you might look up "pot worms" or "white worms" and see if that's what you have. They often appear in worm bins.

Hi MKitten and ALL!

I had the opportunity the other day to go through my bin(s), actually I have two small fish container bins instead of the one I mentioned above. I also have a 3'x 8'x 4'high outdoor compost bin that was the original source of the worms I presently have. I've been vermicomposting indoors for the past 12 months.

Anyway, the other day was the first time I actually dumped the smaller bins out in 8 or 9 months to check on the possibility if I had the pot or white worm problem you mentioned. All of the worms I have seem to be "red".

I did notice what appeared to be dirt was compacted clumps of soil. I had to use a putty knife to clean out the bottom 2" or 3" and the sidewalls. I noticed the soil wasn't, or didn't appear to be mud.

I was able to break the clumps down easily with the palm of my hand or fingers and there were a number of babies within the clumps. I did find a number of larger adult reds that apparently has kept the bins producing. (Can I ask what is the life expectancy of these worms?)

And, was this black soil actually compacted castings over the year of composting? I added dry leaves, coffee grounds, shredded newspaper, small pieces of cardboard and an over-ripened banana and one week later the soil is fluffy and not nearly as "wet" (which was another problem I was experiencing.) The worms seem to be more active and coming to the top of the container as they previously had before.

From other posts I've read it seems these worms don't like to be disturbed during their foraging. The 2 containers I have are 15"X 11"x 4.5" high. At what point of time do you think I should stop feeding and start the process all over using this size of container?

Thanks for your help and concern!

Jim

It sounds like conditions in the bin got bad causing the adults to die off, but significant breeding occured before they perished resulting in the new, large population of babies.

Here is a link that might be useful: Interesting Observations