Too many worms in my compost!

cestlavie

hello - whenever i open the lid of my compost bin, i find hundreds of red worms seemingly trying to get out - so am i doing something wrong? i googled this problem and came up with ideas that it might be too wet ? i do chuck in wettish coffee grains along with food scraps, but measure that with shredded paper and plant clippings. i owndered if they might just be over-caffeinated! any advice welcome

ukbill69

Im not an expert, but im sure worms help cut things down in there.

savemoney

worms help they allow for air to circulate in the compost I put them in mine when I find any loose usually when I life post up

Mojisola

Usually it's too wet, too acidic or too warm if the worms are trying to get out. Lastly, they're not getting enough food and are heading off to find somewhere better.

Does the bin have drainage? If not, it could be filling up from below.

If your bin is outside it shouldn't be too hot at this time of year.

Lightly forking the compost will let some air in and help with drainage. Add some lime at the same time and that will reduce the acidity.

If you have more worms than you need, you could offer them on Freegle/Freecycle.

savemoney

I have one of those dalek bins to allow air in I put a large thick stake in and turn it to make a big hole several times every couple of weeks I do this weather permitting this allows air in. I also put in compost powder in which allowed compost to rot quicker

My dalek composter is on flag stone close to a west facing wall and doesn't get much soon

I get around 3-4 large sacks of compost a year and often give it away as I don't have a huge garden

Valli

I get them round the top of my bin, too, all wrapped up together...

I kind of assumed they were making baby worms if you get my drift.

Kay_Peel

Worms move into my compost bins when the contents have cooled down. I expect them to chomp their way through the half-rotted compost all through the winter, so the more worms that colonise the bin the better.

Usually, I take a fistful of worms from my wormery and put them in a compost bin during the autumn to make sure that there are hundreds of them working through the contents. They do a fantastic job.

spacehead

savemoney wrote: »

I have one of those dalek bins to allow air in I put a large thick stake in and turn it to make a big hole several times every couple of weeks I do this weather permitting this allows air in. I also put in compost powder in which allowed compost to rot quicker

My dalek composter is on flag stone close to a west facing wall and doesn't get much soon

I get around 3-4 large sacks of compost a year and often give it away as I don't have a huge garden

I've seen this powder in Wilkos. Does it work? What's in it to make it speed up the process?

Mojisola

spacehead wrote: »

I've seen this powder in Wilkos. Does it work? What's in it to make it speed up the process?

Mostly nitrogen - which can also be found in urine. Urine makes a very useful addition to a compost heap but will probably make a worm bin too wet.

savemoney

Yes and poundland sell it too for £1 but is half the size on wilkinsons so its around same price give or take 20p

You can use urine too or both but may be best using dry stuff like paper also

worms pooh in compost so its good for garden

spacehead wrote: »

I've seen this powder in Wilkos. Does it work? What's in it to make it speed up the process?