For optimal performance, the worms and the whole composter ecosystem need a temperature between 15° and 25°C / 59°F and 77°F. Below those temperatures, the ecosystem works at reduced level. Above, it does not work properly and it can even be lethal for the worms above 35°C / 95°F.
These temperatures are also the ideal temperatures for your worms. Which Temperatures are Dangerously Cold? Temperatures below 50° Fahrenheit (10° Celsius) will slow down worm activity. Temperatures below 40° Fahrenheit (4° Celsius) will kill your worms over an extended period.
Though Eisenia fetida earthworms prefer temperatures between 55° F and 85°F, they can survive temperatures as high as 100°F and as low as 30°F. The closer the temperature is to the extremes, the less active the worms will be in feeding and reproducing.
Worms can tolerate a wide temperature range. In general worms are most productive between 59° – 86° Fahrenheit or 15° – 30° Celsius.
Worms need to live in a warm, dark place.
Red wigglers like the temperature to be between 40-75 degrees. They will not live long on a sunny windowsill or out in the cold.
The temperature
For optimal performance, the worms and the whole composter ecosystem need a temperature between 15° and 25°C / 59°F and 77°F. Below those temperatures, the ecosystem works at reduced level. Above, it does not work properly and it can even be lethal for the worms above 35°C / 95°F.
Water makes up more than 75% of the earthworm's body weight, so moist soils are preferred to prevent dehydration. Earthworms acclimate quickly by moving to humid sites or by entering a resting state.
Light — Worms will always quickly burrow away from sunlight as light is lethal to them. A worm farm needs a lid or cover to ensure that the conditions are dark.
Most earthworms don't tolerate temperatures below freezing, nor do they tolerate high temperatures. Prolonged exposure to temperatures above 95°F kills them. They can move down into the soil to escape these adverse temperatures. Optimum temperatures are between 50 and 60°F.
To survive, earthworms need food, oxygen, moisture, a specific temperature range, and no sun. They're ectothermic (cold-blooded), which means they don't generate body temperature—they'll always be the same as their surrounding environment.
A worm's skin is photosensitive and therefore they need a dark environment. Because worms have no teeth, they need some type of grit in their bedding that they can swallow and use in their gizzard to grind food, much like birds do with small stones.
Creatures cool boiling water so bacteria can thrive
Cooler. Pompeii worms tolerate scalding temperatures but temper the environment for other creatures. Pompeii worms like it hot--extremely hot--but their fellow squatters around seafloor hot springs don't.
Compost worms can adjust to a wide temperature range, however bed temperatures much over 30C worms become stressed and can die if the temperature remains high for sustained periods.
Worm activity slows down as the temperature drops. Below 40 degrees Fahrenheit, the worms will be at risk of succumbing to the cold. They will burrow toward the warmest part of the bin: the bottom and center. Any organic scraps that you add will increase the temperature slightly.
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.
If an earthworm is split in two, it will not become two new worms. The head of the worm may survive and regenerate its tail if the animal is cut behind the clitellum, according to The Washington Post.
Worm-like invertebrates have a lifespan that varies according to species. For instance, earthworms such as the Red wiggler worms live between 4-5 years. On the other hand, Riftia pachyptila, also known as the giant tube worm can live for 300 years in the depths of the oceans.
Most of the time, they would dehydrate if they were above ground. But when it rains, the surface is moist enough for worms to survive and remain hydrated. For a few species, they can more easily move about and find mates. For other earthworms, it may well just be a way to disperse and move into new territory.
Whatever the reason, some worms get caught out as the rain evaporates and movement becomes difficult, if not impossible. Putting worms back onto the grass or soil is an appropriate kindness.
Under ideal conditions, worms can eat their weight in scraps per day. So if you have 1 pound of worms, you can theoretically feed them 1 pounds of scraps. However, we recommend you play it safe by feeding an amount they can handle every 2 or 3 days.
Yes! You can add dry grass clippings and deciduous leaves to your worm farm, as long as you keep food scraps and dry waste balanced. Avoid adding fresh lawn clippings, evergreen or native leaves, and sticks or woody stems.
A worm blanket can be made from hessian, layers of newspaper, cardboard and even an old cotton towel or sheet. The blanket should be placed over the worms, food scraps and bedding.