Worm Composting: Why Composting Worms Climb to Top of the Bin

Common worm composting problem

Worm composting is generally a very easy task. Whether you buy red worms or you look for hunt them around your neighborhood, you can say that they are very cheap creatures. Red worms are low maintenance earthlings which can live off kitchen wastes (such as fruit and vegetable peelings), garden clippings and other organic materials. There is very little preparation needed for their food. The same goes for their home.

Compost bins do not need to be made out of fancy and expensive material and it also does not need expensive maintenance. All they need is a place that can shelter them from the elements of the outside world. In exchange for all these simplicities, your composting worms give you excellent, top-grade organic fertilizers for your garden. This is why worm composting is such a convenient and productive organic gardening activity. But sometimes, problems do spring out to make your worm composting life a little more challenging. One of the most common is when your worms try to climb out of their compost bin.

Why do the worms try to climb out of the bin?

Sometimes your worms will try to climb out of their bins because of the presence of a condition that is not to their liking. Sometimes the red worms find the acidity level inside the bin to be a lot higher than what they prefer. If worms try to climb out of their bin, try to check the acidity level inside the bin and make that it is at the right level. The right acidity level for your red worms would be at around 6.4 and if it is higher than that, it should not exceed 6.9. If the acidity level inside the bin is at a level higher than that, then that might be the reason why they are climbing out.

Worms may also try to climb out of their bin in large numbers. When this happens, there is a possibility that your worms are drowning. Excessive watering of the compost bin may result in flooding. When this happens, your red worms are in danger of drowning either because the bedding is too wet or the bottom part of the compost bin is already filled with liquids.

Sometimes it can be the other way around. While composting worms do not like excessive watering, they do need water. And sometimes we may neglect to put in the required amount of this. The result is that the compost bin becomes very dry. You should remember that the moisture in the worm bin must be kept at a level that suits the red worms best. The perfect level of moisture is achieved if the contents of the compost bin are damp enough but not entirely wet.

Importance of bin conditions to worm composting

The success of your worm composting is decided by the ability of your red worms to work effectively. And their ability to work effectively is dependent upon the conditions inside your bin. If you do not maintain your compost bin then your worm composting project will not succeed. So if you want to have good results with your worm composting project, then you must maintain your bin well.

Check the status of your composting worms at a regular basis and never forget to provide your red worms’ needs. If you do all the things that are essential for your worms, your worm composting project will succeed.