift

Well-Known Member
Wetting them down or very damp conditions will drive them out. I had zero success with a homemade worm bin using 2 nesting totes. They hated it because it was too wet in there. They never tried escaping my worm factory 360 because the trays are like screens. They love airflow and some like to sit just under the crack between the lid and tray walls to feel the breeze. Keep their bedding nice and dry and let the food you give them provide moisture. I find they prefer coco coir or just plain old soil over newspaper or cardboard.
 
im4satori

im4satori

Well-Known Member
im not sure maybe they didn't like the color of the container lol

I did exactly what I shouldn't

I used a hose to wash them back into the container which only made the issue worse

after reading your response I went back

I had another large tote... with some used soil and compost at the bottom

I dumped any water from the containers and then dump each container into the larger tote

they seemed to be happier

I left the lid off and slid the tote closer to the 40 watt light bulb in the room
I noticed the closer I got to the light the more it forced them downward into the bedding for cover from the light

so theyre no longer trying to escape instead theyre ducking downward for cover
 
DonTesla

DonTesla

Well-Known Member
Richard Drysift said:
Wetting them down or very damp conditions will drive them out. I had zero success with a homemade worm bin using 2 nesting totes. They hated it because it was too wet in there. They never tried escaping my worm factory 360 because the trays are like screens. They love airflow and some like to sit just under the crack between the lid and tray walls to feel the breeze. Keep their bedding nice and dry and let the food you give them provide moisture. I find they prefer coco coir or just plain old soil over newspaper or cardboard.
Click to expand...
Yeah I use coir too, and hq alfalfa hay and they love it, I don't use paper or cardboard anymore, ever.
 
im4satori

im4satori

Well-Known Member
im happy to report the worms have stopped going Clint Eastwood from Alcatraz

im not positive but

I think its cuz they weren't finding any food and maybe looking

I forgot but I also had a layer of old leaf trim in the bottom... it was under a solid sheet of card board I had layered on top
I don't think the worms were getting under the sheet of board to find the food/leaf trim

when I dump the smaller totes into the larger tote it turned every thing over exposing the old leaf trim that had been rotting

as soon as they came into contact with the leaf/trim they stopped trying to escape and borrowed into it
 
im4satori

im4satori

Well-Known Member
so im going to look into a store bought worm bin

anybody got any recommendations

I google searched and theyre reasonably priced
if they work better I don't mind
 
im4satori

im4satori

Well-Known Member
im4satori said:
I only drilled 1/8" holes in the totes

if they like air circulation im sure what I have isn't enough
Click to expand...
so theyre not climbing out and there staying hidden

I added some frozen and thawed fruit and veg scraps of cabbage and apples and papaya skin and green pepper and onion

the container is starting to stink already so I think that's a good thing

question
if there not climbing out and they've got a good amount of bedding to borrow into could I just leave the cover open or maybe just lay card board over the top covering most of it


the bin is kept indoors and only lit with a 40 watt bulb in a large space so its not exposed to the outdoor elements and critters or sun light
 
Richard Drysift

Richard Drysift

Well-Known Member
I love my worm factory 360; trays make it easy to harvest the castings. Plus you can expand as your worm populations grow. I'm up to a 5 tray stack now which can produce a tray of compost about every 2-3 weeks.

https://www.amazon.com/Worm-Factory-WF360B-Composter-Black/dp/B002LH47PY

It does take awhile for your colony to get established but once it does they are super low maintenance. They will expand populations rapidly if they are kept fed and happy. If you want to get your worms nice & fat give them corn meal in addition to alfalfa. Coffee grounds, banana peels and crushed eggshells make for awesome compost later on. When I make eggs for b-fast I cook the shells in a paper towel in the microwave for like 1:20 and then smoosh them into bits after they cool & throw them in a bigass ziplock bag of "worm food" scraps kept in the freezer.
Freezing the veggie or fruit scraps helps turn them to mush which makes it easier for soft mouths to go to town munching on them.
 
im4satori

im4satori

Well-Known Member
Richard Drysift said:
I love my worm factory 360; trays make it easy to harvest the castings. Plus you can expand as your worm populations grow. I'm up to a 5 tray stack now which can produce a tray of compost about every 2-3 weeks.

https://www.amazon.com/Worm-Factory-WF360B-Composter-Black/dp/B002LH47PY

It does take awhile for your colony to get established but once it does they are super low maintenance. They will expand populations rapidly if they are kept fed and happy. If you want to get your worms nice & fat give them corn meal in addition to alfalfa. Coffee grounds, banana peels and crushed eggshells make for awesome compost later on. When I make eggs for b-fast I cook the shells in a paper towel in the microwave for like 1:20 and then smoosh them into bits after they cool & throw them in a bigass ziplock bag of "worm food" scraps kept in the freezer.
Freezing the veggie or fruit scraps helps turn them to mush which makes it easier for soft mouths to go to town munching on them.
Click to expand...
I did get a banana peal in there

I have alfalfa meal for the garden or do you mean fresh alfalfa?

