I would hold off on the screen for a while-

how wet or dry is your bedding? where is your bin? how much food for how many worms?

I have a bin much like yours, and mine leave when there is too much food in too small a space and they get too hot, or if I accidentally left the bin in summer sun, theyll crawl down to the coolest/wettest part to try to survive.

Screening can be used to sort on top, but takes a while. Id worry that fine screen on the bottom would block their emergency exit.

Worms can get through screen. You won't be blocking their exit. Unless the castings are falling through, your holes are fine.

Double check that the bin is not getting hot, however worms tend to want to escape the first week or so in a new bin. They're being fed different food and don't particularly like change. If they're escaping out of the top, keep the lid off and the light on. I guess you can just return the ones that are escaping from the bottom to the bin for a few days. They'll settle down soon.

Good Luck,
Mariann

Thanks for the quick replys.

When I put the newspaper in I wet it and then squeezed it out as the instructions.

I do have the binoutside for now so maybe they are getting too warm. I'll try moving it to a more shady spot.

Thanks again.

Ive seen worms sorted from castings from the top by being fed on top of screen, but it seems to take weeks for them all to come through.

Maryann- thats a great idea about the light! they dive down ASAP when I open my bin...

If the worms are trying to escape for any reason: too wet, dry, hot, etc, you WANT to know it. Remember the bin isn't a prison...it should be a worm paradise.

Chuckiebtoo

The other posts regarding screen size and imprisoning worms are excellent, so, since these issues have been well covered, I'll skip them.

As to worms crawling out of the bin, many of the worms in a given biomass, after being introduced to a new bin, will crawl away, even though the bin is well set up and nothing is specifically "wrong". Regardless of our best efforts, a new bin is typically radically different from the enviornment to which the worms are accustomed and this sudden change in their surroundings leads many to crawl away in search of something more familiar. Many folks suggest keeping a light on over the bin to discourage worms from crawling out of the unit and on to the floor, but regardless of whether or not a light is employed, they will usually settle in after a few days. It is extremely rare for enough worms to have crawled from the bin to have a significant impact on the system as a whole. Know that, if you are using E. fetida worms, there are typically between 1200 and 2000 worms per pound, not 500, as suggested by the site on which you found the instructions. As such, the loss of a few worms to crawl is pretty insignificant and pretty normal.

Don't let this initial "settling in" stuff discourage you. What you're seeing is normal worm behavior, even in a well-initiated system, and is very temporary. It will get easier!

Kelly S

I did move my bin to a more secluded shady spot and no more excapees.
Thanks for all the great advice.