acidic isn't a problem, tho' the oil may well be if you applied it liberally - it may be contaminating the moisture in the bedding and coating the worms so they can't breathe, which they do via their wet skin, and they may tend to congregate along the sides of the bin

nothing wrong with linseed in moderation, it's a simple plant oil, but wooden bins shouldn't be treated as any waterproofing will prevent the wood from wicking away excess moisture and allowing the soil to breathe ... why you don't need to drill holes in wood bins

the mites [and a range of similar critters] are just decomposer organisms that are common in compost systems of all kinds because of the moisture and 'rotting' organics, a heavy layer of damp shredded paper to cover the bedding can help reduce that type of problem .... maybe your bin was too wet?

Bill

Hello Bill,

Thanks for your response. I did put 2 coats of linseed oil on the wood for protection, which might have been too much and could have harmed the worms if they got it on their skin. I didn't have problems with it being too moist though, I had many holes in the bin (3-4 on each side and then eventually I added 2 to the bottom), and I ran into problems with it drying out completely around the sides!

I think the moisture level is ok in the rubber bin now, the only thing is the mite problem. I'm not too worried about them, they're just annoying cause when they are all over the compost the worms don't like to feed on it. I'm just continuing to feed them at a low rate until the mite population dies down.

Thanks again!

Cathy