for now I drill 4 1.5" holes in the lid
 
im4satori

im4satori

Well-Known Member
Richard Drysift said:
I love my worm factory 360; trays make it easy to harvest the castings. Plus you can expand as your worm populations grow. I'm up to a 5 tray stack now which can produce a tray of compost about every 2-3 weeks.

https://www.amazon.com/Worm-Factory-WF360B-Composter-Black/dp/B002LH47PY

It does take awhile for your colony to get established but once it does they are super low maintenance. They will expand populations rapidly if they are kept fed and happy. If you want to get your worms nice & fat give them corn meal in addition to alfalfa. Coffee grounds, banana peels and crushed eggshells make for awesome compost later on. When I make eggs for b-fast I cook the shells in a paper towel in the microwave for like 1:20 and then smoosh them into bits after they cool & throw them in a bigass ziplock bag of "worm food" scraps kept in the freezer.
Freezing the veggie or fruit scraps helps turn them to mush which makes it easier for soft mouths to go to town munching on them.
Click to expand...
on the worm bin 360

how many lbs of worms did you start with for your first tray?

I started with 3 lbs
2 red wiggles and 1 euro

its funny cuz when I first got them looking at the package I though to myself,,, I thought thered be more worms

then I went back after theyd spread out and I thought,,,, that's a lot of damn worms lol
 
iHearAll

iHearAll

Well-Known Member
So, I use a storage tub with holes in the bottom large enough for them to escape. I place the tub in a shady part of the garden beds outside. Inside the tub I placed two plastic soda trays that happened to fit, I placed leaf mold and kitchen scraps in the trays and stacked them. Then lid. I rotate the trays just like a worm tower. I don't harvest really ever, maybe once every few months when I mix soil, but I just like raising the worms and having the castings on hand. I water with a hose mister head. Insect ridden veggies go in the bin as well.
 
greasemonkeymann

greasemonkeymann

Well-Known Member
im4satori said:
so theyre not climbing out and there staying hidden

I added some frozen and thawed fruit and veg scraps of cabbage and apples and papaya skin and green pepper and onion

the container is starting to stink already so I think that's a good thing

question
if there not climbing out and they've got a good amount of bedding to borrow into could I just leave the cover open or maybe just lay card board over the top covering most of it


the bin is kept indoors and only lit with a 40 watt bulb in a large space so its not exposed to the outdoor elements and critters or sun light
Click to expand...
man you're killing me here...
you don't remember the advice i gave you?
or wetdog, shluby or caliandra?


we covered the vermicomposting in the other thread...
remember me saying don't feed them for a week or so?
and onions can kill them btw...
 
im4satori

im4satori

Well-Known Member
greasemonkeymann said:
man you're killing me here...
you don't remember the advice i gave you?
or wetdog, shluby or caliandra?


we covered the vermicomposting in the other thread...
remember me saying don't feed them for a week or so?
and onions can kill them btw...
Click to expand...
well like I said all I had in there was leaf and card board and shredded paper
and maybe 1tsp of egg shell flour
let it sit for a good while damp just like you told me

they were climbing out like crazy

only added the scraps cuz I wasn't sure why they were trying to exit
which they are no longer trying to do

as for the onion... there was only a small wedge in the corner
it was mixed in with the frozen cabbage scraps

all together it was maybe 2 cups of scraps In a 50 gallon tote with 3lbs of worms so I didn't dump a shit load of food in it
 
im4satori

im4satori

Well-Known Member
"greasemonkeymann, post: 13512156, member: 227989"]man you're killing me here...
you don't remember the advice i gave you?
or wetdog, shluby or caliandra?


we covered the vermicomposting in the other thread...
remember me saying don't feed them for a week or so?
and onions can kill them btw...

"Richard Drysift, post: 13510717, member: 896148"]If they are escaping they don't like the conditions in there. They like a lot of airflow so your bin is like a homemade tote you might need better aeration. Adding perlite and more air holes might help. Also they need food to keep them busy; bedding and grit alone will not feed them. Add some fresh veggie scraps in there....[/QUOTE]
they where leaving the bin and fast I had to try something to keep them in so I gave them some food
 
kratos015

kratos015

Well-Known Member
im4satori said:
im happy to report the worms have stopped going Clint Eastwood from Alcatraz

im not positive but

I think its cuz they weren't finding any food and maybe looking

I forgot but I also had a layer of old leaf trim in the bottom... it was under a solid sheet of card board I had layered on top
I don't think the worms were getting under the sheet of board to find the food/leaf trim

when I dump the smaller totes into the larger tote it turned every thing over exposing the old leaf trim that had been rotting

as soon as they came into contact with the leaf/trim they stopped trying to escape and borrowed into it
Click to expand...
Did the sides of your bin happen to have moisture/condensation on them? I'd see a handful or two of them all around my bin while others were happily burrowing and munching away. Couldn't figure that out until I read that apparently some of the worms just love the condensation and will just chill there for a bit :P I'd just lightly flick them back onto the bed and they usually just burrowed back into the bedding. Glad you got it figured out.
 
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