Question 1

Win With Wiggly

Question 2

Wiggly Catalogue Request

Question 3

I Want My Worms

Question 4

My worms are not moving up into the next tray - Help.

Accepted Answer

Many worms like to remain in the lower trays of stacking tray systems. In fact they are unaware of the tray system really as there are holes in each tray so it's fair to say it is not an exact science. Most worms will move up. Not all will.

Realistically the whole food thing is not really understood by the worms either. They actually munch on the microbes that break down what we call food. In the process the also ingest the "food." If there are still microbes in the lower tray (hint: there are LOTS of them!), the worms will still find plenty to eat down there.

So it comes down to some worms preferring to move up out of their waste in search of decaying organic matter to munch on, while others are content to stay in their own waste looking for microbes there, usually this is newly hatched or younger worms.

The main learning (as usual) is for us humans. We need to ensure that the kit is not waterlogged, not too hot or too cold, has plenty of air circulating and a pH level of around neutral. The clue as to whether or not your worms are working well are a: Can you see flecks of brown compost - and particularly up the sides of the tray you are adding waste into (if so obviously they are working there) b: If the waste is just rotting is it too wet (add shredded cardboard) c: Is it smelly (add lime mix) d: Are they working to the top layer (add a moisture mat) e: Do the worms need a boost? The best additive for this is to add a small amount of rock dust which really encourages growth and a healthy population. (Adding an extra tray helps as well as this gives them more space to work in and so more worm capsules tend to hatch out).

Question 5

How do I separate my worms from the compost?

Accepted Answer

Harvesting your compost

If you are using a tray system and are feeding at a speed the worms can cope with, then the bottom tray should be ready to harvest when the top one is really close to full (not before).

You can dump the entire tray into your compost heap or border if you like but if you want to retain every single worm take the lid off and and put the bottom tray on top of the top tray and leave open to the air. Gently remove the top layer of compost until the worms are uncovered and they will bury deeper as they move away from the light.

Repeat until there is no compost in the tray and the worms will have wiggled through to the layer below. If some worms do go out with your compost into the garden this is no problem - red worms, tiger worms, dendras and composting worms are one of the 27 species of UK native Earthworms.

Question 6

HELP! My Worms are Escaping.

Accepted Answer

Worms in a wormery sometimes try to escape. If it’s just one or two adventurous worms, it’s best not to be concerned – all just part of life in a worm bin really. However, if you see worms clumping near the top of the bin, or escaping, there may be a problem brewing…

When you first get your kit the worms need to establish in the bedding so when you are introducing worms to the bin the best way is place them on top of the bedding. Let them dig their own way in. They build little tunnels that provide oxygen. Dumping lots of bedding or waste directly on worms can suffocate them.

IMPORTANT: Worms are sensitive to the weather. If a low pressure system or thunderstorm is moving in, the worms might start clumping and climbing. Watch for a while and see if this is the pattern. If so, do not worry.

Worms need OXYGEN!

Worms breathe through their skins. If they don’t have enough air, they will try and escape. Lack of oxygen could be caused by: *** Too wet

Overfeeding
Insufficient ventilation**

To check for overfeeding, dig around. Is there a lot of undigested food in the bin? You can take some out. Wait until they have worked through most of the food in the bin before adding more. If you have excess scraps, you can freeze them until later.

Your worm bin should have a lid. Keeping the lid on discourages escapees. Any compost bin can get its air holes clogged with debris or objects surrounding it. Check for this and open up the air passages.

Excess Moisture If the bin is too wet, your worms will start to drown. They may try to crawl away from the danger. This is also bad for composting and it usually has a knock on effect of making everything smell putrid. The worm bedding should have the consistency of a wrung-out sponge. Squeeze some bedding in your hand to check. If water comes out, your bin is too wet.

The cure for a wet bin is to add dry bedding. Shredded newspaper is perfect; so is peat moss, coconut coir and shredded cardboard. Add and stir gently. Lime mix and worm treat also absorb excess moisture. To help prevent moisture problems, keep the lid on, especially when it rains. Don’t add too much wet, sloppy foods like melon or left-over fruit smoothies.

Recent Changes If you like detective work, look at any recent change you’ve made that might be causing the problem. New environment? New bedding? New foods? If possible, reverse the recent change and see if the worms go back to normal.

