I order 1 pound of red wigglers and received them on Monday, October 25th. This is my first time trying my hand at vermicomposting. My worms are trying to leave my worm bin. My husband built me a bin out of wood that is like the commercially bought stacking tray systems. I just started, so the bottom tray is the only one I'm using. I do not cover the bin with anything. It was in my garage, but I live in Arizona and it was getting a little above 85 in my garage and so I moved them inside so it would be cooler. My bedding is a mixture of corragated cardboard, shredded paper towels, shredded paper, a handful of composted aged steer manure (almost 1 year old), a handful of sand, and some dead leaves. I prepared the bedding about 5 days or so before I got the worms. I made sure it was moist before adding the worms.

The top bedding tends to dry out easily. I assumed that was because it was in the garage and it was a bit hot and no humidity. I spritz it with a spray bottle daily...not enough to make it sopping wet or anything, just enough to get the top layer moist. I fed the worms with lettuce, cucumber peels, cantaloupe rinds, and a bit of tomato tops. I chopped everything up into really tiny bits...not pureed, more like a chunky salsa but smaller. I added that to one corner of the bin and covered with the bedding on Tuesday.

I did have a lamp on them from Monday at about 2:30pm until Tuesday night at 9:00pm. As soon as I turned the light off they started leaving the bin. I had about 5 that escaped. So I turned a light back on for the night. This morning when I checked on them, my husband had turned the light off about 45 minutes before. Again, I had about 5-6 escaping. Once I turned a light back on they went back into the bedding and stayed. As long as a light is on them they stay in the bin, but once I turn it off they escape. Will I have to always have a light on them? The lamp tends to warm up the room and I was worried it would be too hot for the womrs and that was the main reason I turned it off. I was afraid I'd cook 'em. ;) However, just a plain overhead room light doesn't seem to make them want to stay in the bin. If that is the only one on they tend to want to escape.

How do I know if something is wrong with my bedding? It isn't ALL the worms that seem to want to get away...just a few. Although, I've noticed that when the light does go off a BUNCH come to the surface and hang out there. They don't necessarilly climb up the sides, but they are on the surface squirming around. Is that normal?

I'm excited!! This is lots of fun. I know that most newbies kill off some worms, but I'd like to keep as many as possible. ;) Oh, another question. How often should I feed them?