My worm bin has swarms of tiny black flies that, to me, don't resemble fungus gnats because they are slimmer,more elongated and not hump-backed). Nor are they fruit flies which I know by sight. I tried the vinegar trap but not many were attracted to that.

Have any of you had this problem? If so are the flies or their larvae harmful to the worms?

I also have a lot of tiny white insects that I take to be spring tails. I understand that this could mean that the bedding is too moist, although the springtails themselves are not harmful.

I am new to worm keeping and this is the first time in 4 months that I have had any problem. Although I started out with a pound of worms it seems they have decreased in numbers in the past month. There are still some fat very active ones and some tiny ones indicating that they were breeding.

I left the top off the rubbermaid container today and tried to dry it out a bit and get rid of the flies. But I wonder if I should start over again? It does not smell bad and the leachate did not seem to be excessive. I just keep a thick wad of newspaper under the bin and throw it out once a month or so when it gets wet.

Would appreciate any help you can give me.

Great forum by the way.