Vermicomposting (worm farming) - Common Problems.

Although it's a relatively simple process - turning junk mail and garden scraps into fine compost and fertilizer, it's not without it's pitfalls. The internet, with as much information as it gives you access to, is also rife with misinformation.
Sometimes this misinformation compounds, and just because many people search for a solution, doesn't always mean the most found answer is the right one - I'll be giving one such case later.
Here, on this blog, I'm only going to give answers to problems I've solved personally.  And if I ever accidentally give some misinformation, feel free to discuss and post your own experiences.

In past posts I keep talking about the bin as an environment - a point I want people to keep in mind especially in this post.  You're trying to create the best possible conditions for the worms to do their job and for scraps to break down as efficiently as possible. So lets review what that is:

• Worms like a moist environment - they breathe through their skin.
• Worms like dark places - so the bin should be opaque.
• Worms don't like an acidic environment - even though the process that creates their food also creates acidity.
• Food and bedding should end up around a half half of brown to green scraps.
• Worms breathe air, so the bin should be well ventilated. 

Keeping these points in mind, it's not that hard to troubleshoot most problems - so we'll go over the more common ones.  Nearly all problems I've felt are caused by and solved by either moisture, food, and bedding.

My Worm Bin Smells

A well run bin shouldn't smell with the lid on. It should hardly smell with the lid off, and at most should have the same smell as soil - even this shouldn't be noticable from more than a foot or so away.
Even that small scent of the bin can change depending on what you've fed them. When I fed mine a chopped up melon that we couldn't finish there was a sweet smell to it - recently when I've had a high amount of paper - there was a musty smell to it.  But these are such that you have to have the lid off and actively have your face over it and smell.  This isn't the smell that's a problem.

Bad smells, and strong smells from the tub are caused by too much food. As scraps break down the worms feed off the microorganisms causing that. Too much food, it breaks down, the worms can't eat it up enough to keep up with the breakdown - and you have the smells that are associated with that stuff breaking down by itself... makes sense doesn't it?

The Solution:  Simple - don't feed them till they can catch up.  I'll also put a bit more bedding down on top - it can filtrate the smell a bit and also head off other problems that can come from too much food.  Leave them be for a few days, check for the smell, if it's back to normal - check the food by lifting up the bedding - if it looks like they're doing their job - go back to your feed schedule - if not, leave for a few more days - repeat till fixed.  Worms will be attracted to the food, and they adjust their population to the amount of food - so they will eventually solve this problem if left alone.

I Have Flies In My Bin

Be it normal flies, or more commonly little gnat like flies (fruit flies/vinegar flies) circling around... I call them 'funk flies' because they remind me of the spots they put around people and things in cartoons to denote something funky smelling... anyways - if you had the smell, you might also have the flies.... and the problem is one and the same - too much food.  When things break down and sit around, other things can come to the party. Luckily the environment we've created for them doesn't attract a wide range of critters - but flies are one that will come, like mico vultures coming to the feast.
The solution is also pretty much the same - don't feed them.. with the addition of adding more bedding.  The flies can only eat what they can get to - so adding more bedding means they can't get to the food, so they bugger off.  My own personal solution to rid yourself of them in under 24 hours is putting a thin layer of coconut coir over the top and wetting it down - it makes an effective barrier that the flies can't get to - and problem solved.

DO NOT use pesticides in your worm bin - no brainer, but I have to mention it.

There Are Lots Of Little White Insects In My Bin!

This is the one that I've seen the most freakout posts about on the web. When I mentioned information on the web, this was the one I was referring to. Lots of little white bugs hopping around in the top of your bin.  I saw them called lots of things from mites to white flies, to white fleas to dust mites.. I read of people cleaning out thier bins and dousing them with pesticides or sterilizing them and starting over with new bedding, sometimes new worms - and always these things returned!
Whats worse is others followed these peoples advice blindly, when a little more research would have told them exactly what they were dealing with.

Have you seen these guys?

The culprit looks like this from a distance - when disturbed they jump and scurry around on the top of the worm bed.  I have to admit I was a little unsettled, and searched the web for a solution to what seemed like a worm bin infestation.

