Wormery

[KathrynH]

I started a wormery a couple of months ago. Seems to be going OK but I have 2 problems: 1) when I tap off the liquid from the bottom chamber it has loads of drowned worms in it and 2) it is now swarming with tiny fly like insects which make taking the lid off very unpleasant. Ar these things normal or am I doing something wrong?  ???

[KathrynH]

[Robert_Brenchley]

You may be keeping it too damp.

[Mushy Pea]

We cover the top of ours with some bubble wrap when it rains to stop it getting too wet. It is also worthwhile tapping off any liquid quite regularly.

[Baccy Man]

The wormery should only produce a few ml of leachate per week if any at all. If you are producing more than that you need to add more dry materials to absorb the excess liquid & correct the moisture levels.
The presence of flies suggest you are noy burying the new material you add to your wormery.

[Crystalmoon]

HI ive only had a teaspoon of leachate in over 4 months so I reckon your wormery must be too wet.
Can you move it to be under cover? Or add more shredded paper to bulk up the contents?
Mine has been getting too dry & ive been having to gently water it to keep the shredded paper & newspaper damp.

When I set it up I was advised to put a brick with an central dip in the bottom so any worms that fall through can get up out of the water, maybe this will help prevent more worms drowning.

The tiny flies may be fruit flies. If you cover the scraps of food you add with a layer of damp shredded newspaper (about an inch or so thick) it stops flies from settling in.