Having worms in the house sort of creeps me out too. I will not even touch them but use a stick to move individual ones.

I am guessing keeping a heating mat warm all winter would cost $10 a month. I could be wrong.

Negotiating skills.

How about a container with in a container?

How about a handfull of worms in a gallon mayo jar with carefully shredded cardboard bedding and carefully prepared, frozen, blended food added maybe a tablespoon full a day, actually 7 tablespoons full a week, inside of an 18 gallon rubermaid bin in the cellar?

You have time, until fall.

Next toy he wants negotiate.

Or is there a garage?

I recently purchased, don't know why, a heat mat designed maybe for reptiles. It is the size of a small index card and has a wire with a plug. Apparently it can go underwater too. But I an leary of that. It is very flat. Something like that might work for you either outside, in a cellar or garage. I have yet to use mine.

Theoretically an outside or in the garage system could be designed where the food waste heats up to keep things toasty. Rice type foods would be used.

Really, how often does he look under the kitchen sink?

I'm so happy to hear that you feel that way! I don't really like them (physically) either! I love the hobby, and worry about them, and care if I lose any...

But they totally creep me out too! I'm such an aging old hippie green type person that I love the concept and the outcome, but cringe at any close work. Yet still I want them in winter.

As for Farmer Bob and the kitchen sink: nothing gets by him. ;)

Your ideas are all good ones. I'll be thinking about them all summer. Thanks!

theyre just worms...in a box...who care...what are they gonna do, strangle you in your sleep

You could try and appeal to his macho side ;).

Tell him 'REAL' men are like this.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p1vhDsprLNM
In this case though, the food puts me more off than the worms would if I had a thing against worms, lol.

As long as you keep feeding, the bacterial action in the compost should keep temperatures up. Generally my bins are ten degrees fahrenheit above ambient, sometimes more! A little enclosure on the porch to shelter the bin from the wind might help.

Do you have a thermometer to take the compost's temperature? I would just feed and monitor temperatures, and use the seedling mat only if the thing really looks like it's gonna freeze.

Views on this vary, but my experience is that it's hard to keep flies of various kinds out of the compost, and I would much rather not have to worry about that -- hence an outdoor shed or closet is a better place.

For heating, I use rope light, the kind with tiny bulbs (not LED's). Mine is rated at 16 Watts/Meter. I have 5 meters = 80 watts. Try holding a lit 80 watt light bulb in your hand and you'll realize it's pretty hot.
Before my recent move I was living in an area with freezing temperatures and snow in the winter. I used this system successfully for two winters.
What I did was this: On my patio I had a wooden table and on top of that, a small wooden pallet. On top of the pallet, I positioned my two Rubbermaid-type worm bins.
In the space between the table and the pallet (underneath the wooden slats), I coiled the rope light so that every part of the two bins received heat. I closed off the two open ends of the pallet with pieces of styrofoam. I also attached a dimmer switch between the outlet and the rope light (this gave me the full range of heating possibilities).

Shaul

"what are they gonna do, strangle you in your sleep" ummm, Yes. I am pretty sure that while I am asleep

The worms crawl in.
The worms crawl out.
They play pinochle
at my snout.

The worms crawl in.
The worms crawl out.
In my ears
and out my snout.

That is the fear.

It's commonly known that they prefer us dead. ;D