Question 1

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 2

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 3

How Much Waste Can I Add To My Worm Composter?

Accepted Answer

Volumes of Waste It will take a few months for the worms to make their first usable batch of worm compost , although everyday they will eat around half their own weight in food and produce worm casts which you will see as black dot in amongst the waste. Adding small amounts of food frequently is best and as the worms start breeding you can up the amounts. As a guide as long as you can see a few worms working in the top layer of waste – you can add more - there is NO need to wait until they have eaten the previous food.

Question 4

My worm bin has fruit flies - what should I do?

Accepted Answer

Composting is indeed a complete ecosystem but flies don’t need to be tolerated.

The best product for dealing with them is our DE powder https://www.wigglywigglers.co.uk/products/diatomaceous-earth?_pos=1&_sid=fdc3360f1&_ss=r

or to sort it inhouse Eliminate large clumps of rotting food. When you feed large pieces of food to your worms, the worms generally can’t consume them before nature takes hold and the food starts the process of decomposition. When this food breaks down, it creates chemicals that fruit flies are attracted to. By getting rid of these large chunks, you are removing most of the suitable egg-laying space, which should put a huge dent in the fruit fly population. covering the waste with the coir/compost will help and keeping the newspaper on top is good as is the moisture mat. This will work to keep flies from getting in and laying more eggs, and it will also work to keep existing adults from getting out. Like a surgical mask, air and moisture will still be able to flow between the world and your worms, but the pests will be blocked from entering and exiting.

Make your own fly trap. This can be as simple as setting a little jar containing a mixture of red wine vinegar and dish soap on your counter. Within a day or two, you will start to notice a collection of dead little flies floating on top. If you’d like to try other trap methods, consider making a paper funnel that will invite fruit flies down into the vinegar but make it nearly impossible to fly back out.

Question 5

What should and shouldn't I put into my wormery?

Accepted Answer

Your wormery composter is particularly suitable for peelings and leftovers of fruit and vegetables, such as potato peels, apple cores, green tops of vegetables, etc. Don't forget tea-bags, as worms often reproduce in them. Just be careful not to put in the plastic types (usually in pyramid shape sold with more expensive teas). Coffee grounds and paper coffee filters are also suitable. So are left overs of cooked vegetables, crushed egg shells, paper napkins, dampened cardboard, dry baked goods and remainders of indoor and outdoor plants. Do not put intensely spicy foods into your wormery, such as ginger or an excessive amount of citruses, as well as milk products, meat products, bones, oils, lard and other fats.

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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.

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