If they are unhappy, you will see them gather near the opening of the bin, where the air is the freshest and coolest, all trying to escape at once. Why is this happening? This is likely due to a lack of ventilation, overheating, or a chemical nature of the vermicompost that has become noxious to the worms.
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.
Worms climbing up the sides of your wormery walls indicates that they aren't comfortable in their environment and are trying to find the promised land.
Why worms head down into the drip tray: Escape from heat. Protection from predators. Prevent drying out.
So in order to keep a compost bin healthy, you need to mix and turn your compost to aerate it and allow oxygen to reach down the deep unreachable places. The aeration not only provides oxygen for the good bacteria, but it also kills off the anaerobic bacteria since they can't survive with oxygen.
Eggshells as food for composting worms
Composting worms can absolutely be fed with crushed shells from eggs. You should know that compost worms will eat just about anything that's organic (all except meat, seafood, poultry, dairy, oily, or spicy stuff).
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.
You can help a worm or two after it rains by moving them off the pavement or sidewalk and onto the nearest patch of dirt or grass. This will allow them to more quickly burrow back underground. We benefit from having earthworms hard at work under our feet.
Any worms in your gut will eventually pass out in your poo. You may not notice this. To avoid becoming infected again or infecting others, it's very important during the weeks after starting treatment to wash your hands: after going to the toilet.
Serious or not so serious: Worms balling up can be a sign the worms are sick or are getting ready to crawl. Do something a.s.a.p. (However, sometimes worms will ball-up after they've been shipped or if there's noise or vibration near-by. Usually, after a few days they will sort themselves out into happy individuals.)
More than likely they are coming inside through cracks and gaps to either escape the hot weather or else to get out of the natural outdoor habitats that are too wet for them. They often come inside under door thresholds and around windows at ground level as they migrate in the fall.
Oxygen diffuses about a thousand times slower through water than through air, she says. “The worms can't get enough oxygen when the soil is flooded, so they come to the surface to breathe.”
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!
The container should be between 8 and 16 inches deep, with holes drilled in the bottom and sides for aeration and drainage. You can build a wooden worm bin, or use a plastic tub with a lid.
You can use eco-friendly cleaners like vinegar and baking soda, but if you want something a little stronger, try chlorine-free bleach. The bleach will also ensure that any worm larvae is eradicated. In the bathroom, you'll want to make sure drains and toilets are especially clean.
Most medicines used to treat worm infections kill worms by either starving them or paralysing them; for example: Mebendazole, albendazole and tiabendazole work by preventing the worms from absorbing the sugars they need for survival. They kill the worms but not the eggs.
Worms love lettuce, kale, Swiss chard, to name a few of these vegetables. Be sure to cut these scraps down into small pieces or even food process them. Remember to thoroughly rinse off all hot spices, sauces, oils, dressings, and cheeses because they can harm your vermicomposting project.
Tea Bags: Yes! The tea bags will start to break down in the worm bin, and the worms will finish off the contents. The string and paper tab might not break down as quickly. You can rip them off before saving a tea bag.
Banana peels are an excellent worm food.
Worms love to eat coffee grounds, and that's great news for your garden. Add coffee grounds to your compost pile to help attract worms, which help speed up the process of turning food scraps into compost. You can also add coffee grounds directly to the soil, but you'll have to be careful not to overdo it.
Once every week, pour about five litres of fresh water into the Top Working Tray, which will flood down through the lower trays, ensuring the entire worm farm remains very moist. The sudden 'flood' will not harm the worms.
You can cool and feed the worms all at once by freezing scraps and water together. Place kitchen scraps in a plastic container, add water, and freeze solid. Bury it in the middle of the worm bin. As the ice melts, the scraps defrost, providing a meal for the worms.
Ô Always completely bury food under the bedding material. Burying fruit waste will prevent fruit flies from being attracted to the worm bin.