Night crawlers

[harvey lee]

Been waiting for them to appear.

Rained pretty good last night and they are all over the street.

Picked up 10 dozen this am in about a half hour.

later, hopefully another 10 dozen.

[DLD24]

Lucky I just bought 18 for $4..Can't wait untill I can pick my own...

[Cheetah]

It's a bit late in the day now but I will take a quick walk around my block to see if any are still on the street or maybe got squished. I feel like it might be too cold still here in Roseville.

[Cheetah]

Not many here but I saw a couple live ones and a few squished ones down my street. I bet it would have been a decent catch this morning if I had gone out. The next warm rain I'm sure will really bring them out of the ground.

[harvey lee]

Yes, I thought it was to cool yet also but got suprised this am when I went for coffee.

I am hoping of picking approx 50 dozen this week with all the rain in the forecast.

Some nice fat juicy ones also this morning.

I put the worm bedding in a 6qt ice cream pail, then add water for moisture and punch a bunch of holes in the lid. I put these in a spare fridge and turn the pails every 3 days or so and check for moisture in the bedding. These pails I put 12 dozen crawlers in each one and I can keep them for the entire summer for bait when I need it.

[amateurfishing]

Yes, I thought it was to cool yet also but got suprised this am when I went for coffee.

I am hoping of picking approx 50 dozen this week with all the rain in the forecast.

Some nice fat juicy ones also this morning.

I put the worm bedding in a 6qt ice cream pail, then add water for moisture and punch a bunch of holes in the lid. I put these in a spare fridge and turn the pails every 3 days or so and check for moisture in the bedding. These pails I put 12 dozen crawlers in each one and I can keep them for the entire summer for bait when I need it.

+1, that's exactly what I do Harvey and add coffee grounds for food

if anyone wants to sell some, i'd pefer buying from locals than a large retailer and don't have them in our neighborhood, maybe I'll have to check out local parks

[Rick G]

Been waiting for them to appear.

Rained pretty good last night and they are all over the street.

Picked up 10 dozen this am in about a half hour.

later, hopefully another 10 dozen.

Rub it in those of us further north are still waiting. In a normal year I would have almost enough for the whole season by now, not this year

[motley man]

How do you store your crawlers?

[gwiff100]

hey i live out in western mn and we havent gotten the pure rain yet to even consider crawler hunting.

[Alagnak]

How do you store your crawlers?

Read the posts you clicked on and it will tell you. ;-)

"I put the worm bedding in a 6qt ice cream pail, then add water for moisture and punch a bunch of holes in the lid. I put these in a spare fridge and turn the pails every 3 days or so and check for moisture in the bedding. These pails I put 12 dozen crawlers in each one and I can keep them for the entire summer for bait when I need it."

[Scott K]

I would go out tonight, but I would have to shovel my yard off to look for them

[EBass]

It smelled like worms this AM. Now it's snowing.

[leech~~]

Hey, two weeks ago I seen one crawling across the wet grass. The next day, it Snowed 5" inchs!

[BLACKJACK]

I put the worm bedding in a 6qt ice cream pail, then add water for moisture and punch a bunch of holes in the lid. I put these in a spare fridge and turn the pails every 3 days or so and check for moisture in the bedding. These pails I put 12 dozen crawlers in each one and I can keep them for the entire summer for bait when I need it.

I just bought some worm bedding this morning in anticpation of picking some worms, was wondering the best way to keep them. Last year I just put them in some bedding in a plastic bucket in the frig, they did tend to gob up, like the idea of flipping.

The bag of bedding says to keep the worms at 40-60 degrees, do you turn your frig up a little?? Hate to drink warm beer...

One guy mentioned feeding and coffee grounds, is that necessary?

[harvey lee]

Yep Leech, picked them this am and 2 hours later it was snowing. Hope in the next week or so it does not happen again or I may have to stop picking them until July.

[Sherman]

I prefer picking them up during the nite around 8-10 pm. That's when all the fat juicy ones come out to breed. I store them into a 5 gal bucket or ice cream bucket with moist dry leaves mix with some soil. Put them in a cool place like the basement or garage. Saves a lot $$$$

[Stick in Mud]

Just some advice for those wondering how to store worms....I've wasted more worms than I'll admit to on a public forum.

It's better to keep them a little on the dry side than a little too wet. If the bedding is too wet, you can pretty easily get a mold problem that will destroy a whole batch--or you'll flat out drown some. It's easy to add a bit of water; it's harder to take it out once you've added it.

Just my .02.

[harvey lee]

When I mix up my bedding, I add water and if I put too much in, I just add more bedding. Once in the ice cream pail, I add very little water but some so it is wet to the touch and I have never had1 issue yet.

Now I bragged about how well it has worked and will have an issue.

[CANOPY SAM]

Now don't jinx yourself Harvey!

Coffee grounds, huh? You mean coffee grounds left over after you brewed a pot? Aren't they pretty acidic? I'd think a worm would run for the hills if it came in contact with coffee grounds. Do they really eat it? I could feed an army of worms with all the grounds left over from the tar I drink every morning!

I just bought more worm bedding, and a can of worm food. Keep hundreds of fat crawlers all summer in a cool fridge in the barn, but would love to know what to feed them. I thought the store-bought bedding itself had food in it already?

[LMITOUT]

A few years ago I read a tip about using crushed Corn Flakes for worm food and it has worked well for me ever since. I just sprinkle a little over the top of worm bedding every once in a while. I have also been using the Fat-n-Sassy worm bedding which doesn't require mixing with water.

I have a fridge in the garage where I keep the crawlers and set it at around 42-44 degrees.

Not sure if it is any one of those things or a combination thereof, but the crawlers seem to keep well all season and into fall.

[Rick G]

Best worm food I have ever found is dog poo I know it sounds gross, but after not picking all my dog's waste one year and letting it decay in the yard, I was amazed to find most of my fattest crawlers, not just near, but right in the fecal matter . Nightcrawlers will eat just about anything orgainc, but I have never had as big of crawlers as I find in the doggy dodo