making a new bin

[rickie]

while my first bin was not a complete failure, i've learned that it needed holes...a lot more holes. so, i bought the same model bin form ikea (slugis) and got a soldering iron.

sitting on the balcony, i made dozens of holes. i started getting light-headed, took a break, then came back. i was armed with a mask and a fan, pointing away from me. lots of melting plastic. i think i may add more holes before transferring my little buddies into the new bin... internal moisture seems to be a recurring problem, and i know my mom's Worm Bin of Awesomeness has a ton of air holes and drainage slits on the bottom. i have a lot of drainage holes on the bottom so far, but i may join them and make slits like hers... the air holes at the top are a bit more delicate to make, since i want them to be as small as possible to prevent flies. i'm really not sure how many to make, but i suppose doubling what i have now (2 rows per side) can't hurt.

another thing is my mom has actually gotten worm tea. i have yet to see anymore than a few drops. but then i only have about 10 drainage holes and maybe 20 very large air holes in my current bin....holes large enough for house flies to get into.

checking in with the worms today, fond a ball of them fornicating like mad. they were all balled up on top of the cloth...which is coming apart at the seams. apparently, the worms like to eat cotton thread too. i suppose love really is in the air...some of the gnats were mating too.

[Eve]

Sounds like you are well on the journey to a better bin Ricky.
A great time to vacuum up the flies is when there minds are on other things.

[bpearcy10]

My wife and I were at iKea yesterday too. They definitely have a lot of nice heavy duty bins that would work well for making a worm bin. I wish they had something in a color other than white that is built like the Slugis design. I have a large Sterilite "under the bed" container that I keep in my dark garage. It's clear, but works fine in the dark garage.

Good luck with your new bin making effort.

[rickie]

vacuuming up the flies! i had not thought of that! does it work well? or do they just fly back out?

i initially thought the white color of the bin was a problem, but it seems to be working just fine...unless white creates more moisture than black!

thanks for the words of encouragement, guys :)

[Eve]

Vacuuming up the flies helps a great deal. I used to crack open the lid and stick the vacuum hose into the bin and get all the flying ones first, then the ones not smart enough to fly right away. Helps cut down on the size of future swarms. I have never seen flies come back out of the vacuum it does work.