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There are many types of worm bins that suit the needs of each person.
Some bins are designed for outdoors, while others are designed more for indoor use.
The idea behind each type of bin has a common desired outcome…worm castings for the garden, potted plants, or even worm tea.
Worm composting is a fairly easy project and can be fun and very rewarding.
There are times, however, when things do not go as planned.
All heck breaks loose in the bin and the worms try to escape from their home.
But why would they all want to leave when you tried to create an environment that you think they would like?
Other people probably have the same type or similar bin as you do, but their worms aren’t escaping like yours.
What could be wrong?
It might not have anything to do with the type of bin you have since most bin types are acceptable; they just may need slight modifications.
If it isn’t the worm bin, it may be the bedding.
I am going to discuss some of the criteria the worms need in order to be happy.
If they aren’t happy, they may attempt to escape.
In the images above and below, this was one of the plastic tote bins I had. On the walls are a bunch of wet worm castings, a whole lot of Pot Worms, and a worm wanting to escape.
You can see on top of the tote where the lid would go, there are worm castings where they should be.
This bin wasn’t in very good condition.
I will discuss more below on these conditions.
What could be wrong with my worm’s living conditions?
Just like you and I, we desire to have a home that is comfortable to live in.
If it is not comfortable, we don’t enjoy being there and want to leave.
Your worms feel the same way, except what they probably don’t know is that if they leave their home, they will most likely never return due to unfortunate reasons.
There are various conditions that need to be met to create comfortable living conditions for your worms.
If those conditions aren’t met, you will see that they are trying to escape, which then they will most likely die.
If you catch them soon enough before they perish, there is a chance you can make things right for them and return them to their home and they will remain there.
Once they are happy, there should be no reason for them to leave.
Things to check to make sure conditions are right for your worms:
There are various factors that need to be maintained to keep a comfortable environment for your worms.
Here is a list of the most common factors to check:
Wetness
Check the wetness of the bedding. Grab a handful and squeeze. If liquid drips out, it is way too wet.
Yes, you will need to get your hands dirty.
If you are too squirmy for this, a visual inspection should be fine if you could tell what is too wet.
If you notice liquid is puddling on the bottom of the bin, it is too wet.
Things can go sour if there is too much moisture in the bin. When I say sour, I mean rancid…smelly. This is because the bin has gone anaerobic due to lack of oxygen. We will talk more about that in a moment.
Worms don’t like that much moisture, otherwise they will drown. Have you ever noticed that when a lawn is watered and shortly after, you see a bunch of worms on the adjacent sidewalk? They are trying to escape the excess water so they don’t drown.
The best fix for an overly wet bin is to add more bedding. Of course, the bedding should be drier so it can soak up the excess moisture. This bedding could be shredded newspaper, coconut coir, or cardboard. Please try to avoid peat moss due to its environmental impact when harvested.
Another thing to avoid until the moisture level is brought back to where it should be are foods that have high moisture content, like melons.
Excess wetness could also be a badly designed bin. This usually occurs with bins made of plastic, such as plastic totes, where moisture cannot easily escape. Sometimes all you need to do is remove the lid of the bin until the walls dry up and the top layer of the bedding dries up. Once the top layer dries up, which could be fairly quick depending on your humidity, you could mix the bedding with the drier top layer. This will help distribute the moisture and allow more to evaporate.
PH levels
PH levels range from 0 to 14, where 0 is acidic, 7 is neutral, and 14 is alkaline.
The most ideal level of PH for a worm bin is around 7.0, although, they can survive slightly outside that range.
The worm bins are usually self regulating due to what is being fed to them. However, if they are being fed an excess amount of something that is more acidic or alkaline, that excess food could throw off the PH balance some.
Get a simple soil tester for PH and check the bin. It can be something like a meter (Paid Link) or the Rapitest (Paid Link).
Adjust the PH as needed to get it back to the neutral range.
Air
Just like you and I, worms need air to breathe. The only difference is that they breath through their skin.
It is possible they are looking for air.
This could be a cause of a few things:
The bin has gone anaerobic
If your bin smells bad, it is a sign that it has gone anaerobic. This is where anaerobic bacteria are breeding, causing the bad smell. This leads to the next item…
It is too wet for them
Typically, when a bin has gone anaerobic, it means the bin has become too wet.
When it is too wet, oxygen cannot properly get into the bedding and help the good microbes and the bad odor creating bacteria moves in.
If it is too wet in the bedding, the worms need to move away because they would not be able to have access to the oxygen they are trying to breathe in through their skin.
Bad bin design
When a bin is struggling for oxygen, it could be poor design as mentioned above.
I struggled with this issue when my bins were made with plastic totes. The plastic held too much moisture and the lids needed much more, or bigger, holes to allow for better air flow.
Make sure you have enough air circulation to allow the bad air to escape and new air to enter.
Types of food
Worms cannot tolerate certain foods, such as those that are acidic.
Remove anything that is acidic and see if that solves the problem of them escaping.
Read more here on what to feed your worms.
