Hi katypink; I have two COW bins similar to the Worm Factory bins only round. I would take the packing peanuts (unless their organic ones) out of the catch basin and replace it with dry paper shredds. Then biweekly put them back in the working bin paper and all. Some will always work down to that level no matter what. I just try to keep them up in the working bin for faster processing.

As to the ant problem put the legs into some containers of water with dish soap in it the ants should by deterred by the soapy water.

For the ants you might try spraying lubricating oil around the outside of the bin. Or perhaps a heavy coat of petroleum jelly. They shouldn't cross that.

I have a worm factory and for the first few weeks, I had the little buggers dropping down into the collection area. I agree 100% with lkittle, remove the peanuts and add dry shredded newspaper. Check every 1-2 weeks and add them back to the top.

I leave my sipgot open 100% of the time. To ensure they don't slip through I used a twist tie, and weed block material.

Here is another tip, until your herd starts reproducing and going through a lot of food might I suggest weigh how much you give them. Right now I give my babies between 1 and 1.5 lbs once a week. If I have extra food it goes into my compost bin.

Good Luck....

Thanks for the ant suggestions. Will dried leaves work in the bottom of the bin? right now I have a ton of those, of course I have alot of paper too. I have more far more worm food than I can feed them.

About the spigot....What do you do with the twist tie and the material? is it like putting a filter on the inside of the spigot?

Thanks so much
Katie

My bin is a home made version of the worm factory. Made out of totes. I put several layers (12 or so) of newspaper in the bottom of the first bin before adding bedding to help keep the compost inside the bin until there is enough body (vermicompost) in the bedding to hold it together. It seems to help.

The upper bins seem to have more body and not fall through the holes as easy.

I think i will try the paper shreds in the catch basin sounds like a good idea.

I haven't had ants in my bin but you could try putting the feet of the bin in pans with water and a drop of soap in them. I have used that method for other bugs. The soap breaks the surface tension of the water so the bugs fall through and drown.

I also put shredded paper in the bottom catch tray and then a piece of fabric (I used a piece of left over curtain sheer) that slightly hangs over the edge. The paper absorbs excess liquid, and lifts the fabric up to the first tray so that when worms go exploring, they can still get back up. Every now and then I check for worms and relocate them. I recycle the paper up into one of the trays when it starts break down.

When I got the ant invasion, I didn't want to use any poison around my worms or the vermicompost that I was going to use on food gardens, so I decided to make the Worm Factory uninviting to ants. I first poured water through all the trays -- ants want a dry environment. Then I wiped Vaseline around the outside walls and edges to create a barrier. I couldn't do the legs in water/soap because of the way I've set up my WF. I didn't want to bend over when working with the WF, I put it on a nursery tray that I put on top of three 10-gallon containers. It raised the WF just enough to make poking around or lifting the trays easy to reach.

Katie, I wouldn't do the dried leaves in the catch tray. They are going to break down and then you'll have a mess to clean up. Better to use shredded paper or even your styrofoam peanuts covered with fabric. If you want, put the leaves into the trays where they can become worm microbe food. Yummy.

Hi Katie.

I have the same setup, and have had the same dilema as you (worm in bottom, by the hundreds). So, I just piled up the DRY leaves in the bottom collection area, and restacked the rest. After 2 weeks, I lifted the top(s) off, and most of the leaf matter was eaten. I scooped this out and into the top tray (with all the worms), and reloaded with leaves. I also top feed as per normal.

I reckon that I have almost doubled the output of the whole thing by utilising the bottom as well. It also helps take care of any excess moisture. Shredded paper will also work, but slower.

Cheers

I have a cloth between the liquid collection tray and the bottom tray. Right now, the worms just LOVE hanging out on the fabric, instead of in the bottom bin. I just keep moving them back every other day or so, hopefully they'll stay "home" soon.