Please Help.................

[shipahoy41]

Those worms are trying to escape their ecosystem. Either they are not getting enough air or their bedding has soured. That is just my guess. Whatever it is they all are talking the same language. "Get me outta here."

Start again at the beginning once AZ or G3 tell you what went wrong. They are the experts on raising worms in large quantities. I just have one small tub that satisfies my need to have some ready, willing, and able whenever I want to chase 'Gills or Shellcracker.

[winstonknives]

What do I look for to see if the bedding is soured? What woud cause this?

[cricket george]

I have had this happen to me before. The worms are too hot and the are trying to leave. Just prop the lid up a few inches to allow gas and heat to leave. My bed is in an old 15' freezer and I have it under a shed and some shade. I have had red wigglers for years with no problems after I propped the lid up. They will not try to escape once the bedding cools down. I feed mine vegetable matter from the kitchen. They LOVE cantalope and watermelon....high sugar content. During the Oklahoma winters I add a light bulb to keep them warm. Coldest part of winter I use a 60 watt bulb and near spring I switch to a 25 watt. The lid is still propped up all year. You will get a large population of soldier wasp larvae eating your food but the bluegill will eat these too. Watch out for fiddleback spiders!!!!!!! They like warm dark environments. I have some trophies!!!

Your worms should go right back into their bedding if you let the bedding cool with the lid propped up. Good luck

[shipahoy41]

I also recently put a 7 inch square hole in the top of my green container I keep in the garage. Before I had just put 61 holes in the top. The 1/8 holes as well as the 7 inch square hole is covered with fine screening secured with gorilla glue. That seem to have solved the overheating problem I had.

[Illinoisgiller]

Ship sure made the right call on this one . Whatever is in that container for bedding has got to go---NOW
The 3 part mix of dirt-composted manure-and peat moss works for me. Illinoisgiller

[shipahoy41]

Though the previous answer is technically true, I would like to qualify it.
Assuming you are raising worms in confinement, there are several things you should avoid feeding them. Any kind of food that is highly acidic, like citrus fruits or rinds, or tomatoes or tomato products, can significantly lower the pH of your worm bin, possibly to a level that is deadly for your worms.
The best thing to feed your worms (and simultaneously the best thing to use for bedding) is manure. However, you should only use the manure of ruminant (plant-eating) species, such as cattle or rabbits. The manure of carnivore (meat-eating) species, such as dogs, cats, and humans, is not as healthy for worms, but the most important thing is, it smells a lot worse than ruminant manure, and you don't want to gag when you are checking your worms.
Crushed egg shells are highly recommended for worm bins because they are a good source of calcium, increase the pH of the bin, and promote reproduction. Plus, if you are growing worms for fishing, the calcium helps to make the skin tougher, which makes it easier to thread a worm onto a fishing hook without the point coming out. However, you should never put raw egg shells in your worm bin. Raw egg shells will have some of the egg white clinging to them, and this could carry diseases that are harmful to your worms. Not to mention, it will stink to high heaven when it rots. If you boil the eggs before peeling them, the peeled shell can be put directly into the bin. But if you do something else with the eggs, such that you crack them open before cooking them, you can boil the empty shells for 5 minutes and they will be fine. One more note about egg shells. Egg shells have a thin, pliable film on the inside. When you crush the shells, this film will come away in sheets or strips. Put this film in your worm bin as well. I have found that worms like to use this film for laying their egg cocoons.
Fats and oils should not be fed to worms. Not only do they lower the pH, they also tend to stink when they rot. You should also avoid all meats and dairy products for the same reason. There is, however, one notable exception to the dairy product ban. If you are planning a fishing trip, 3-4 days before your trip, you can set aside enough worms for your trip in a separate container and feed them milk or, better yet, powdered milk. This will boost their calcium and toughen their skin. But you can't use that bedding anymore - throw it away.
You should also avoid any kind of "processed" foods, as these usually contain salt and other additives that will not be consumed by the worms, and thus will accumulate in your bin.
If you're growing worms at home, and don't have access to rabbit manure (or just don't want to smell it), the best thing to feed your worms is regular corn meal. Just make sure you get the kind that doesn't have salt and other additives.
If you want to save money on feed, you can feed your worms your kitchen waste (but pay attention to the "don't's" above). Any kind of raw fruits and vegetables (except the acidic ones) are great. But you want to chop them up into small bits, like a quarter-inch or smaller, so they will decompose more quickly. I like to put potato peels in my bin, but there's a slight problem with that. Potatoes reproduce themselves from "eyes" located on the peel, and often these eyes will sprout in your bin, and you have potato plants growing in your worm bin. If you get this, you can pull out the plants by the root, or just bury them in the bedding, where they too will be eaten by the worms.
Oh, I almost forgot. Watermelon! If you have any leftover watermelon, that would be excellent for worm food. The rind is fine too, but the red, fleshy part that humans eat is fantastic. I put about a pound of it in my bin one day and two weeks later, I had literally millions of baby worms. But watermelon is slightly acidic. It's probably not enough to kill your worms, but to be on the safe side, you might put a few egg shells in with the watermelon. Also, keep in mind that watermelon is about 95% water, so your bedding might get a little soggy. So don't add any additional water for a while, or you might drown your worms.
And though you didn't ask about it, that brings me to another important point. Worms need their bedding to be moist, but not wet. What I have read says that if you scoop out a handful of bedding and squeeze it tightly, you shouldn't get more than a few drops of liquid dripping out. In my experience, more than a few drops is okay, but you definitely don't want water streaming out when you squeeze the bedding.
And as for bedding, I use peat moss, but there are lots of things that will work. As mentioned before, ruminant manure is great for both bedding and food. Crushed leaves are also good. Some people use shredded newspaper (I don't know if it's important or not, but I've been told to avoid any color pictures from the newspaper). Some experts recommend adding a small amount of sand or other gritty soil to your bedding, because worms need something gritty to help digest their food. However, you should never use a sandy, gritty, or clayey soil for the majority of your bedding. Worms need a lot of organic matter in their bedding.

