Worm Compost – Worms Escaping?
I have a worm compost that I am trying to start, and my worms are trying to escape! They have been trying for a while, but it was just a few ( like 10 per day). This morning, however, there were two HUGE clumps of them near the top of the bin. Fewer were trying to escape through the drainage holes in the bottom. I did notice that it looked like little particles of sand had spilled through the bottom, and I did not put any sand in the bin, so I am concerned about them. I recently had to re-start my bin because it had become infested with fruit flies to the point where their eggs were everywhere and it was very bad. I got that figured out, and re-started the bin with fresh newspaper and some dirt etc. Maybe the sand came from the dirt, as our soil is rather sandy. They aren’t eating the banana peels that I put in there for them (literally, there were no worms on them this morning, and I put them in two nights ago) and they were all at the top of the bin.
What am I doing wrong?
If you are not using Red Wiggler worms, that could be your problem. Different types of worms have favorite foods and habitats and Red Wigglers are definitely the best worms for composting. The most significant characteristic of Red Wigglers is that they like it dark and they hate the light, so during the day, they are going to want to stay in the bin. Some other worms are accustomed to light, so they may feel free to leave. Red Wigglers also have an ideal digestive system for composting.
I have heard that occasionally Red Wigglers will even try to escape when they are first put into a new environment (usually after being shipped), but they settle down quickly. You can try keeping a light on at night until the problem subsides.
I wouldn’t worry about the sand – it will actually help the worms digest what they eat. If you didn’t cut up your banana peels, try that. Worms will eventually eat it, but they do like smaller pieces.
Good luck.
If you are not using Red Wiggler worms, that could be your problem. Different types of worms have favorite foods and habitats and Red Wigglers are definitely the best worms for composting. The most significant characteristic of Red Wigglers is that they like it dark and they hate the light, so during the day, they are going to want to stay in the bin. Some other worms are accustomed to light, so they may feel free to leave. Red Wigglers also have an ideal digestive system for composting.
I have heard that occasionally Red Wigglers will even try to escape when they are first put into a new environment (usually after being shipped), but they settle down quickly. You can try keeping a light on at night until the problem subsides.
I wouldn’t worry about the sand – it will actually help the worms digest what they eat. If you didn’t cut up your banana peels, try that. Worms will eventually eat it, but they do like smaller pieces.
Good luck.
References :
http://www.myhomecomposter.com/
I’ve read on several websites that Banana peels have some of the highest concentration of pesticides, and are very very bad for worms. One poster said that Banana peels wiped out his entire worm population because the pesticides killed them all. It may be that the worms are literally fleeing from the poison.