High Heat

I can speak with authority on this issue. Temperature is the main problem. Last July I used fresh tree branch chippings in my worm bin and succeeded in killing about 6 pounds of worms. At first they tried crawing out to the outside of the stacked bin container, but within a week they died all at once. Stunk a lot they did. Turned into liquid worm sludge and it seemed like I had a pound or two of maggots in there too. My advice is to allow compost to get through the thermophilic stage before adding to worm bed. It will take me a long time to get my population back to what it was.

Offered by Steve.