How to Add Red Worms to a Container

Overview

In order to successfully compost with worms, you need to make sure to use the right kind of worms. Earthworms need to tunnel and dig and do not do well in enclosed environments. Redworms, on the other hand, are ideally suited to vermicomposting. They prefer temperatures between the 50s and 70s F. They are also very easy to add to any vermicomposting setup.

Step 1

Moisten some shredded newspaper, cardboard, grass or leaf clippings. Place a layer of this material in the bottom of your vermicomposting bin. It should not be soaking wet, just slightly damp.

Step 2

Add a little cornmeal or soil to the mixture and mix it in well. Redworms have gizzards that function much like the ones in chickens. They require roughage in order to digest their food, which cornmeal or soil will provide.

Step 3

Bury some kitchen scraps in the bedding you have just prepared for your worms. Do not use meat or dairy products. Worms do not like them, and these scraps will attract unwanted insect and animal pests as well.

Step 4

Tip your redworms into the bin. Do not dump and shake them out of their bag or container. Instead, upend it gently on top of the bedding you have just prepared. Redworms do not like direct light, so they will begin tunneling into their bedding as soon as you give them access to it.

Step 5

Cover the worms' bedding with some damp cardboard. This will allow them to continue eating without fear of predation by pests or unwanted direct light on their skin.