I got 20 pounds of worm castings for my birthday and found some baby worms in them so I decided to set up my first worm bin in order to try to save them, rather than using them as soil amendment.

So I took a rubbermaid container and drilled 1/4 inch holes in the bottom. Then I drilled 1/16 air holes in the lid and around the edges near the top of the container.

Since I really didn't know how to handle the fact that they were in the castings, I put damp strips of newspaper all fluffed up in the bottom, then put the worm castings in, then put more bedding (newspaper strips with the water squeezed out) on the top, then a wet piece of cardboard.

I put a couple of old french fries and some coffee grounds in two corners, then put the lid on and left it alone.

Last night.. my 4 year old came and told me there was a worm on the outside of the box. I thought he was kidding, but went and looked anyway and it was true. Not only was one crawling down the outside of the box after escaping out of the air holes, there were various dried ones all over the floor and several live ones that I was able to capture and put back in the box.

How can I get these little guys, the ones that are left, to settle down and stay in the box?

Thanks!