Does your worm farm smell and you don’t know why? Maybe you aren’t sure whether the worm farm should smell? Or are you curious about worm farms and want to know more? No matter what the reason is that brought you here, we have the answer for you!
Finding out if worm farms should smell can be tricky, especially if you have never had a worm farm before. You head online for some advice but are met with pages and pages of contradicting information. Frustrated and disappointed, you are left unsure where to turn or who to trust.
Well, no more! Today, we are here with the answers that you need. Keep reading to find out if worm farms smell and what you should do if yours starts to smell. Get ready to become a worm farm expert today!
Do Worm Farms Smell?
Let’s dive straight into it! Providing that your worm farm or bin is cared for and maintained correctly, it should not smell. Worm farms should have no odor, apart from the smell of fresh soil.
Sure, the smell of fresh soil might not be pleasant for everyone, but this is the only smell that should be coming from your worm farm or bin. Although worm farms should not smell, they do, from time to time, develop strange or foul odors and smells.
It is not uncommon, so don’t be disheartened if your worm farm starts to smell. It happens to all of us and thankfully, the smells are easy to troubleshoot and rectify so you don’t need to stress too much about it!
Now that we have established that worm farms should not smell, let’s dive in a little deeper. We will take a look at the common causes of smells in a worm farm and how you can rectify them!
Why Does My Worm Farm Smell Bad?
As we mentioned above, there are a few reasons why your worm farm will smell bad. Let’s take a look at these reasons now to help you pinpoint why your worm farm smells bad.
Excess Food
The most common cause of a foul smell coming from your worm farm is excess food. If there is more food in your worm bin than the worms can eat, the food will start to rot. Rotting food never smells pleasant, but it can be worse on a worm farm!
The farm will become anaerobic and release nasty gasses into the air. There will not be enough oxygen in the worm farm and the healthy composting bacteria that worms need, posing a risk to your worm farm.
Excess Moisture
Excess moisture in your worm farm can also cause it to smell bad. This can be found at the bottom of your worm farm and can be caused by wet waste in the worm farm, a link, or a humid environment.
Not only can the excess moisture cause your worm farm to smell bad, but it can cause a lack of oxygen flowing in your worm farm, which is not good for your worms! A good flow of air and oxygen will help remove the smells and keep your worms thriving.
Worm Juice
Your worm farm will have liquid called worm juice, or vermicast, that comes to the bottom and sits in a casting tray. This liquid can sometimes smell and can leave a foul odor around your worm farm.
You might not notice that the worm juice smells until you remove it to use in your plants. Thankfully, there is a quick solution for worm juice that smells bad (more on this later).
How To Stop Worm Bin Smelling Bad
Now that we have found the problem with your worm bin, let’s look at how we stop the foul smell! We have a solution below for each of the possible causes, so be sure to keep reading to see how you can fix your smelly worm bin.
Remove The Food
If excess food is causing the issue, you need to remove it. Avoid thick layers or piles of rotten food that aren’t being used, as this traps oxygen and makes the smell worse. Remove any food that has rotten and any large amounts that your worms will not eat.
Then, fluff the top layers of your worm farm. This will help to remove any odor and get air circulating through the farm. Avoid adding more food to the worm bin until the current food is gone, this will help to prevent a build-up and stop the smell from returning!
Remove The Moisture
If excess moisture is the cause of your smell, remove the excess moisture from the worm farm. You will want to consider the cause of the excess moisture too, so you can prevent it from happening again.
You might need to add air holes to your system or add a layer of paper to soak up excess moisture. We recommend leaving the lid of your worm bin open slightly to help oxygen flow through the system and dry up the excess moisture.
Reuse The Juice
If the worm juice is the cause of the smell, do not use it on your plants. Instead, pour it back through the farm. The farm will get to work tackling the smell as the juice trickles down to the tray. This usually removes the odor and allows you to use the juice like normal!
Final Thoughts
And there you have it! Your worm farm should not have a smell other than that of fresh soil. If it does, you need to identify the cause of the odor and rectify it immediately to avoid any harm coming to your worms.
There are three common causes of smells coming in front of our worm farm: too much food, moisture, or odors in the worm juice. All of these causes are easily rectified, allowing you to remove the smell from your worm farm with ease!