Worms are particularly sensitive to heat. If your worms are climbing out of the bedding mix or congregating under the lid of your worm farm, they’re stressed out. Worms will die when temperatures get too hot. Now is a great time to take action, cool them down and protect them from those 40+ degree days.

Here are 10 ways to keep your worm farm alive and thriving this summer:

1. Move your worm farm to a shady spot

It’s especially important to protect worms from the hot afternoon sun from the west. Put them somewhere that gets plenty of shade.

2. Create your own shade structures

If you can't move your worm cafe, then bring the shade to your worms. Lean something up against the hot sides like thick cardboard, an old door, carpet or a few layers of shade cloth.

3. Make sure there’s good air circulation

Good air circulation will help regulate temperatures inside the worm farm. Particularly check the lid of your worm farm, ensuring it’s allowing good air circulation.

4. Top up the worm bedding

Make sure there’s plenty ofworm bedding in your worm farm so the worms can dive deep into the cooler spots when they need to. Leave a thick layer of shredded paper, straw or coir on the top.

Top up your worm farm with fresh Worm Farm Bedding so that your worms can burrow down into cooler areas when they need to. 

5. Use a worm blanket for insulation

Provide an insulation layer on the top of the bedding to help regulate temperatures. Use these a purpose-made worm blanket, or repurpose chemical free carpet or thick cardboard.

6. DIY some worm farm “air con”

During a heat wave, you can also wet a hessian blanket or an old towel and drape it over the top of your worm farm to act as a kind of evaporative air conditioner.

7. Cool things down with ice bricks

On very hot days you can cool the worm farm down using frozen ice bricks, water bottles or similar placed on top of the worm farm lid. Don't be tempted to overwater your farm as worms need a damp environment similar to a squeezed out sponge, no more.

8. Freeze your food scraps

Freeze the food scraps you usually give your worms for a special icy treat. Like an icy pole on a hot day, it’ll help cool things down.

9. Keep a close eye on things

Worms are usually pretty happy to just get on with things, but over summer it’s important to keep a closer eye on things. Check on your worms daily to make sure they’re sitting happy. For extra peace of mind, you can monitor the temperature of your worm farm with this4-in-1 worm farm tester which also measures pH, moisture and light.

10. Try an in-ground worm farm

Not having success with your worm farm? Consider an in-ground worm farm aka Worm Buffet instead. You bury these in the ground, and add your food scraps and compost materials using the lid that’s flush with the ground. Being in ground can help keep temperatures much more regulated for the worms.

The Worm Buffet lives in your garden soil, so temperatures are more regulated and worms can move in and out as they please.

New to worm farming? Keep an eye out for our composting workshops in Perth. They’re a great way to learn how to succeed with your composting systems – worm farms and beyond.