Moisture help
I’m getting mixed signals on moisture in my worm bin and could really use some help.
I started my worm bin about 2 weeks ago and read a ton beforehand. When I first added the worms, I only gave them a tiny amount of food (a few strawberry tops). Everything seemed normal for the first few days.
After about 4 days, they had eaten most of the food, so I did my first real feeding. When I checked the bedding, it felt a little dry, so I added moisture. Shortly after that, the worms started climbing the walls and looking like they wanted to escape.
I read that could mean either too much or too little moisture, so I did the squeeze test. I wasn’t getting any drops, so I assumed it was too dry. I also noticed the worms seemed attracted to water droplets on the side of the bin after misting, which made me think they wanted moisture.
So I adjusted the bedding until the squeeze test gave me 2–3 drops. After that, things seemed perfect for a few days:
- No smell
- Worms stayed in the bedding
- No escape attempts
Then a few days later they started climbing again. I checked again, added a second feeding, and once again the bedding felt dry from the squeeze test, so I added a little more moisture.
Now I’m noticing mites. I know mites aren’t automatically bad, but everything I read says mites can mean excess moisture, which is what’s confusing me.
So now I feel like I’m overcorrecting back and forth. Can someone with experience help me understand:
- Why the worms keep climbing
- Whether mites this early are actually concerning
- Whether I should stop adjusting things and just let the bin stabilize
I’d really appreciate the help.