I would line the bottom of a new bin with a zillion TP tubes (toilet paper) standing up and put a few sheets of newspaper over them and then a couple inches of egg carton bits and pieces. Then a one inch layer of you bin another inch layer of carton, etc. In two weeks whatever was sick will of died and balance can begin again.

Do not pre wet the egg carton or TP tubes or newspaper as you may of the newspaper bedding. The idea is to dry out some of that mositure that is blocking oxygen into your bin.

Even if the whole thing goes south you may be surprised that in many months it starts to work out.

Every time you add food scraps also add DRY bedding.

You might want to venture into the world of corrigated cardboard not cereal box cardboard. Also good are egg carton andcoffee carrier cardboard.

Emily, any chance you can post some photos of your worms and bin? Although it's perhaps only an outside chance, I've been coming across folks who have a mixture of worm species. Instead of just red wigglers (E. fetida), they've been sent a significant number of Indian blues (P. excavatus). The latter are much more prone to escape for no known reason. A mixed species can be made to work for you, but some adjustments may be required. First you need to determine if you do have more than one worm species. If you can't or don't know how to post photos, browse through these photos to see if you can recognize P. excavatus. They are typically much faster than red wigglers and have a bluish head. Their clitellum is also flush with the body rather than raised.

Standing water and stinky bins suggest you may have been feeding too much. You've already received tips to solve those issues. Dead worms quickly turn to mostly water, so there's nothing to learn from the appearance of the bodies. Cocoons are tough to spot unless you know what you're looking for. Usually you get cocoons with an order of worms and there would be babies after 35 days, but that varies with each worm seller.

Andrew

Thanks both very much for your feedback. I'd been trying to think of something like the TP method and it sounds pretty effective. It would probably be effective to cut some larger holes, and monitor my feeding. The ammonia smell wasn't as evident today, and for the time being, I've got the bin sunning outside for the mites and moisture.

Andrew: It looks like they're all E. fetida, but I'm no expert. The two photographed here were both climbing the walls and escaping.

I noticed another few organisms today: They're about 1-2mm long, beige, slight spots/lines of red, no legs. Not particularly smooth looking. I want them to be new hatchlings, but they seem a little portly compared to the weight distribution of E. fetida. Any ideas?

How do I know when I've got too many white mites, and does it mean anything? They're starting to cover the food below the surface.

Sometimes I wonder if simply flipping over a bin like flipping a pancake will help with cutting down on fruit flys and other visitors. I also wonder about having enough unharvested vermicompost in a bin to have the worms be able to stay in and venture out into what I see in the 4th picture when it becomes a bit mellowed. This looks a bit like some of the newest areas in my bin that are a bit like the wild west. As I add new raw material this first material becomes alive and a hotbed of worm activity. Time has a job to do in helping the materials.

With all the newspaper, your bin has more bedding that I originally pictured.

Emily, scroll down to the "Worm Bin Critters" section and see if you can identify what you have. I think the general theory is that large mite populations are caused by over-wet, acidic conditions. Primary cause goes back to too much food for your worms to handle. It's a good idea to let the bin air out (lid off) a bit outside, but you might want to check the bin temperature if you're putting it in full sun. I know it's late in the year, but the sun can still heat things up pretty well.

Looks like you have healthy E. fetida to me. The first photo is a young mature worm, able to produce cocoons. The others are still immature. I've found that piling on lots (5-6" worth) of dry bedding (leaves, shredded newsprint, torn egg cartons, etc.) on top helps soak up excess moisture. It also gives the worms lots of surface area to explore (think jungle gym or kiddie play structures). Just move the top bedding aside when you add food and then cover up the food. Some folks like to put a few sheets of newsprint down first so it's easy to peel back the top bedding.

I think your bin will be fine. It's still a relatively new ecosystem, so give it a little time to balance out. The worms will not starve. They'll happily eat damp newsprint. Definitely monitor feeding for now. Give them the "best" scraps: melon rinds, over-ripe strawberries, bananas, blueberries, etc. I assume you ordered a pound of worms, so something like a measuring cup worth of chopped kitchen scraps per week is a good place to start. Spread it out in a different spot each feeding. If the worms seem to be processing it quickly, then cut the time between feedings down to 6 days, then 5, etc.

Cheers,
Andrew

Likw Andrew said, add some dry bedding for moisture control then just hold on for 5 days to a week, doing nothing but maybe looking at the worms (because you are not going to leave them completely alone-nobody does). I think you will be fine.

red wigglers like PH 7.5 to 8.0 if you keep it a little above netural (7.0) some of the "bad critters" can not tolerate your bin. if you smell amonia you should add used coffee grounds and small amounts of citrus fruits, although it is recomended to use citrus sparringly in small bins. you can add newspaper and egg carton and drink tray card board to soak up over moisture, mix all threw. keep in mind coffee grounds will over heat the small bins quickly, so err on the cautious side. you may need to split into two bins to get enough paper and card board into each. I have a 4'X4'X4' wooden bin. for 2 years i used the plastic bins. wood breaths where plastic doesn't. if you have a bin on the acidic side (PH 2.0) add a small amount of baking soda to bring your PH back up. well good luck all, and happy worm watching!

I just said this somewhere else on this site, but in case Emily doesn't read it there, but bears repeating. Worms can tolerate a very wide range of pH, but can't tolerate quick changes. 7 is fine. 2 would be 100,000 times more acidic than 7 and frankly would be hard to impossible to achieve. pH is a logarithmic scale, and every 1 point down increases the amount of acid (hydrogen ions) by 10 fold. So a decrease of 2 points is 100x more acidic and 3 points is 1,000 times more acidic. We're not nearly as tolerant as worms. Our blood won't change beyond 7.35 to 7.45 if we're healthy.

Anyone, does an ammonia smell mean too much food and not enough bedding (a high nitrogen to carbon ratio?) From what I've read there should be a lot more bedding added regularly than food waste. (One of the C:N ratio calculators told me 20 times more bedding than food. I probably do about half/half and have never notice ammonia.)

"add newspaper and egg carton and drink tray card board to soak up over moisture, mix all threw"

I figure worm skin is about like the inside the mouth cheek skin. If one does not want to hold citris, or onion or bakingsoda right next to it for a day then neither do worms. thus:

"add newspaper and egg carton and drink tray card board to soak up over moisture, mix all threw"