Hi redweather,
Oh you're talking about a subject close to my heart! Not that I have fond feelings for the mites, they are my number 1 frustration in my bins.

Anyway, since I use my compost indoors on my houseplants, I did keep my compost outside on my balcony over the winter to kill the mites. It worked great.

Since you're using it outdoors, I wouldn't hesitate at all with using the compost directly in your gardens and flowerbeds. They won't survive in the sun and heat anyway, IMHO.

Also, since they are a beneficial addition to the bins, in that they help the worms eat the rotting food, they aren't interested in fresh, healthy vegetation, as in your garden.

PS I washed all my worms the last time I harvested, to rid them of the mites. Sure enough the little buggers are back again! :-(

Freezing the VC would be counterproductive. One of the important parts of the VC are the beneficial bacteria that help out the plants and are said to suppress a lot of plant diseases. I'd be interested to know if just letting the stuff dry out a little wouldn't help the problem. You may not want to wait because this is your first harvest, but in the future if you let the VC sit a while, it gives the cocoons a chance to hatch (don't know if that's the right verb!), and you could let it dry out to just moist, instead of wet. That might control the mites. At least that's what I've read and experienced. When the bin is wetter I have more mites. When it's like a wrung out sponge, they're there, but hard to find.

thanks jasdip and susanfromhawaii... I appreciate it.

jasdip, I laughed out loud (here at work) when I read that you washed your worms! I would never think of it, and it's a great (if hilarious) idea - too bad it didn't work!

I should probably try to keep my bin dryer - it seems to balance to the wet side most of the time....

The thing that frustrates me is that my bedding is not wet, I don't overfeed (only feed when existing food is gone), the lids are off my bins, and I still get the horrid things.

Took me all day redweather to harvest and wash my worms! LOL