What you're looking at isn't a mite, or a flea, it's a hexapod currently referred to as the 'springtail' - to be more specific - the soil springtail.

It is possibly the most populous creature on earth. Up to 100,000 populate every cubic yard of active topsoil on the planet.

They cannot live in topsoils that have toxic elements, nor can they live in dry conditions - they prefer a moist environment and their primary food source is the breaking down of leaves and other plant material.

Although some very specific breeds are noted as an agricultural pest -  the common soil springtail is used in tests to study soil toxicity.  They are not harmful to people, animals, or plants.

So - sit and think on that a bit.  We have people cleaning out, sterilizing, spraying, washing with pine-sol and other chemicals, to get rid of a creature that not only lives in the exact same environment as our worms - in fact loves the exact same conditions - eats the same food - and can only live in soils that are not toxic (ie. healthy).  They can't survive outside of the bin, as it's too dry, and they aren't harmful to you or anything in your house.  Kinda like your worms actually.

Springtails shouldn't be a sign of doing something WRONG, they're a sign of doing something RIGHT.   Good healthy non-toxic material in a moist environment.  What do I do about them?

Absolutely nothing.

Some put forward the argument of 'competing for food', which I say 'bollocks' to.  Nearly all the problems we find in a worm bin with feed deal with overfeeding or ratio of feed - and the rate we feed our bins mean the springtail has no impact at all -  if anything it's going to be a benefit in eating up excess food - even so they are no match for the mighty compost worm, who eats up to it's own weight in a day - if anything the worms would starve out the springtails.  They regulate their own population as well, and live side by side in the worm bin environment.

Other Critters

There are other critters that can live in a worm bin - actual mites I've seen photos of in a bin - but as I haven't had them, I'm not going to comment on do's and don'ts of the situation. You'll have to do that one for yourself - just remember to always research more than one source, and if possible a proper scientific study.  Academia trumps internet speculation every time - and always remember your worm bin is not a dog house - it's an environment for breaking down compost.

Worms Are Escaping!

Hopefully not like this - I love that picture, and no it's not one of mine.  I've not had anything like that happen to me, but it could happen to anyone.
There really isn't much keeping a worm in worm bin, not even in a store bought one. I have thin fabric mesh on top and bottom, and even THAT isn't a guarantee of keeping them in 100% of the time.
So the only thing keeping them in is them wanting to be there - if we follow that thought it doesn't take a genius to realize if they want to get out - there's something rotten in the state of Denmark (to quote the bard).

So, to trouble shoot.. lets look at the bin. Is the bedding dry? Worms don't like dry. If so - water it down with your prefered method.

Ok so it's not dry - is it too wet? That one's a little harder to detect. Wet is good but too wet can be a problem. To be sure if your worm bin has a drainage spigot, turn it on - if lots of water comes out, you've found the problem. drain off the excess and go fertilize some plants with it.
I get worms going to the top of the bin sometimes when I water down on a Wednesday and Sunday.  I've taken to opening the spigots periodically for a couple of hours afterwards.  This gets any initial excess out and avoids the problem.

Take a sniff.. does it smell bad?  Too much food - follow the directions under that problem.

Doesn't smell BAD, but smells a little sour?  The breakdown of foods is making the environment a bit acidic - cut back on food, add eggshells, fluff them into the top of the bedding, add more bedding and make sure it's all nice and moist.
This problem won't solve instantly - but should right itself over a short period of time as the new bedding you add and mixing the bed up will disperse that a little, and the eggshells due to the magic of calcium carbonite (which only dissolves in acidic environments) will buffer your PH back to neutral.

Are they getting good ventilation?  If you keep them in a closet - leave them out for a day and observe - maybe the air in there is a little stale.  I keep mine next to a duct register on the floor - cool in summer and warm in winter, and plenty of fresh air.  I should note this is also in my workshop, so if I ever encounter 'the slithering mass from the drive in theater' the rest of the family doesn't have to deal with it.


Are the worms new?  This is one I can't scientifically back up - but both times I've had new worms they've taken time to settle to their environment.  Maybe they get stressed, maybe it's unfamiliar, who knows... Give them a bit of time to adjust.

