Wormcity Forum

Hi, my wormery smells bad and is seething with maggots. What do I do?

Hi sorry to hear your news. It sounds as if your bin as gone anaerobic (that means without oxygen ). Anaerobic bin is typically very wet, smells very bad.

If you can still see worms around then it is worth trying to rescue your bin. To do this, open the sump tap and drain off any liquid, dispose of this do DO NOT use it to feed any plants. Next turn over the exciting bedding, a small hand fork is good for this. Then incorporate some new bedding in with the old bedding, if you have some then egg boxes or trays are ideal for this because they trap a lot of air in the bedding, if not then use shredded cardboard or paper. Turn the bin once or twice a day until the smell has gone. Do not feed your worms for a week or so.
If there are no worms visible then you may wish to try and rescue some cocoons (worm eggs) but maybe it’s best to empty the bin onto a compost pile in the garden and starting again. You can buy more worms from Wormcity by going to their wed site.

Bins are most likely to go anaerobic if they get very wet. The main reason for getting that wet is because a bin is outside without a cover. A simple plastic sheet over the top of the bin will help solve the problem. If your bin is inside then look at the way you manage the feeding. Provide smaller amounts each feed and mix food or cover food with dry bedding each fed.

The maggots will disappear once the bin starts to dry out.

Please keep us updated on how you get on.
Willy