Your Worm Bin Is Too Acidic
Often your worm bin will become too acidic if you overfed your worms (see the previous step) or you have fed your worms the wrong food.
Some foods are good, some are not, and can cause your worm bin to become too acidic. When your bin becomes too acidic, your worms will try to escape by crawling up the side of the bin.
It is always good to give your worms a wide variety of foods to eat. After all, the diverse foods mean your vermicompost will have a wide variety of nutrients. However, it would be best if you kept everything in moderation.
For example, worms love coffee; it adds grit and a lot of different nutrients. However, adding too much coffee to your bin will raise the pH and kill your worms.
Most redworms prefer a pH of around 7.0, but they can live in pH levels of 4.2 to 8.0 or higher. You must be more mindful of this when you are composting in a small space or apartment.
A worm can wiggle away from the problematic food in an outdoor bin. In a small bin, a worm’s only choice is to climb the sides to escape.
If you’re new to worm composting, here is a list of foods that worms do and do not like.