It can be frustrating and a little confusing starting a new worm farm, especially when you’re sure you’ve set it up correctly but still finding that a few of your wriggly compadres are wandering and heading up to the surface looking like they want to make the great escape with a bunch of their mates.

But do not fear because there can be various reasons for this such as…

• Exploring their new environment and taking a little while to settle into their new home, which can take a few days.
• Reacting to barometric changes in the weather by heading to the surface as a survival instinct to avoid drowning.
• Affected by less than optimal moisture, ph, temperature and food type.
• Not having enough space. Common epigeic composting species usually prefer a larger surface area rather than depth. So if you have a worm farm that’s designed to house approx. 4000 worms (eg. Worm Cafe etc.) then you’re better off starting with a lesser number (1 x bag of our compost worms is ideal – I know… shameless plug! 😄) and allowing their population to naturally increase and self-regulate within that contained environment.
• Finding a new type of substrate a little uncomfortable if it’s different to what they’re used to being in. (This is also the main reason we sell our worms in our pre-screened premium biologically active bed run to assist with a quick and effortless settling in process).

Just to name a few…

So as you can see there’s a few things to take into consideration. However, there’s a simple little trick to use as a temporary solution that may help until things settle down.

Just leave the lid off (as this prevents a build up of moisture on the sides and lid) and simply add a layer of dry shredded cardboard (about an inch thick) across the top of your bedding.

As worms prefer the moist environment below, most will tend to stay down there rather than making their way up into the dry stuff where its uncomfortable and more difficult to move around.

Hope that helps.

Chris 🙂👍