Try taking the lid of and keeping a light shining on the bin until the worms get settled in.

Did you put anything that might be highly acidic? SOmetimes they run away until it starts to decompose a little.

...and many times they run away just because!

Glad to hear your workshop went well...too bad about worms trying to get away. Check your moisture level(when you squeeze a handful of worm free bedding you should get a drop or two or at least hear the water squishing). Try a light.

Cass:)

another trick is to rub a light layer of dish soap around the top two inches of the bin, once the worms hit that they slip back down onto the bedding. Ive done this successfully when i knew i wasnt going to be around after setting up one of my experiment bins. The soap seems to do them no harm and will fade off after about a week.

Bryan

Several of the above suggestions are potential reasons for worm crawl, and some are good ideas for attempting to controll it, but, as Joe suggested, odds are that you had a light episode of worm crawl simply because this is normal worm behavior when they are introduced to a new environment. Keeping a light on over the bin is the standard means of halting this behavior, but be aware that a few worms may still venture out of the protected environment, even if conditions are perfect and a light is employed.

If you are concerned about it, consider mixing an inch or two or so of compost from your backyard pile into the bedding, which tends to keep homesick worms with wanderlust in the bin even better than does using a light.

Regardless, worms usually settle in to a new bin after a few days, even if you do nothing at all.

Kelly S

There were fewer escapees this morning - though most of the ones that did escape, died on the ground. I found no tangled masses of worms like I did Sunday morning. I noticed, though, that they've started in on the food. Maybe I can entice them to stay! I also increased the moisture level, I think I had it too dry (wouldn't have been able to squeeze much out at all). They seemed pretty ok during the day.... we'll see.

If I find them out again tomorrow, I may try the dishsoap or garden soil....

Oh, Kelly, btw, I ended up not going with the idea of the sliced plastic bottles simply because I had a hard time getting them all the same size! Just a hair short and they wouldn't support the hardware cloth layer and a tad tall and the whole thing would rest on only one ring.... a nice thought but there's no way to be that precise I think. I ended up with enough foam popcorn stuff so it turned out fine.

Wendy

They also tend to bunch up at the top of the bin when it's about to rain.

-kd

Be careful bringing in compost from outside. You could introduce bugs that you may not be ready for.
Good luck!

So everythings's worming along fine - I've got lots of fruit flies but no more escapees. They've about finished with the first batch of food and are moving over to the second.

It's kind of amazing to transition over from theory, to actually watching them eat and seeing the food disappear, thinking: Oh my gosh, this really works!!

Wendy

Looks like your bin is functioning. Important to remember moderation. With good bedding, the worms will be ok until the next feeding. Looks like it's going good. Now experiment with foodstocks and stuff. Remember the worms aren't eating the food...just the critters eating the food.

In most situations, it is a good thing to freeze all foodstock before feeding it. Breaks down faster, and is easy to crush when frozen.

Pay attention to the worms...they will tell you what they want.

Chuckiebtoo