multi tier worm bins are real bad for brand newie worm wranglers. The trouble is they seem like simplicity itself. open lid and throw kitchen scraps which are 70% water in top tray and sprinkle with water. Over time these kitchen scraps 'decompose' and the worms eat upwards on the food, fungi, organisisms all muching away at these foods. The water and moisture from the kitchen scraps follow gravity to the bottom of the bin into the sump. So this bottom area tends to mainly be moist and smelly since new worm wranglers tend to not empty the leachate (which is toxic and poisonous) off enough, so the worms tend to dislike this bottom area since it has yucky stagnant water pooling there; its basically a swamp since it also contains worm castings. Thus new worm wranglers often drain off this foul smelling soup and flush the system with more water, but by 'overwatering' now they are compacting the upper layers with water molecules. this is because water acyaully is very heavy and it clings to itself, so the overwatering tends to compress the food bedding layers and the water clings to itself and displaces oxygen. So now we get anerobic decomposition and instead of aerobic methane that quickly disapates off in a well balanced oxygenated worm bin we get a compressed mass of food that slows down its decomposition due to lack of oxygen. Now we get ammonia gas and this gas kills worms real dead, so the worms must run away (into the bottom sump) or do a worm run and leave the bin entirely to avoid being gassed to death. So, to dry, to wet? the newbie worm wrangler tends to lighten up on how much water they add, so gravity tends to pull down moisture into the bottom layers and water sump. So now the upper layers of newer food tend to dry out more and worms breathe through their WET MOIST skin so they tend to move to where the water is (into the sump) luckily. AS long as they have a ladder to reclimb back up to the bedding layers instead of drwoning in the sump. Remember they need moisture to breathe so they dehydatrate if they stay up top. If it rains then they worm run away to the refreshing outside rain and die from sunlight or lawn fertilizer or whatever. So this is why (especially) with a sudden unplanned for run of hot weather that evaporates or transpirates your top layers of moisuture away your worms flee to the bottom sump layer for the life giving water. Remember without water worms are dead, dry bedding to a worm is the same as you crawling over broken glass or sandpaper without protection; it would not be nice so do not 'neglect' your worms. These factors and others are why multi tier worm farms are not the greatest for newbie worm wranglers, but remember worms are very resilient and people learn if they lose or hurt their babies (worms), so over time humans get better at 'listening' to what worms "like". Generally worms like being left alone to do their thing and mainly new worm wranglers try to hard to 'help' the worms with to much food or water but we humans usually get better over time, but of course you have to take note of the weather since worms cannot learn to drink from a tap; how could they turn it on ? ;)

My wording was ambiguous, they got 1 8oz water glass full of grounds every 3rd day, 3 times in total. the grounds were wet, but not sloppy wet. I did/do have a moisture problem, but that seems to have been resolved. I have the bin propped up on one side, made sure the drainage holes were clear(I have a small 4" screwdriver I stick in there and wiggle around) and left it with the airstone at the bottom part of the bin for about 5 hours. No liquid coming out. I do have a plain brown shipping box that I'll rip apart and add into the bin dry. Too bad I don't have a shredder.... I think I'll keep the airstone in there for another 12 hours. Regarding saving the worms in there, I don't think there are that many left. With the price of worms at 20 bucks a pound on the expensive side, it's not worth my time to dig through and try to find them, I would simply dump everything and start anew. The new worms are already ordered, I could just dump them, but it seems a waste not to add them into the bin. Why do you suggest not adding any more worms? As I see it, either they will live and all will be well or they won't and I'm no worse off than I am now, save for the 20 bucks in worms. Any thought on the tiny white bugs everywhere?

I can't imagine wanting to have more sowbugs breeding anywhere, like there's not enough of those critters already .... why the rush? let the worms do the job you hired them for, good things always take time .... sowbugs break up the coarse carbons faster, and those materials are useful in a bin to maintain structure, drainage and aeration there are dozens of different members of the decomposer community, some that you can't keep away, some that indicate poor conditions [for the worms], some that may drive you crazy, they all have their place in the order of things, but none are really desirable in a managed vermicomposting situation, and none are necessary except microbes Bill

Just bumping this up to add a plea - any other information here? I don't mind pill bugs in general. They are good for the bin, they don't squick me out when I open the bin or anything. But I have THOUSANDS of them. THOUSANDS and THOUSANDS. And they don't stay IN the bin. My bin is in a guest room closet. For the last few months everytime I go into the room for something there are a few hundred dead pill bugs all over the floor of the entire room. Yuck! My boyfriend is moving in here with me in a week. I have got to get the damn bug population down, or the worms are going to get banashed outside and they will never live through a South Florida summer. Can anyone assist? More water? Less water? More acid? Less acid? Anything to just get the population down to managable numbers? Help? --Lisa