How to care for your worm composter while you're on vacation

One of the perks of keeping composting worms rather than a pet: there's no need to find a boarding kennel or ask a neighbor for a favor for a weekend, a week, or even two. Your worms are perfectly capable of fending for themselves while you're away for short periods. Here's how long you can be away with peace of mind, and how to handle longer absences.

Up to 3-4 weeks: nothing to worry about

Your worms can go without fresh food for 3 to 4 weeks with no problem at all: they simply keep feeding on whatever is left in the active tray. Before you leave, a few simple steps are all it takes:

• Feed them a little more generously than usual, but don't overdo it — there's no need to empty your entire kitchen compost bin all at once, as that's more likely to cause excess moisture and bad odors by the time you get back. Our WormFood, a protein-rich feed designed for exactly this purpose, is a good alternative if you'd rather not leave fresh food scraps piling up while you're away.
• Leave the leachate tray spigot fully open, with a large container underneath, so that no worm tea builds up while you're away.

Did you know?

Unlike a pet, your worms will never need you to find someone to look after them for a weekend or a week's vacation.

Longer than a month: arrange some backup

After 3 to 4 weeks, the worm population starts to decline for lack of food, and your worm bin will need a little time to get back up to speed when you return. For a longer absence, you have two options:

• Ask a friend or family member to stop by and feed your worms from time to time — keep in mind that a worm eats roughly its own weight in a day, which will give you an idea of how much food to plan for.
• If you've saved some coco coir from your starter bedding, now is the time to use it: it makes an excellent backup food for an extended absence. We cover this bedding in detail in our guide How to set up your worm composter

One thing to keep in mind if you're going away in winter: if you turn off the heat in your home while you're gone, it's best to think about the cold before you leave rather than when you get back — we explain what to do in our guide Protecting against cold and heat

Did your worms arrive right before you leave?

This can happen if you ordered your worms without realizing you'd be away: don't panic, just keep them in their shipping bedding in the fridge until you return. You can then set up your worm composter as usual — we walk through each step of getting started in our guide How to set up your worm composter

When you get back

A quick check is usually all it takes: if the bedding has dried out a bit while you were away, moisten it lightly before resuming your usual feeding. If you were gone for more than a month, ramp back up gradually rather than all at once — giving your slightly smaller worm population time to get back to its normal pace. We explain the right feeding rhythm in our guide What do earthworms eat?

In a nutshell

No need to book boarding for your worms: for absences of up to 3-4 weeks, a slightly more generous feeding before you leave and an open spigot are more than enough. Beyond that, an occasional visit from someone or a supply of coco coir will take over, while keeping the cold in mind if you're leaving in winter.

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