If the worms are in escape mode, reduce nitrogen-rich foods, which includes grass clippings and acidic foods (tomatoes, onions, pineapples, excessive coffee grounds, tea bags citrus). Once you have the balance of the worm composting back to normal you can increase these types of waste again.

Sometimes people forget to feed their worms. Starvation will drive the worms to greener pastures. If you go on holiday for several weeks it’s worth saving up some scraps in the fridge or freezer. Ask a friend to feed the worms twice a week or so. Maybe you’re eating out a lot and aren’t generating any kitchen scraps. You can always ask a neighbour save their kitchen scraps for you, and save left-over salads (wash off the dressing).

Your worm composter pH Most worm composter owners don’t need to go to the trouble of actually measuring the pH of their worm bin. If you have a pH probe handy, measure it and aim for neutral pH of 7. Adding some lime mix or crushed eggshells helps lower the pH and adds grit that helps the worm digest the food.

Baby Worms When the worms reproduce, hundreds or even thousands of baby worms hatch. The adults might feel crowded and try to leave. You can just ignore the problem and the population will balance itself. Or, scoop up the “volunteers” who are hanging around the sides and top of the bin, and start a new bin.

Quick Fix: TURN THE LIGHT ON! Maybe your worms charge at the lid every time you try to feed them. If you’re trying some of the ideas above, you can keep the worms under your thumb by simply turning on a light. Worms move away from the light and this ensures that as they burrow they oxygenate the waste and so things rebalance.

Question 7

Why isn’t my wormery producing any liquid?

Accepted Answer

Unless you are in a heatwave which can cause real evaporation the usual reason for a worm bin failing to produce liquid is that there isn’t the volume of waste going into the kit in the first place.

Over 95% of veg waste is liquid so as long as plenty is going into the kit as it breaks down the liquid will percolate through the worm casts and end up in the sump where you can use it diluted (about 1 part liquid to 10 parts water) as a general liquid feed.

Question 8

I Have Ants In The Wormery, What Should I Do?

Accepted Answer

Whilst ants don’t harm the worms as such, they will take the worm eggs—this will obviously affect future generations, so you need to get the ants out.

An effective treatment is Diatomaceous earth (DE) Powder. it’s non-toxic to kids, birds, and pets. And yet it effectively sorts out ants in your worm bin. As they move across the powder, it sticks to their feet and legs only to get into their joints and exoskeleton.

Buy DIATOMACEOUS EARTH here: https://www.wigglywigglers.co.uk/products/diatomaceous-earth

If you can find and remove the queen, the rest should follow her. Watering the wormery, to keep it damp, often encourages ants to evacuate the kit.

You can help keep ants out by smearing some Vaseline on the legs of the wormery.

Question 9

What Are The Worms Favourite Foods?

Accepted Answer

A Worm’s Diet… Try lots of different foods. Just like us they do not thrive on just one food, so all sorts of fruit, veggies, plate scraps can be added as well as coffee grounds, tea bags and dog hair. They are particularly partial to banana skins, rabbit and hamster droppings and all veg peelings but as long as there is variety fruits, onions and all sorts can be added.

Question 10

What do I do about Maggots in my wormery?

Accepted Answer

Maggots are the larvae of a number of species of flies, including the common housefly. The flies are attracted to food, in particular meat, and lay their eggs directly on the food waste. The maggots form pupae and hatch into flies. The whole of this life-cycle, on average, takes up to 10 days in warm weather and up to a month in cold weather. With regard to flies, you need to keep your food waste covered up. All flies lay their eggs on the surface of the food waste, but will not burrow. Make sure that you keep your moisture mat in place at all times (or you can use clean newspaper) to restrict access. In addition, you will need to keep any kitchen collecting bin (if you have one) covered, otherwise it is likely that you will transfer fly eggs into your wormery.

To break the cycle you can cover the top of the food waste in your wormery with a thin layer of garden soil or clean newspaper and refrain from adding waste for 2-3 weeks.

Flies prefer acidic conditions, so it is important to sprinkle a handful of the anti-acid lime mix over the surface of the food waste on a regular basis, for example, once a week. You are trying to achieve as neutral a pH level as possible so it is important to use equal quantities on a regular basis.

The other fantastic product for sorting out flies is DE Powder which is available on our website. It's non-toxic organic powder that helps control all crawling insects including flies bed bugs, fleas and ants. The powder works by cutting the exoskeleton of the insect and killing it via dehydration.

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