Answer: The Great Escape by your worms means there is an imbalance in the worm bin. If your bin becomes too acidic, too moist, too dry, too compact, full of rotting food, full of food they don't like, too warm, too cold, or they just organize an expedition, your worms can attempt an escape from your bin.
Temperature: Composting worms prefer temperatures between 55-77°F. If the temperature is too hot or too cold, it can stress out the worms, and they may try to escape. Keep your worm bin in a place where the temperature is stable and within the ideal range.
The worms are heading to the bottom as they are trying to get cool. Add some bedding to the top layer (damp newspaper, cardboard) to encourage the worms upwards. Is the worm farm food too dry? Add a little moisture if it is.
This usually happens when it's about to rain. Before it begins to rain, the air pressure (barometric pressure) in the atmosphere drops, and the worms can sense this, so they climb to the top to avoid drowning. This is a natural survival instinct for when the rain floods their burrows and tunnels in the ground.
The worms' job is to eat the food before it gets super-rotten and stinky. If you add too much food at a time, they cannot keep up. Too much food can also push the air out of the bin, leading to foul-smelling anaerobic decomposition.
No, your worm farm will never have too many worms. Worms will regulate their population depending on the space and amount of food you give them. Once they multiplied to a certain number, they will slow down their reproduction and maintain the population levels.
For worm composting, conditions are generally ideal with a carbon-to-nitrogen (C:N) ratio of between 20:1 and 35:1. Always remember, you can never add too much worm bedding on top.
Depending on the size of your bin, feed the worms from once a week to every two days with about a cup (240 ml.) of food. You may want to keep a journal regarding how quickly your worms consume certain things so you can adjust timings, amounts, and varieties. A stinky worm bin may be an indicator of overfeeding.
Rule #3: Target watering 1-2 times per week. Watering daily or multiple times per week is not normally required. In many cases you can water every week or so - it depends on temperature, humidity, and other factors so monitor the bin and if you see it getting dry give it a good misting or spray.
Here is a news article I found on the topic: Worms on a Hook Don't Suffer? OSLO (Reuters) - Worms squirming on a fishhook feel no pain -- nor do lobsters and crabs cooked in boiling water, a scientific study funded by the Norwegian government has found.
A healthy worm bin smells earthy like soil, has food scraps/bedding disappearing over time, and is damp but not soggy (worms have glistening skin from sufficient moisture). Also, a healthy bin should have small quantities of other decomposer organisms, such as mites or little white worms.
Worms hate: meat or fish, cheese, butter, greasy food, animal waste, spicy and salty foods, citrus.” The food-to-worm ratio is not precise, nor is the amount of castings they will produce. The rule of thumb is that a pound of worms will eat one to two pounds of food in a week.
There are certain pesticide families that are considered as harmful to earthworms i.e. neonicotinoids, strobilurins, sulfonylureas, triazoles, carbamates and organophosphates (Pelosi et al., 2014).
There is no need to stir up any composting worm bin IF you have proper drainage and holes in the bottom and sides of the worm bin. composting worms do a great job on their own of stirring up the compost this allows for the autonomous drainage/aeration of the contents in the bin.
OK, the worms aren't dancing. They're actually moving out of the ground to avoid predators. The famed geneticist Charles Darwin theorized, “If the ground is beaten or otherwise made to tremble, worms will believe that they are pursued by a mole and leave their burrows.”
According to Modern Farmer, worm grunting works because the vibrations created by the metal and wood sound, to worms, like the sounds of a hungry mole. The best worm grunters are those who can do the best mole impressions. Upon sensing the vibrations, “The worms head to the surface for self-protection.
You will soon see if your worm composter is too wet – it looks visibly sodden. To check pick up some of the made compost/bedding and squeeze… It should have the consistency of a wrung out sponge. If water leaks out between your fingers – then it's too wet.
❖ Change and wash underwear, nightwear (and bed linen if possible) each day. Avoid shaking clothes and linen as any eggs on them may be wafted into the air and be swallowed.
As discussed in our Worms breathe through their skin blog – keeping your worms moist is key to ensuring they can effectively dissolve oxygen into their bloodstream through their skin. Your worm farm environment should maintain a moisture content range of around 60-85%.
Unlike other pets, you can leave worm farms unattended for weeks at a time. Worms will happily eat wet shredded paper for up to 6 weeks!
Or why the worms are eating the blanket you bought for them? Worms think they are delicious! A worm blanket is made from a natural fibre, which worms will feed on like everything else.