Worms climbing the walls

Worms massed on the inside walls and under the lid, or found dead on the floor around the tray.

One of thirty faults recorded at this bench · last reviewed 2026-09-18 · By The Compost Desk

01Symptom

Worms massed on the inside walls and under the lid, or found dead on the floor around the tray.

1 published log ran into this — linked in section 04.

02Why it happens

Conditions have become intolerable: too wet, too acidic, too hot (above 28 °C), or a protein-rich feed has heated and soured. Worms leave rather than die in place.

03What to do

01 Check the temperature first; above 28 °C, move the tray somewhere cooler immediately.
02 Stop feeding and add dry bedding to absorb excess moisture.
03 Add 40 g of ground eggshell to correct acidity.
04 If the tray has heated from a protein feed, remove that material entirely and re-bed the tray.

04Where this has come up in the logs

batch logA four-tray worm system on kitchen scraps, nine harvests in19 Oct 2026 · worm tray · 25:1 · 22 °C

05Related logs

Every published log that touches this fault is already listed in section 04.