I'm thinking this will be like asking a group of economists a question where you'll get more answers than there are people responding.

I use a little three tine hand cultivator to dig around in my bin. I also use this while mixing in new feedings and bedding.

I don't mix too deeply unless I think there is something wrong and need to go looking. I have flow through bins so I want to keep the layers as intact as possible but I mix the top few centimeters up with the new food additions.

I don't think that I have ever used gloves when working with my bins though I wear gloves when doing almost everything else in the garden. I have a type of genetic dermatitis that causes my hands to blister then dry, scale up, and crack off so the fewer calluses I build up the better.

Two main reasons I have not used gloves:
the wet VC will turn the leather into stiff muddy hand shaped plates similar to rawhide a dog has chewed for an hour
You lose much of your sense of touch with gloves and I am not confident I can pick up a worm when harvesting VC without smashing the worm or getting a handful of compost. This is even when I am wearing a nice pair of Mechanix type gloves.

Many people say worms won't eat for days after being disturbed. Short of destroying the bin for harvesting or making a new one I haven't found this to be the case in my limited experience.

Peeking on your heard of worms is how you learn what they like, dislike, and learn about the health and condition of your bin. If you use gloves the rubber kitchen type are probably best. It is ok to move around the top layer of food and bedding, as mr van suggested, as often as you want. Be gentle with a new bin. The 3 tine fork is great for poking around. Good luck and do not be paranoid. Worms are EZ and forgiving.

Pete

Gloves, the type used to do dishes or thinner are to keep nails clean when playing around with worms. Rarely do I wear gloves when working with my worms. I do not pick up worms wearing my gloves. I do not pick up my worms without gloves. I do not touch worms. I use a three tine garden claw for groups of worms or a barbecue stick to pick up single worms, and a plastic fork if one falls on the floor.

My view is it is ok to bother the worms 24/7. Ok to flip the material clawfull by clawfull each day to see what is going on inside the bin.

I do not have the volume of material to have heating up happen due to turning the pile.

Depends on the species. Some species are more sensitive to being messed with.

QUIT pestering the worms, force yourself not to look in the bin everyday. It's typical for new worm composters to "love their worms to death". :)

JerrilynnC is right "Depends on the species." My post refers to Red Wigglers only. Red wigglers would be more tolerant. I forget sometimes about the other species.

Thank you so much for your answers. I got over the honeymoon phase, and stopped looking in the box. : )

In the beginning, I checked on my worms every day (like most folks), just to make sure they were still there etc. It's also important for when you're trying to name them. General consensus is that you're not a true Wormophile until you've tried to name all of your worms, at least once. After that, you start forgetting who's who and so it's a lost cause.
I too, use a three-pronged plastic salad fork, but with the middle prong broken off. This seems to do less damage for when moving things around. Also I wear thin, disposable, latex gloves when necessary though I'll usually wear them a number of times before actually tossing them. Finally, I've found that a plastic pancake turner works well for moving castings away from the sides of the bin without overly traumatizing the worm population.
For most of the year, I can check on the worms once a week or so ,knowing that they're doing what they do best, if left undisturbed. In the Summer though, they need to be misted every day as well as other attention.

Shaul

I've named all my worms, actually my kids did when they were young. All the worms are named "Freddy". :)

When I first started worming I didnt pay attention to the warnings of not disturbing the worms. I wanted to know what was going on, did I need to cover with a blanket or sing a lullabye or something else. I think its only natural at first and as time went by once I knew that at least they werent unhappy and were eating the food I put in I mainly just peeked in to see if they needed fed. Since my bin is inside in a 6' walkin closet over time It can get a bit dirty in there and I will clean that room. I do so by moving the bins completely out of the room during this process. So Im guessing it only bothers the worms briefly as I move them around and then they settle into their routine again

This is the best thread ever. My family needs to read it. They crack up whenever they see me sitting on the floor of the garage cooing at my wormies. I've read conflicting information about whether you should fluff things up with the three pronged plastic fork to get more oxygen in the bin, check on conditions, see how much food they've eaten ( aka is it time to feed?) or just leave them alone completely. But like anything the longer you do it for the more you get a bit more reliant on your intuition about it all and you'll "just know"... :)

By checking on the worms from time to time it also can alert you if something is wrong such as all the worms gathering at the top in bunches like they want to get out , so it is important in that respect.

Small bins require more constant attention. The worms don't like it much though. Reproduction rates are much higher in larger bins like CFTs. This is because the worms are disturbed much less. Worms really hate to get fluffed. (Aerating the bedding) In a small bin it is sometimes necessary if there is too much moisture and the bedding starts to get anaerobic. Just realize that with a small worm bin that your reproduction rates are going to be lower. You won't kill your worms by checking on them, but after a while you will learn to leave them alone more. You are learning.

So if it doesn't seem to be getting anaerobic in a plastic bin system, there isn't a reason to "fluff" all the bedding and food once a week? ( I read you should do that as a matter of course). So do it only when it seems to be needed? If that would help increase reproduction rates i would be happy to do that esp as I'm planning to split the bins shortly.

Stick your nose in there.... no ammonia or bad smell you are good. I like more shallow bedding also. I use mostly 6 inch deep trays with about 4 inches of bedding. No need to ever fluff. Your worms will thank you with better reproduction. Mortar trays from Home Depot 17x25x6 deep. 3 square feet of space work great with about 4 inch deep bedding for red wigglers or Euros. The trays are about 6 bucks at my local HD. Stock these about a half pound per square foot (1.5 lbs.) Per tray and your worms will fill it up eventually.

thanks Iowa Worm Composting! Do you stack those trays? - I'd imagine you need something between the trays (like wood blocks etc) to keep the space between them? and drill drainage holes?

1x2's work ok. They are not real heavy with 4 inches of bedding. 3 high and 4 high if you are adventurous. The Ziploc totes work great also but a little smaller. Check out my website http://www.iowawormcomposting.com for some step by step instructions on building the Ziploc totes. Other great info there for beginners also. Comment and let me know if that helps. Worm on.

Thanks @Iowa! :) Will check out your website.

Iowa-- Mostly good info at your site. Not everyone wants to do it the same way. There is one issue which I am different. Of course everyone will start with just one bin but in time as your herd grows you will have a need to expand. At first I drilled holes in the bottom of bins as I wanted to tier stack bins. But I saw a problem with that as it didnt seem worms could efficiently move from the bottom bin to the next upper bin which contained the food. Then after seeing some hints online and using a bit of a copy from the worm factory I decided to cut out the bottom of bins and leaving a 2" lip all around,, then replacing that with 1/4" hardware cloth and I found I liked this much better allowing the worms more freedom of movement. Of course I just place the upper bin directly on the lower bedding, its the same as in the worm factory. I mostly use as you suggested peat, shredded paper, cardboard , some coffee grounds.. When changing a bin with new bedding I will add some of the old shredded paper if there is any as there will be microbles from the previous environment. I will add a little bit of food in one corner of the new bin covered with shredded paper as an attractant to the worms . Of course if there is still a certain amount of food in the bin below they may delay in their upward movement.

Here is a shot of how it would look without bedding. You can see how a greater freedom of movement would be allowed

That would work great. Good idea.