Then cover the box.  Mary Applehof suggests using a black plastic sheet slightly smaller than the inside dimensions of the container.  Black material keeps out light and allows the worms to be active right on the surface.  You may find that a plastic covering retains too much moisture and overly restricts air flow.  When I covered my worm box with plastic it dripped too much.  But then, most of what I feed the worms is fresh vegetable material that runs 80-90 percent water.  Other households may feed dryer material like stale bread and leftovers.  I’ve found that on our diet it is better to keep the box in a dimly lit place and to use a single sheet of newspaper folded to the inside dimensions of the box as a loose cover that encourages aeration, somewhat reduces light on the surface, and lessens moisture loss yet does not completely stop it.

Feeding the Worms

Redworms will thrive on any kind of vegetable waste you create while preparing food.  Here’s a partial list to consider:  potato peelings, citrus rinds, the outer leaves of lettuce and cabbage, spinach stems, cabbage and cauliflower cores, celery butts, plate scrapings, spoiled food like old baked beans, moldy cheese and other leftovers, tea bags, egg shells, juicer pulp.  The worms’ absolute favorite seems to be used coffee grounds though these can ferment and make a sour smell.

Drip coffee lovers can put the filters in too.  This extra paper merely supplements the bedding.  Large pieces of vegetable matter can take a long time to be digested.  Before tossing cabbage or cauliflower cores or celery butts into the compost bucket, cut them up into finer chunks or thin slices.  It is not necessary to grind the garbage.  Everything will break down eventually.

Putting meat products into a worm box may be a mistake.  The odors from decaying meat can be foul and it has been known to attract mice and rats.  Small quantities cut up finely and well dispersed will digest neatly.  Bones are slow to decompose in a worm box.  If you spread the worm casts as compost it may not look attractive containing whitened, picked-clean bones.  Chicken bones are soft and may disappear during vermicomposting.  If you could grind bones before sending them to the worm bin, they would make valuable additions to your compost.  Avoid putting non-biodegradable items like plastic, bottle caps, rubber bands, aluminum foil, and glass into the worm box.

Do not let your cat use the worm bin as a litter box..  The odor of cat urine would soon become intolerable while the urine is so high in nitrogen that it might kill some worms.  Most seriously, cat manure can transmit the cysts of a protozoan disease organism called Toxoplasma gondii, although most cats do not carry the disease.  These parasites may also be harbored in adult humans without them feeling any ill effects.  However, transmitted from mother to developing fetus, Toxoplasma gondii can cause brain damage.  You are going to handle the contents of your worm bin and won’t want to take a chance on being infected with these parasites.