If you come across issues with your worm bin, it can be frustrating if you don't know what went wrong - especially if the issue is ongoing and takes time to fix. Here are some common issues faced while vermicomposting and how to remedy them.
Worms are escaping the bin (finding dried up worms on the floor outside your worm bin): When your worms leave your worm bin, they're fleeing an unsuitable environment in search of a more hospitable home. There could be numerous reasons why the worms are unhappy, including inappropriate temperature, pH, moisture, lack of food, or inappropriate food.
Red Wigglers thrive in an ideal temperature between 55°F-77°F, though they can tolerate a temperature range between 40°F-90°F. (Composting earthworms thrive between 55°F-80°F.) Avoid placing their home in direct sunlight. In the wintertime, keep your bin protected from the cold if kept outdoors. It's much easier to maintain an ideal temperature for bins kept indoors, so under the kitchen sink is considered a valid option.
A neutral pH, between 6-7, is considered ideal for Red Wigglers. Check the smell of your worm bin to help indicate a problem. Your worm bin should have a pleasant, earthy smell. If you're noticing a moldy, sour, or rotting smell, there could be something wrong. (Though I will say, my worm bin has developed mold and the worms did not seem bothered by this. Eventually, the food material decomposes, the mold dies down, and everything returns to normal.) If you're concerned your pH is off, you can use a pH meter to measure the pH of your bin, though this is not a mandatory tool for most small-scale worm bins.
Worms need moisture to survive - they're mostly made up of water. If your bedding material feels like a wrung-out sponge, it's in a good spot. If it feels dry or there are large areas of dry bedding material, it needs more moisture. Spray water on the bedding or soak the bedding material and squeeze it out before adding it to your bin. If it's damp, but still slightly dry, you can add ice cubes or frozen fruit, which will add moisture when melted.
If there is a lot of liquid draining from the bottom, the worm bin has too much water in it. Get rid of the liquid (called worm leachate, which should not be confused with worm tea), as leachate is not usually beneficial for the garden, and if it has an odor, is likely teaming with anaerobic bacteria (the kind of bacteria we don't like to associate with because they make us sick). Ensure there is no extra liquid sitting in the bottom of your worm bin (if there is, drain it), then add dry bedding material to your bin (you can place it on the bottom, top, or layer it throughout, depending on how soaked the worm bin is). To prevent this from happening again, don't add any extra water to the bin when you feed it, and maybe consider adding a handful of dry bedding to the top, especially if you're feeding foods with high moisture content.
Worms do eat their bedding material, however, they also need food (nice, nutritious moldy strawberries or squishy, blackened bananas will do just fine). This is one of the main reasons people like to keep a vermicompost bin, to compost their food scraps and turn them into something their plants will thrive on. Feeding your worms regularly, about once a week, tends to be a healthy start. If you forget, just check on them when you remember, to ensure they are still happy and to add more food. Bury the food under a layer of bedding to help prevent pests like fruit flies. It is also recommended you freeze the food before you give it to your worms to kill off any pest eggs that may already be in the skin of the fruit. Freezing the food serves a few purposes aside from killing pests. It will also burst the cell walls of the food item, allowing it to break down faster, and it will add some moisture to your bin. Worms are great, but they can't eat everything from our kitchen. For more information on what to feed your worm bin, see Vermicomposting Basics.
Pests: the unwanted critters invading your home and worm bin, flying in your face and causing a nuisance. Fungus gnats and fruit flies are very common pests in worm bins. The dark, moist environment is ideal for these critters as well, so it's very difficult to eradicate them once they've infiltrated your worm bin. Prevention, as always, is best. If your worm bin is small, you can store your worm bin inside an extra plastic tote, to reduce the chances of them finding your bin, which may help a little (though keep in mind, you may have to rescue the occasional wormie wanderer that explores the dark bin and gets lost).
If you have fungus gnats in your houseplants, however, you can be sure they'll find your worm bin eventually. To treat your houseplants, when the top two inches of your plant soil is dry, you can mix 1:4 hydrogen peroxide to water and water your plants with this solution once a week until your fungus gnats are gone. Avoid using this method on your worm bin, as it may harm your worms. You can add dry bedding material or sprinkle some diatomaceous earth on the top layer of your worm bin to make the top layer inhospitable to fungus gnats and hopefully deter them. If you have fruit flies, you can try a trap of apple cider vinegar and cover it with plastic wrap, then poke little holes through the top and place it near your worm bin or wherever you see the fruit flies. Starving the fruit flies out can also be effective. Stop feeding your worm bin for a few weeks, and when you start feeding them again, avoid sweet foods like fruits, for a few weeks. A vacuum to collect the flying pests can help reduce their numbers, if you do this regularly, though this will only eliminate the adults that you catch. I'll go in to more detail about eliminating pests in the worm bin in a later post (see Eliminating Pests in the Worm Bin).
If your worms are fleeing en masse and you can't figure out what's going on or the issue is too involved to fix, you can always start over with fresh, moistened bedding and transfer your worms to their new home. Follow the guidelines and give them their desired foods, a little bit at a time, to keep them happy and safe. They'll reward your care with nutritious and microbial-rich black gold for your plants.
If you have specific questions or more suggestions, I'd love to hear from you!
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