Vermicomposting since November 2015. I've learned that it's important not to let drain flies get established in your bin because it is almost impossible to get rid of them once they are. They can live on the bacteria in vermicompost, just like earthworms, and for some reason there tends to be no earthworm cocoons in the bin when drain fly larvae are present. The larvae can survive for 17 days and the flies start laying eggs within hours after they emerge. I eventually got rid of them by placing a window screen on my bin, killing the drainflies on the walls of the bin daily, and dumping an excessive amount of cardboard bedding on the bin. I've also learned that I can make the worms attack their bedding immediately by moistening it and sprinkling milk powder evenly on it. I think it's because the sugar in the milk (lactose) dissolves and is absorbed by the bedding. It drives them crazy.

Since I have created a flow through bin with a similar design, I think I will jump in and answer a couple of questions. First, pictures. My bin has a harvesting system similar to Worms4Tracy's. Since I was concerned about the weight of the VC sitting on the harvesting rods, I decided to start with a PVC frame. I did not think that the bin walls would be strong enough to hold up what I estimate to be about 100 lbs of vermicompost. In these first two pics you can get an idea of the approximate size of the bin. The bin walls are made from HDPE corrugated plastic (old campaign signs). One thing I learned while making this bin is the there is no adhesive that will hold HDPE. I tried silicone caulking with only slightly successful results. The screws holding the frame in place and the wood frame around the top opening are probably doing more to hold this together than the silicone caulking. The walls are double thickness corrugated plastic with the seams in each layer as far as possible from the seams in the other. So far this has held up, though it does bulge a bit. Looking down into the finished bin, you can see the harvesting rods in place. I have screws, like Worms4Tracy, but I also screwed in fins of the corrugated plastic. I don't know whether they were necessary. They have held up through a harvesting. One thing I did notice is that they do not allow as much air flow as I think a good flow through should have. I lined up the pvc Ts with the fins so that I could tell which way the fins were turned inside the bin. Here the fins are turned up. OK, observations: This bin took a long time to fill up. I would have to do a little digging to determine just how long, but more than a year. Someone feeding a little more aggressively could have filled it up faster. The first harvesting worked, but it was hard to turn the rods. Now to answer the two questions I want to address: > my main question for this type of design... what prevents > the entire contents of the can from spilling out the > bottom once you turn the pipes (with screws). Simply this: The VC packs down pretty tightly in the bin. When you turn the rods, you are literally scraping the bottom layer off of the VC. Everything above that is packed in tight enough that it just won't fall. > You could make a box frame to support the bottom. Yes, you could, as you can see. I harvested for the first time several days ago, and the VC still has not settled enough to allow a second harvesting. I have even poked at the VC from underneath with my fingers and a letter opener. I cannot loosen up the VC enough to get it to settle. I have tried leaving the fins open for a couple of days to see if the VC would dry out enough to get it to fall. So far, no. My guess is that it is the frame that is preventing the VC from settling. Since the VC is a compressed mass, it wants to slide down an unobstructed bin in one big mass. I believe that the frame is preventing that from happening. I was hoping that harvesting would remove most of the VC from the center of the mass, and the rest would collapse under the weight of the VC on top of it. So far, that has not happened.

Hi and welcome, 1-yes you can, but they will take a very long time to break down so it might not be worth it. 2-worms sometimes take a little while to get used to a new environment and escape attempts are common right at first. Instead of trying to clamp the lid down, you might be better off leaving the lights on in the room with the bin until the worms get used to their new bedding. 3-worms are light sensative which explains why they seem to try escaping at night and why a light will help keep them down in the bedding. Exposure to direct sunlight for long can kill them. 4-Worms can squeeze through just about any opening, probably even through screening so it is unlikely that your holes are small enough to stop them. Keeping the environment in the bin as hospitable to them as possible is the best way to keep them in. Screening is more to keep flys out though they are pretty good at finding ways in too. Holes only in the lid of the bin may not be enough air but play it by ear (or perhaps nose) and see how it goes. If the bin starts getting smelly, it is either a sign that you are feeding too much or there is not enough air and the bin has become anarobic. Some people don't even have lids on their bins, they just lay cardboard, newspaper, burlap, or something over the bedding to help keep it moist and dark. 5-If you have pets, you may need a sturdy lid (I've caught the kittens sleeping on top of my bin.) Make sure to bury food under bedding so the smells don't attract flys, fruit flys, or other creatures. Also, be careful of overfeeding. Don't feed again until the last meal is gone, worms will happily eat the bedding too so don't worry that you are starving them. The apple core and lettuce are fine, don't feed them again for a while. Make sure the bedding is moist (like a wrung out sponge) but not wet and be patient. Worms are easy to farm.

The most unnecessary fear new wormers have is that the wormies are all gonna evacuate the bin in a stampede. Truth is, unless the environment of the bin is unsatisfactory because of heat, or strangeness, or fleeing the dreaded vermivampires that occasionally slink into a worm squirm after being bitten by one of those devil-mites, they ain't gonna leave the palace you've created for them. It ain't a prison. HOLES: None in the lids. Not nearly as many around the sides of the bin as most you see have. I have plastic bins with zero holes except for the 3 ((one on each side by the handles, the big one when the lid is off, and....THE 2 ON THE BOTTOM FOR DRAINAGE (drilled in the corners of ONLY ONE END so you can, if necessary, tilt the holes down for drainage or up to retain moisture)) Don't: overfeed, over-moisturize, over-dote. This is the Moderation part. feed excessive acidic stuff, or any salt, fat, Buffalo Wild Wings, fast food....you know, stuff we humans shouldn't eat. Feed diverse stuff (they get bored down there eating the same old crap). This is the Diversity part. have too high expectations. Nature is what we're dealing with here and Mother Nature ain't in no hurry. This is the Patience part. To summarize: R-E-L-A-X, relax. (If anyone on the forum can tell me where my relax reference originated, please provide the answer in a courteous reply.) chuckiebtoo Moderation, Diversity, Patience, Packer Pride