Over feeding
If you over feed your worms, they could become unhappy. This could be because the food is creating a more acidic condition or too much moisture.
Remove the excess food.
Temperature
Worms prefer a temperature range between 50 and 80 degrees Fahrenheit. This is where they are the most happiest and work the hardest on breaking everything down for you.
If the bin falls outside this range, the worms may be looking for a new location that does have the temperatures they prefer.
This is another issue I struggled with. I originally started off with the Worm Tower or Worm Factory, but I could not manage the temperature when I had them out in the garage. My garage is not insulated and it would either get too cold in the winter and freeze, or too hot in the summer.
I usually had to bring the Worm Factory into the laundry room where the temperatures were more regulated.
I also had a hard time regulating the temperatures in the plastic tote bins I created. It probably could have helped if I modified the lids more to allow more air flow, but I never got to it and created a completely different set up.
We had a raised planter made of plastic barrels that started to have worms. I converted that planter into a worm bin and now have three of them that remain outside all year long, in the winter and summer, with no issues. My guess would be that these bins create a nicer environment for the worms because there is much more bedding, creating more naturally insulated space where the worms can migrate to the more tolerable temperatures in the middle of the bin. There are also drainage holes and the tops are completely open other than the small sheets of cardboard I put on top.
Population
Sometimes when a bid is over populated, worms will want to get away from their roommates when they need more space.
Either transfer some of the worms to the garden, or create another bin.
In most cases, the worms will self regulate their bin population.
Add fresh bedding
Sometimes all you need to do is add some fresh bedding to solve some of the unknown issues.
This could help absorb some of the extra moisture, give more room for the worms, or the old bedding may be irritating them.
Species of worms
This is probably one of the most debatable or heated topics I have come across on social media. People get mad when they determine this is the cause.
When it comes to vermicomposting, Red Wigglers are the most common type of composting worm desired due to their excellent composting skills and how easy they are to maintain. However, there are other composting worms out there. In fact, all worms technically break things down and create wonderful compost.
The problem lies where people are expecting Red Wigglers and they find out that they ended up with Indian Blues.
Why is this a problem to people? Well, Indian Blues tend to be more sensitive to their environment and will leave if the conditions aren’t just right, including changes in barometric pressure. They are better escape artists.
Peaceful environment
I have heard that worms needs a fairly peaceful environment. If there are too many vibrations or noises, this could disrupt them and make them uncomfortable, forcing them to want to leave.
Some of these causes could be as simple as your washer and dryer running in the laundry room where you may have your worm bins. Or in the garage where the air compressor may run a fair amount. Maybe even near an air conditioner where it is running for some time.
When I heard of this, I instantly thought about an article I read on Worm Grunting. My understanding of this is that it is a, I guess you could say a sport, in the south where people take a ribbed wooden stick and stick it into the ground. They take another stick and run it up and down the ribbed stick, creating a noise with vibrations in the ground. What does this do? The worms feel they need to escape because this reminds them of a mole underground hunting for worms.
An environment described above could create something similar to Worm Grunting.
Try moving your bins somewhere more peaceful and see if that solves the problem.
What if the above doesn’t solve the problem right away?
Sometimes it takes a little while for the conditions to change in the worm bins after you have made adjustments. Give it a little time and see what happens.
If you are in a rush to make things better quicker, here a couple temporary quick fixes:
Keep the lid open
Sometimes all you need to do is keep the lid open for the day.
This will allow fresh air and light into the bin.
With the fresh air, the bedding will have a chance to air out some. Carefully turn the bedding once in a while to help it dry out if it is too wet.
The worms also do not like light and try to hide from it.
That brings us to the next item.
Put a bright light above the worm bin
As mentioned, one thing worms do not like is light.
The bright light will force the worms down into the bedding where it is much darker.
This is similar to a process when harvesting worm castings.
There is always a chance for a few rebels.
Even if you have the conditions just right, there is always a chance that you have a rebel or two on hand.
Don’t be alarmed when you see one or two escapees, or even a few. They are probably just wandering around and got lost.
If there are a bunch trying to leave the bin, PANIC!! No, just kidding, no need to panic. Just try to evaluate the conditions and try to fix the issue.
If all else fails, START OVER
Sometimes you just need to start over.
If your worms haven’t died yet, collect up what you can and start a new bin.
After you read this article, you may feel a bit over whelmed and think this is too much to figure out and maintain. I ensure you that vermicomposting with worms really isn’t very challenging and once you create an environment the worms are happy in and a bin that works for you, you may find that this is the easiest, most rewarding and fun way to compost. I personally feel that every household should have at least one worm bin for composting kitchen food scraps.
It took me a few methods to find a system that works best for me and my worms. The ones that didn’t work for me, may work for others. Give it a try and don’t give up.
Both of our kids, ages 7 and 11, now have their own worm bins in plastic totes outside in their fort area. I check on their bins occasionally to make sure they are still doing okay, but for the most part, it is up to our kids to take care of them. Their worms have so far survived the late hot summer and cold winter. If they can do it, so can you.
