How to Raise the Temperature of Red Worms

As cold-blooded invertebrates, red worms stay at exactly the same temperature as their surrounding environment--in this case, the bedding in your worm bin. If your bedding falls below 55 degrees F, your worms--more commonly called "red wigglers," or Eisenia fetida--will begin to slow down and stop eating your kitchen scraps. You can pursue several tactics--everything from the simple to the complex.

Things You'll Need

  • High-nitrogen compost
  • Night light
  • Coffee can
  • Soil heating cables
  • Leaves
  • Hay bales
  • Fiberglass batting
  • R-18 Styrofoam rigid insulation
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Instructions

    • 1

      Add compost materials that will naturally increase the heat level of your bedding. Many horticulturalists refer to these high-nitrogen components, such as food scraps, green leaves, grass clippings and aged manure, as "green" or "hot" compost components. Your worms will likely find a safe band a few inches away from the hot compost where the temperature is to their liking and will live in this band.

    • 2

      Place a night light in a coffee can in the middle of your worm bin, running the power cord under the lid to avoid touching moist materials.

    • 3

      Purchase an electric soil heating cable and run it about 4 inches below the surface of the bedding. Most turn on automatically when the temperature dips below 74 degrees.

    • 4

      Insulate your worm bin, if it is kept outdoors, by either covering it in 2 feet of leaves, surrounding it with hay bales, or adding fiberglass batting or R-18 Styrofoam insulation to the sides and lid.

    • 5

      Load the bin on a pallet and skid it to a garage or greenhouse with an interior temperature ideally in the 60s or low 70s.

    • 6

      Construct a largely below-ground worm bin out of cinder blocks (see link in Resources).