Robin, I imagine the VC in the bottom tray is touching the bottom of the second tray. So, from the worms' point of view, before you lift that 2nd. tray, they were not hanging. They were just lounging around with their body in and out the grid. They're hanging because you lifted their "sofa", so to speak

ROTFLMHO! TOTALLY makes sense now! I'll give them a month or so to move completely or as completely as they will into their new digs.

(It is true that the contents of the bottom tray are touching the bottom of the top tray. I was under the impression that it should be that way since worms don't jump.)

Thanks for the enlightenment and the chuckle!

Robin

It may take more than a month or so. I have a two-tray RM system that has had the second tray on it for several months. Though most of the worms have migrated up, I still have a few stragglers in the lower tray.

Worms just don't seem to understand how we divide their homes up. It is hard to explain to them that they belong in one tray and not the other. They will go/stay wherever they can find microbes to feast on.

These worms are just at the "interface" between the two trays. To avoid having worms hanging from the bottom tray, I have placed a piece of mosquito screen at the bottom of the bottom tray. This allows circulation of air, drainage of the excess of liquid and keeps everything in place.

Why do I think it's easier for them to crawl "down" instead of "up"? That's why I like harvesting using burlap or an onion bag, The worms and compost get spread on the onion bag over the new bin, and they naturally crawl down into their new digs.

Would there be a way to make these trays usable so that they crawl down? Just curious.

Pretty common I find , especially with two trays in use. You notice some diffence using 3 trays and if you lift up the top two trays chances are you wont see any hanging once some time has gone by.