Hi misha, I would recommend putting the bin under a nice shady tree for the summer. the most important things to keep it cool for the worms are moist bedding, ventilation and airflow through and around the bin and shade so under a shady tree is the ideal location.

there is also another thread below which you might find useful
heat and red wrigglers

i worried about that also, but my wife kinda forced me to move them out of the basement in the summer. It get's over a hundred frequently in my area but i keep the bins under a shade tree and haven't noticed a problem. I don't think it's optimum conditions, but they seem to have been thriving for several years.

Thanks for all the information. Do any of you know if it is better to leave the top off the container during the heat?

Misha this is my first summer vermacomposting so take this as such. I am going with my bin a foot deep in the ground and in the shade. Soil in my zone 6a is only 55 degrees all summer if you get below the frost zone. In fact it should do double duty for me as in the winter it should keep the bin from freezing.

Good luck.

Darren.

Hi, there.

I'm a newbie at vermicomposting, but was at a composting demo over the weekend with a woman who has been composting for years and had a lovely vermicoposting bin with lots of happy worms. She had a couple of tips about fruit flies:

1. Put your veggie scraps in the freezer overnight and it will kill any fruit fly eggs that are on them. Then, transfer them to your bin.

2. Wash your fruits & veggies - even the organic stuff - to get the fruit fly eggs off!

3. Be sure to bury your fresh scraps in your bin.

4. Put damp, shredded newspaper in the top of your bin. She had a couple of inches in her bin, and this detracts the fruit flies. If you bury your scraps, and keep them underneath the newspaper, that should really limit your fruit fly problem.

And finally, a non-bin related tip that has worked well for me for getting rid of fruit flies. :) I use a jar or a glass and put some apple cider vinegar in the bottom. Then, create a funnel out of a piece of scrap paper and tape it into the cup. The fruit flies LOVE the apple cider vinegar, and you can trap them pretty quickly using this method.
(More info/methods here: http://www.wikihow.com/Get-Rid-of-Fruit-Flies)

Good luck!

Remember, red wrigglers are only efficient at temperatures from 55F-75F.

Yep. So If you are stressing them with extreme temperatures, you cannot expect them to do their job: MAKING POOP.

They have the life don't they!?!?!? Live in a controlled environment, eat table scraps, & make poop!

Misha, I live in Florida and have to deal with the heat and humidity. This is my first summer composting with worms. So what I'm doing is freezing my vegetables before I put them in the bin. Then I'm also going to install a small battery operated fan to the ceiling of the bin and hopes to help with the humidity and evaporation. The evaporation should also help with the cooling effect. Just a couple of ideas, good luck with your composting.

Jamie

I agree to best put the bins outside where there is a breeze. You might want to cover them with burlap or an old piece of carpet to slow down evaporation somewhat. You don't want them to dry out.
Here is a trick I read on another VC site. Use flat egg cartons and cover/tile the surface of the bin with these flats and fill the "cups" with water. The flats will stay wet longer this way and doesn't "dump" the water down the bins all at once making them sopping wet. I have been doing this for keeping my bins just at the right moisture level.

I have a bunch of 1 liter bottles of water that I keep in a freezer. I can put one or two in a bin, depending on size and it not only keeps them cool BUT it forces them to congregate to that area and "get to know each other" (if you get my drift).