raising nightcrawlers

[the shootist]

I'm thinking about trying to raise nightcrawlers to sell to fisherman, and stores.  Has anybody tried it or have any info on doing it?

[h2ofowlr]

I would hit the local grave yard at night and bring a flash light.  They are really big for some reason. 

I tried it a few times.  I kept killing the worms for some reason.

[YellowDog]

When I was a kid there was a guy down the street that raised nightcrawlers in his basement.  We would all go up  to the church at the end of the street at night after they turned off their sprinklers and you could grab hand fulls of them.  Ahhh, memories. 

[the shootist]

yea we've picked up plenty of them over the years but I think that there are companies that can help you raise them, and that may be a better way to go, but I'm not sure.

[rasbo]

there is a book I have called herman the worm,good read about the worm czar George Sroda.

[MIKEXRAY]

My grandfather tried it years ago. Cost him $ 300 to get started with 3 bins & start up supplies. He worked on it for a year & was up to 10 coffin like bins full of night crawlers. He would haul horse doo, divide the worms into new bins. It was all a lot of work. He sold his 10 bins of night crawlers at the end for $ 300. ( didn't make a nickel ).  Only tried it the one time. He did sell to a wholesaler though, might be better if you sell them retail right to fishermen ? When I lived in Oregon I used to swing by a guys house on the way to the river, he did have the best night crawlers. Mike

[Axle]

When I lived in Oregon I used to swing by a guys house on the way to the river, he did have the best night crawlers.

Might have been my uncle. Was he in Winston? I used to pick up worms at night for him.

I don't raise them to sell but what I do is put down cardboard on the ground in shady areas. The worms love to eat it and hang out under it. Just keep it wet and cool. Then go out and sort through it when you need worms. If I remember correctly, it takes a few years for one to get to full size. Also, don't they live about 20 years?

If you really want to be a hero, go find the rarest worm in the world. It lives in eastern WA. I think there has only been 3 or 4 sightings in the past 100 years. You get one of those puppies on display and you hit the jackpot!

[rasbo]

I was given one of those small refrigerators like for a house bar..I plan on burying that up to the door and put some bedding in it.should work great for a one man fishing operation

[ICEMAN]

Ah....the elusive Palouse Earthworm...;



Jodi Johnson-Maynard will tell you this is not a quest. It's not her personal mission or a scientific crusade. She's reluctant to call it much of anything, in fact.

Her search for the giant Palouse earthworm is one she conducts with calculated scientific professionalism: She refuses to take sides, she will only comment on facts--the black and white. Not the gray.

What she will firmly tell you is that the giant Palouse earthworm--a pale white worm that can grow 3 feet long, smells like lilies and spits when aggravated--exists. She'll also tell you that its numbers are plummeting, that it lives somewhere under the Palouse and that it has only been found four times in the last 100 years.

Story here; http://www.boiseweekly.com/boise/great-white/Content?oid=1436881

[Axle]

That's a great idea Rasbo. That would keep out the moles.

tip: Worms also like newspapers but I like to use cardboard. Seems to work better for what I do. If you have a way of shredding newspapers or cardboard, you can make some nice bedding for them.

[rasbo]

That's a great idea Rasbo. That would keep out the moles.

tip: Worms also like newspapers but I like to use cardboard. Seems to work better for what I do. If you have a way of shredding newspapers or cardboard, you can make some nice bedding for them.

I WILL KEEEL DA MOLE DAT MESS WIT MY WORMS

[PolarBear]

My kids had one of those worm farms that you can get at Sportsman's warehouse for a couple of years.  It worked out great and they sold worms to all of their friends Dads.  They would go out every time we had a big rain and gather worms from the yard to add to the farm.  It was great until some kind of fungus got into the farm and killed all the worms.  I recently sterilized the box and were are going to try it again.  We didn't use a refrigerator but had them in my barn in a spare room placed on the cold concrete floor.

[the shootist]

Thanks for the tips guys! Does anybody know what the best food might be for them? I have been using grass, and fine cornmeal.

[Ripper]

Grass and hay is good. Plus a regular paper shredder works good for shredding news paper. We got one to shred all the credit card apps we get. Throw the shredded paper in a bin, toss in some old fruit and veggis, grass clippings, hay.... let it compost for a while. Mix in some potting soil then add worms. Make sure the compost is done/ cooled off and mixed with dirt or it will kill the worms. I tried commercial worm food, but it formed a fungus and killed them off. I might try raising them again, I haven't done it in years.  Good luck.   Mark

[the shootist]

Thanks Ripper those are great ideas! Like you I tried the commercial foods,and also had mold problems {don't know why) but natuaral is better I guess. I also like the credit card offer shredding idea! We got rid of our's years ago, and it has been a great blessing to not owe those leeches anything. All I have is a house payment, and hopefully that's all I'll ever have.