Apologies for bumping an old thread, but as it's semi-relevant...
I never did get around to trying out a lobwormery, but I did start one up for dendras and tigers, so I thought I'd tell you all about my wormery journey (wourmey, if you will) and the little pitfalls and tips I found in case anyone else is thinking of starting one up.
The following happened between March 2021 and January 2022...
Womery Mark 1: The "warts 'n all" tower tray system
I did a LOT of research prior to starting up a wormery, and lots of forums and videos suggested that the worm tower kit (like the ones you can get from Worm City [other makes are available]) was the best and easiest one. Now, brand new they're a little bit pricy for someone who basically just wants to breed and grow their own bait, but luckily I found a used one locally on Facebook (the big four tray one) for £20, which seemed like a bargain. It didn't come with any worms or compost or anything, so I had to sort all that out myself. No point me going into detail here as you all know how they work - other than putting in the soil/compost, worms and food, there's no DIY with these, you just put 'em together and off you go. So I filled it up as per the instructions and for a couple of weeks it was all good. However, after the third week I noticed that all but the largest worms were getting through the mesh at the bottom of the trays and ending up in the sludge bin at the bottom and basically drowning. There also didn't seem to be much of a yield in terms of the number of worms, which I subsequently read comments saying that the relatively small amount of living space for the worms in the trays wasn't really suited to a wormery for fishing bait. The consensus was that the tower tray system is more for gardeners. I think I'd agree with that. I also think they (well, the four tray system at least) is quite cumbersome and takes up quite a lot of space. All that being the case, and given I'm not a gardener, I gave it to a work colleague who IS a gardener and was after one of these. (Note - I asked him recently how it was going and he was also finding that most of the worms were ending up in the sludge bin, but he's very happy with the compost and sludge being produced and the turnover of worms remaining in the trays is enough for him).
Wormery Mark 2: Bill Allen's easy bin system
I'd been watching Bill(RIP)'s vids on Youtube almost from when he first started posting them - nice bite sized vids that explain everything in simple terms without glossy photography, drones and A Passion For Angling style music in the background (cos sometimes you do just want "BANG - this is how you do it, BOOM - END"). I saw that he did one for a home made wormery using nothing more than a domestic indoor plastic bin, so thought I'd give that one a go. Long story short, a fantastic and cheap as chips (actually cheaper than chips these days!) idea, and the worms were breeding nicely. BUT I found that due to the deep nature of those types of bins and the relatively small surface area, it was actually quite difficult getting to the worms. Contrary to the popular belief of dendras and tigers spending their time in the top few inches of soil, these ones always seemed to be at least halfway down the bin, so it was a bit of a 'mare getting them out.
Womery Mark 3: the matchman's repurposed Local Authority recycling bin
Like, I'm sure, many of you with a council that's VERY into recycling, we seem to get new recycling bins left with us at least once a year, so we had several going spare. Whilst looking for an alternative to Bill's bin, I noticed that a lot of match type anglers were turning surplus recycling containers (and, also, similarly sized plastic packing/storage containers) into wormeries. So I thought I'd do the same. All the vids and articles online broadly suggested doing the same - air holes in the lid and around the sides, drainage holes at the bottom, paper at the bottom to make sure the worms don't escape through the holes, fill with bedding and worms. Feed little and often, open the lid for an air change a few times a week, done. I covered it over with a water resistant (though not fully waterproof, as I wanted there to be a bit of air flow and moisture) tarp to add protection from summer heat and winter ice. This worked quite well for several months and differing weather conditions. A few escapees from the air holes and lid (those recycling box lids don't completely seal), but otherwise the worms were breeding very well (lots of babies and eggs) and the adults were growing nicely. UNFORTUNATELY in November (2021), storm Arwen was blowing hard enough round these parts to lift the tarp (weighted down with stepping stones and ceramic ornamental garden sheep, natch) clear off the wormery and took the lid with it, When I went out the following morning to survey the damage (ceramic ornamental garden sheep, miraculously, unscathed) I dug around for the worms but my worst fears were realised - after the tarp and lid blew off, all the worms escaped. Well, most of them - still had a couple of adults and a few babies. But obviously it was time for another attempt.
Wormery Mark 4: Colditz Castle/Frankenstein's wormery
After three only semi-successful and satisfying attempts, this time I was taking no sh*t, and was determined that this would be the last wormery. If this one failed I wouldn't bother again. But I was going to learn from my mistakes and make the ultimate DIY easy to run, impossible to escape from wormery. I watched a LOT of videos by anglers in the UK, Europe and the States, gardeners, greenies, commercial wormery businesses, all sorts. I took the best bits from all of them and now have, what I consider to be, the primo anglers wormery. I got myself a "tote" storage case (medium size, slightly smaller than a standard recycling bin) which has secure clipable sides and a groove all the way around the lid so it properly seals. To keep that seal even tighter, I inserted some window draught excluder and forced it into the lid groove. This would ensure a full secure seal all around the top so nothing could escape through the lid. I then drilled a load of small holes in the top of the lid (babies could probs get through if they wanted to, but no bigger ones can), big air holes all around the side and large drainage holes at the bottom. I line the entire box with ultrafine weatherproof plastic insect netting, securing it around the inside top of the box (about 2 inches below the rim) with ultra tough weatherproof industrial tape. This meant that the air and drainage holes could be both large and plentiful, but the mesh would prevent anything but the smallest new-borns from escaping (and, let's face it, if any babies did make it through the mesh, they probably deserve a chance in the big wide world). Handily, the mesh also prevents the air and drainage holes from clogging up.
Wormery mark 4 has now been up and running since early January, and has survived storm Malik. Fingers crossed I've cracked it.
But, to be honest, having gone through all of that, I'm not sure if I can be arsed to go down the lobwormery rabbit hole......
