The first thing for me, when this happened, was to dig to the bottom and check things out. I discovered that I had a hot spot in one area and the worms did not like it at all. The second time this happened I discovered the bottom was a sludge pit and smelled a little. The top did not smell bad at all. In both cases I turned the bed over and mixed it up, adding bedding in the second case and all the worm exodus stopped. I have had no further worm escapes other than one now and then since that time. I do keep a fairly close eye now on the whole system. I have see many post on worms leaving and it would be worth your time to 'search' them in case neither one of mine are what's causing your problem.

Bill, thanks for your response and suggestions. I did check some of the posts on the forum, and will search some more.

I checked the bin with my friend a while ago (who has more experience with this) and we came to the conclusion that it's probably the moldy bread. The worms hadn't eaten much of it, and those that were in that area, were pretty sluggish and didn't respond much to light or poking as they usually do.

I'll remove the moldy bread from the bin and monitor it to see how it goes.

Did anyone have (or know) of bad experience with very moldy bread (and I'm talking of bread that had some mold on it, then was left in a container for a week outside, so was REALLY moldy) and worms? Maybe some of the spores/fungus are not good for the worms. *shrug*

Thanks.
-Amit

(virtual vermicomposting here)
How long have you had the bin running?
What are the bin temps and what is the moisture like?
(Wooden bins tend to run drier as the leach moisture.)
Mold is what worms live for, so, in my opinion, it is not a problem.
Air and heat would be the things I would keep a check on right now.

The bin was started little over a month ago, and the worms seemed to settle in. I had only a few escapees till 3-4 days ago, when a mass exodus started.

I don't have a thermometer (probably should get one soon), but when I sifted through the bin earlier today, the soil didn't seem hot/warm to touch. That may not be the best way to figure out the temperature though.

The cardboard strips at the very bottom were really dry, so I sprayed some water on them. Rest of the material seemed moist enough - neither dry, nor dripping wet. There were clumps of worms at different places in the bin.

I have a wooden bin with dimensions of (length, width, depth) 16" x 12" x 3.5", with h/w cloth at the bottom, and some holes drilled on the sides. Maybe I should fluff it up a bit to aerate it some more.

Thanks for your help, and I'll keep the forum posted on my progress. This community is such a wonderful resource!!

-Amit

Amit,

I feed my worms old bread regularly and never had any problems.

Marshall

I was curious about the wood ash. I can't remember ever seeing it recommended as an addition to a worm bin. I would be concerned with the extreme alkalinity of wood ash but then you give no clue as to the concentration--how many spoons, how often and volume of ash to bedding.

I also feed moldy bread without problems.

I put about 1-2 teaspoons of wood ash + same amount of sand mixed in with the food once a week.

I guess it wasn't the moldy bread then....

They really don't need the woodash or sand. I would drop that from my inputs to the wormies.

Most of the websites I referenced mentioned that worms need some grit to grind the "food" they eat. That's why I add a bit of sand.

Is there anything else (like soil) that I could add instead? Or, not necessary at all?

In the beginning I read that should add a bit of soil to a new bin which I did. Since then I have read it isn't necessary and I have dropped adding soil to new bins and just added food and bedding. I usually add a bit of compost to a new bin too, and that probably contains a bit of grit.

Regards,
Marshall

You seem to have most of the bases covered. It could possibly have to do with the wood-ash if you are adding it every week. Perhaps the alkalinity is building up week by week to an uncomfortable level.
I too added a bit of dust to the mix in the beginning. I used rock dust, but sand and such or even soil with some mineral content would do for the grinding of food in the "gizzards". Since I started, I have never added more dust, or at least not conciously. I imagine there are plenty of dust or stone particles around for the worms to find when and if they have the need.