How many levels do you have? Maybe it's not a different food but rather an amount all at once? I find worms attempting escape after the addition of too much broccoli stalk unless it's well rotted. I think it has to do with gases released, but I don't know for sure. I just notice that as long as there is the strong smell, the worms are trying to leave, but once the smell subsides the worms seem content to stay down and resume eating, pooping, making more worms. Maybe it's a combo of food or maybe you have peels that have soap of some kind or another chemical on them. Unfortunately, there have been times when a bin suddenly seems inhospitable to worms for a short time and while I try to figure out what went wrong the worms become content again. So, the problem often gets fixed before I even get the opportunity to pinpoint the cause. It often seems aeration is the key. I leave the top off with an LED light on when worms seem unhappy. If it smells bad, I cover it with some leaves. In a worm factory, it's not a bad idea to keep an extra level handy. If the worms seem dissatisfied you can just add bedding to the extra level and put it on top. I use half finished compost since if there is a smell the compost tends to filter it out fairly well and gives the worms something to eat. Shredded phone book works well, too. After a day or two you can then dump the contents into the previous level as the previous level will likely have settled as the water from the food drains down leaving room for the addition. That way the extra level stays an extra level in case you need it again later. Does that make sense? The couple of days (or longer if it that's what it takes) will likely lead to enough rotting and ph balancing to make things hospitable again.

I've never noticed worms to be bothered by fruit flies. My outdoor summer bins get them real bad since I top feed those.

For me, worms trying to run away is most frequently overheating. The rice will let off a lot of heat as it degrades. If the compost feels warm to the touch, it's probably too warm for the worms. (Coffee grounds and beans as well as all carbs do this. Some use it to warm their bins in winter.) Worms eat mould, so the mould isn't a problem, but the rice might be.

There's a chemical in orange rind that irritates worms skin. They won't go for orange rinds until that chemical has broken down. However, it only makes them avoid the rinds. I haven't heard of it making them run.

If there's a bad smell, then Joe's advice is good - add more bedding.

If when mixing the food with the castings, you got the rice all over the place, you may have ensured there's no where for the worms to run away from the heat. Put in a plastic bottle of frozen water (dig a hole for it) or a plastic bag of ice cubes. If a few hours later, the worms are congregated around the bottle, you know that heat was the problem.

If you add heat generating food in the future, make sure it's in only one area so that worms have somewhere to escape to if it gets too hot.

Also, it sounds like you don't have holes at the bottom of your bin if you're draining water. It really helps the oxygen flow if you have some holes on the bottom. Worms eat bacteria and bacteria need oxygen to multiply. (The worms need oxygen too.) It's something you might consider.

You already have some great answers.

I like to have a layer of dry bedding at the bottom of any bin. Any moisture will prep the bedding. This also makes air space.

Hi joe.jr317, susanfromhawaii, and equinoxequinox

Thanks very much for the excellent and interesting advice. I really liked your comments.

My worm factory has two levels, and good drainage so there's no water accumulation in the lower level. It does not feel overly-warm, and since it's winter, i've been keeping my apartment at 68F so over-heating is not a problem. The smell has been the worst it's ever been; not overpowering, but noticeable.

This evening, i went through the bin and removed all the orange (actually clementines) rind i could find. Here's some observations: the smell of the clementine peel was quite strong. There were quite a few little dead bodies among the castings. I've never seen anything like this before. Some clementine peel had a dead worm attached. That made me suspicious. Then i found one bent piece of rind that had several worms in it, and all were dead. That's when i became convinced that the clementine rind was the culprit.

What would cause it? I am not sure. Susanfromhawaii's comment about the chemical in orange rind could be the reason; i've seen similar comments when i did a google search. Or as joe.jr317 suggested, it could be a chemical in the rind. Whatever the reason, i'm never putting any citrus in my worm bins again. I hate seeing the worms so unhappy!

Following your advice, i added even more bedding. I had read, in one google search result, that adding crushed eggshell (mostly composed of calcium carbonate) would help reduce acidity. Since i had some handy, i added it.

Hopefully, with the removal of the rind i could find, as well as adding crushed eggshell and more bedding, the bin will start to recover. I'll know for sure in a few days, and will keep a close eye on it.

Thanks again for your very valuable advice! :)

cheers,
shireen

I never add any citrus to my worm bins. You can grind that citrus peel up in the blender, add water, a drop of dish detergent and a TBSP of molasses and kill fire ants with it. Or get a container of citrus oil and put a drop on the back of your hand. Then sit down and wait. In about three minutes your hand will start to burn. When you can't stand it anymore, wash the oil off. Then keep notes on how long it takes for the burn to heal. It took mine about two days. Citrus will kill your little wormie friends. Citrus=bad juju. They also hate hot peppers. Cheryl

We add clementine peels to our worm bins nearly daily. They are my wife's and daughter's favorite fruit. They never seem to be a problem. However, we do wash them off before peeling and I add ground up egg shell. Maybe that has something to do with it. We have also used pure citrus oil on our skin to ward of mosquitoes. No problems. Cheryl, you may have an allergy you need to look into.

Hi all, wanted to give you an update. The day after i posted my last comments, things got worse. When i went to check the worms in the morning, i noticed that they were trying to escape from the 2nd (lower) bin as well! Whatever was irritating the worms in the top bin was also affecting the worms below.

At this point i was really worried about whether the worms would survive! So i took the day off from work, and spent the entire day rescuing every worm i could find that was still alive, and any cocoons i could see. Fortunately, i was able to save quite a few, but am still concerned that they've been so weakened that they may not survive. Time will tell.

Everything else has been thrown out, and a fresh clean bin has been started. I moistened some coco coir, added a lot of shredded paper, and put the surviving worms in there. Then i gave them a small amount of corn and green beans. I saved a few clumps of castings that had some live mites and placed them in two corners of the fresh bin, away from the worms. I hoping that some of that left-over fauna will migrate to the food and help with breaking it down. In a few days, i'll remove those clumps.

This morning, the bin seems OK. I looked under the food and saw activity and there's no foul smell. So far, so good.

Wow! This has been a traumatic experience for the worms and me! :)

Thanks again for all the excellent advice. I really really appreciate it.

BTW, joe.jr317, i'm thinking there may have been a pesticide on the skins. Based on what you and others have said (from google searches), this reaction is too extreme to attribute to just citrus. But I can't prove it. Anyhow, i've thrown away all the clementines! What a waste ....