All my worms have gone!!

[gareth2665]

HI,

I purchased a wormery at the end of last year and following the instructions I set it up in my garage. I put the worms in and noticed within a day or two that they kept trying to escape. Even after putting tape around the edges they still tried to get out. I had a look online and read that this could happen for a few days and to keep the light on.

So I kept the light on for a couple of weeks and then proceeded to maintain the wormery with small amounts of food. I took the top off today to check how many worms there were and I counted 2....yes just 2!!. I rummaged about in the compost and they have all apart from the two stragglers gone.

Any ideas would be more than welcome?

G

[echo69]

Maybe a daft question but have you checked the sump? I like others found quite a few in there during the first week.
Stan

[gareth2665]

None in the sump either. Just compost in there.

[echo69]

Ok are there or were there any signs of dead worms on the garage floor?Did you put some form of barrier, old tee shirt or cardboard over the mesh of the first tray above the sump, and did you leave the sump tap open or closed?

[WillyWorm]

Hi Gareth, sorry to hear of your loss. I'm a little confused, before this discovery of the missing worms when was the last time you checked them?
I don't think your worms have escaped, if they had you would have found a lot of dried up bodies on the garage floor. Sadly I think your worms may have died but why?

Was the bin smelly when you opened it up? If it was it would indicate that the bin had gone anaerobic.The normal reason for this happening is because the worms have been given more food than they can consume and it's rotting in the bin.

Was the bedding very wet or very dry? The bedding should be like a dump sponge If you take some in your hand and squeeze then a few small drips of water should appear. If when you squeeze water comes out in a stream like a tap then it's too wet. The moisture level is important, worms breath through their skln if the bedding is too dry they cannot access the oxygen which is in it, if it's too wet they can drown.

Was the tape still round the gaps in the bin? These gaps are there for two important reasons 1 so the trays will drop down snug on to the one below as the bedding is turned into castings and 2 to allow good air flow between trays. When you taped up those gaps you inadvertantly excluded oxygen from the bin, what you thought was worms tryingshreddedpe around the tape may have been worms looking for freesh air.

I think you need to order some more worms and start again. You could if you wish refresh the bedding by adding some fresh shredded cardboard and turning it over and leave the top off until your new worms arrive, it will be OK to use if it has a fresh earthy smell.

Hope the above helps if not then please come back with a bit more info.
Good luck

[gareth2665]

I hadn't rummaged around inside the box for months. Initially I did notice dried up worms on the garage floor but these were only small ones. There were a lot of worms in there so I don't think they would have all died.

The bin was not, and is not smelly at all. I can say that if I squeeze a handful it does not drip water, the instructions didn't state to keep it damp. I didn't put a layer of newspaper over the top either. I put them over the bottom but not on top after putting the worms in.

Guess ill have to start all over again which is disappointing. 

[WillyWorm]

Hi Gareth, it looks like a restart. If the bin smells good then it should be OK to put your knew worms straight in, after dampening of couse. I does look like the bedding got too dry. Are you feeding kitchen waste or dry food? Kitchen waste should provide all the moisture your worms need if you feed dry food you may need to mist the bedding from time to time.

Good luck
Willy

[gareth2665]

Thanks for the help guys.

[echo69]

If you do restart put an old tee shirt or cardboard, I used an old clean tea towel, covering the mesh in the tray this helps stop worms getting down into the sump, I had a few that managed to get in to the sump but they found their way back up to the tray,As Willy says having the bedding just the right amount of damp works well. Good luck with you next try,
Stan

[WillyWorm]

Your welcome Gareth good luck. Just call if I can help.