Is the bin too full of castings?  You'll know this one just by looking at it.  if all you see is castings - the bin is now too full of them - the worms can't live in their own concentrated poo (I wouldn't want to either) - so its time to add a level to your bin (if you have the tower variety) and add bedding, or it's time to harvest!

And the final thing you should do with ALL these cases:  Worms don't like light. They burrow away from it. So after you've carefully put back any escapees or gently scraped them off the lid of your bin, leave the lid off and a light on.  They'll naturally go back under.

Another trick I do if it happens again - I put some dry bedding on the top. I don't moisten it.  Worms need moisture to breathe, and so they avoid the dry - between the dry and the light - the worms stay down in their home.

How about the temperature? Worms are best around 50-70 degree mark. Most worm farms come with a 'worm thermometer nowadays - but to tell the truth it's just a meat thermometer you'd stick in your chicken - about 3 bucks from any store. Although it's more than likely too hot or too cold will just make your worms slow down, which brings us to........

My Worms Aren't Working!

It's a vague complaint that I've heard - so we have to find out what 'not working' is.  For example my Mother's tub she thought she had no worms, as she didn't see them (even when sifting through some of the bedding) - although she gave them something they didn't like (an abundance of bread) and they all came to the surface quick smart. And after solving the problem of too much food/worms escaping - the question of them working was answered.

Mostly I take this as 'my worms aren't making my compost fast enough' - They're not performing 'as advertised'.  Well firstly you have to realize the 'consumes up to it's own weight' means just that 'up to'.  It could mean from nothing.....up to it's weight.  Also there are worms and there are worms.... there are teeny, tiny, fit 100 under your fingernail, baby worms and there are longer mature worms, and there are even European 'super' worms, a family of composting worms that are much bigger (I recently bought 250 of them, and I'm rather impressed) - up to 2 - 3 times bigger than the red wriggler.... and they'll only ever perform when they're happy... in a nice optimal environment.

Check the temps. As I said above, a meat thermometer can tell you if it's too hot or cold, and that can slow your worms down to dormancy in the cold or hot - or if too hot or too cold, kill them (although the temps for that, you'd be freezing your arse off or sweating it off respectively).

Look to your food mix - half green, half brown.. This isn't a scientific formula, nor is it like baking where you'd measure those ingredients exactly - it's a guideline. But it's THE go too for non productivity in your worm bin.  Too much green food and we see problems at the top of the post - too little or none and things start taking a loooooong time to break down.

I'm experiencing this myself due to my own boneheadedness.  After moving house I found myself in the age old problem of 'look at all this trash from moving!'  Normally I'd have spent 10 months getting rid of it in bits and pieces - because lets face it, I'm not ashamed to say after moving at the best of times I find myself broke as a joke and forking out money to the landfill doesn't outweigh my putting up with cardboard boxes in a corner of a storage room or the workshop... only now... I have worms to eat them!  Of course I grossly underestimated the amount of stuff you accumulate moving a house of 5.   Normally I'm pretty good on the mix, but add to that our deciding to buy a bunch of stuff for the house at the beginning of the year (new TV, toys for the kids, other goodies) and suddenly there's an even BIGGER surplus of paper goods, and our treating ourselves added to a lack of available green scraps... so being a little absent minded at the time - I went about the routine of feeding for a couple of months - with very little veg scraps - I honestly didn't notice at the time.  The output of castings went down a little the first month - and a little more the second month. Last cleanout at the start of this month (I wanted to do an article on the harvest) and I noticed there was so much unfinished paper and cardboard that sorting out the castings would be a waste of time. Usually I have a big container of castings with some unfinished paper in there - this was the opposite.

I've since added more green scraps to all the levels of the bin, but only time will tell if that picks it up, or if my own oversight has set back my casting production for several months (funnily enough - when I wanted it the most).  Goes to show, it doesn't matter how much research you do, or how much knowledge you accumulate - it's no damn good if you don't implement it.  Live and learn - we are the sum total of our mistakes, and you don't learn that much from a blind success.  The only stupid mistake is the one you make twice.



That about wraps up all the problems I can think of - as you can see they all deal with moisture, food, and bedding.. in 99% of cases you can solve any problem in your bin by troubleshooting these 3 things things... Keeping worms IS easy, it's just not totally idiotproof.