Wormcity Forum

Hi
My worms have never eaten much of the scraps I've offered. I gave them a shredded cabbage leaf and a couple of over-ripe plums a couple of weeks ago and there's still some left. They look very listless and today I found some dead worms. Any tips to save them and bring them back to health please?

Hi, the temperatureS at the moment is making it very difficult to keep our worms healthy and active. Try to keep your worms on a north or northeast facing wall. Try to provide some shade. You could try coving the bin with some white cloth or paper.
You did not say it your worms are inside or out but controlling the temperature is important.
Interesting that you say they have never eaten the food scrapes you feed them. How long have you had the bin up and running. Worms are not fussy eaters but I find root veg is the slowest to go followed by green leafy veg. Try to feed soft moist fruit and veg things like cucumber, banana peel, apple core, melon, yea leaves from a tea bag etc.
But getting a grip on temperature is the most important and urgent things to address. It’s rare to see dead worms in a bin, which would concern me more than them not eating. If you have a thermometer you are look to get a temp of between 20c and 25c.
If you have difficulty come back with a little more info

Good luck
Willy

Thanks Willy

Hmm temperature is probably the issue. they are outside, but in the shade - it has of course been hot even in the shade but hard to find anywhere cooler. They seem to be heading for the sump, which is a clue. They are covered but I'll try to find something even lighter.
I got the worms in April. Started them with the food you supplied. They have never eaten much, even though some had spent a few days in our compost caddy to start it softening. Have added eggshells regularly. I'll try the diet you suggest too.

Sounds like you have covered most things so I can only think it’s the heat. Just do all you can to keep them cool. Don’t feed grain products like read, cake biscuits or even dry worm food they are very warming, great in the winter but not in hot weather
You could try freezing positions of kitchen scrapes and feeding them frozen, this will help reduce the temperature in the bin plus help to control the fruit flys

Good luck
Willy

Thanks for this. What I did was to rebuild! I removed any food and litter and tipped the whole tray of worms into an old tin bath. I rescued some worms from the sump. I put a sponge as a bridge in the sump, some paper on the base of the tray and put the worms back. I fitted a new tray on top (the first one was moderately filled) and put a layer of my own garden compost in that, a sprinkling of your worm food and some litter. Now it's probably the temperature drop, but a couple of days later a lot of worms had come up and looked much more lively! I'm feeding them a little and they are still slow eaters, but perhaps eating a little more now. Anyway, they look happier and we'll see how it goes.

Thanks for the update. Info like that can be helpful to us all

Willy