QUESTION: Can you have too many worms in your compost?
ANSWER: Worms will come and go in and out of your compost heap as they please, and you shouldn’t worry about their presence. (They’re difficult to wrangle, anyway, so it’s a good thing you don’t need to manage them.) It’s unlikely that you could end up with too many worms in your compost heap, as they’re helping you out—worms in the compost actually speed up the rate of your ingredients’ decomposition.
There’s no need to be concerned that the worms will eat up all your compost, either, because what they consume they will expel. Better yet, compost material that has passed through a worm’s digestive system is better off for it. After leaving a worm’s body, the compost will be richer in nitrogen, organic matter, and bacteria than it was originally. Additionally, as worms move through your compost, they leave tunnels that help loosen the material and aerate it, which allows oxygen and water to freely circulate and also helps out the microbes that do most of the work of decomposition.
So no, you can’t have too many worms. On the contrary, many gardeners work to attract as many as they can to visit their compost. More good news: worms are attracted to healthy compost, so it’s a good sign to have plenty of them in your pile.
Interesting article – I have an open bottomed black plastic commonly purchased compost bin, with a push down top lid. It has been going for about a year and seems to work well with soft garden waste, green waste, kitchen veg clippings plain cardboard etc. However in the last month or two the lid of my bin is covered in red worms, on the inside, as I take the lid off they cascade down the sides and I have to knock them off to replace the lid. Inside the bin are a few worms, woodlice, etc, but it is as if they are trying to get out. The door at the front and the standing on the floor is all gappy so there is no need to go to the top of the bin. I’m confused. I like worms and slugs etc, but they are starting to gross me out abit! Do you think they like the lip around the inside for some reason, or am I missing something? I hear that alot of worms is good, but why aren’t they on the compost itself?