[shipahoy41]

Bedding:

Corrugated cardboard is an excellent material for bedding. Be careful not to breathe in the dust if you shred it. Corrugated cardboard holds moisture better than any other material. Some people use a piece of corregated cardboard to cover their bedding. In a "wet" environment, it can help to absorb some liquid, and will eventually disinegrate.
Shredded newsprint and computer strips can be used. The papers should be shredded in long lengths of ¼" wide strips. It’s easily moistened, but the strips don’t keep the moisture as well. Strips provide more surface area from which the water can evaporate. They require frequent moistening. The black ink used for printing the newspaper is not toxic to redworms. The main ingredients of black ink are carbon and some oils. Colored ink should be avoided. There used to be heavy metals, such as lead and chrome, in colored ink. US Government regulations now forbid the use of heavy metals in colored ink for printing newspapers.
Shredded newspaper is the most economic material. Make the strips from one to two’ long by ½ to 1" wide. Redworms will eat the paper after it has softened.
Some people may object to the initial odors of animal manures. It is not recommended to use manures if the box will be located in your living area! Animal manures have other organisms such as mites, sowbugs, centipedes or grubs that you wouldn’t want in your home. But if the box will be outside or in a garage, manures would be fine. Worms really like manures. Reminder—no pet, people or pig manures!
Old decaying leaves are a good source of bedding. Some leaves are better than others are. For example, maple leaves are preferred over oak leaves, because the latter take longer to break down. Leaves from trees growing along heavily traveled roads could be dangerous because of possible lead accumulation on the leaves.
Peat moss can be used if mixed with other bedding materials. It has an excellent moisture holding capacity, however it provides no nutrients for the worms, and can be expensive.
A handful of soil provides the grit worms need for breaking down food particles within the gizzard. Since worms don’t have teeth, their food must be broken down by muscle action in their gizzards.

[shipahoy41]

Here is another great link with frequently asked questions and answers.

http://northwestredworms.com/faq.aspx

[Bobby J]

Great information.

[MightyMom]

Best I can tell, it's all about the poo...

“Dirty Jobs” – Worm Farming | Worm Video Clips