Fishing worms

[Triggerhappy]

Just noticed something interesting. Was in the driveway washing out the kitchen trash can with a little beach and water. Got done and dumped the water out in the driveway. Came back an hour later and where the water had run into the grass there were dozens of huge 8-9" nightcrawlers. I knew about using electricity to drive them to the surface, but this was really simple. Not much bleach, 1/2 cup with 5 or so gallons of water. Not much water made it to the grass, sure worked though

Once I saw them on the surface I rinsed it all down to dilute it. Nice to have a local supply of fishin' worms easy to get at.

Cheers.

TH

[waynem34]

A little bit of bleach should be ok.I use very small amounts to clean drinkin water,Very small amount.Maybe half a cap full in a gallon and a half of water.I used a couple of welding rods with the flucs scrape off and a little 110 in a pile of horse dookie to get worms for a while.Potatoe digger work great too.

[JeffinNZ]

Pepper is good too. When they come up to sneeze you grab them real quick. :-P

[quilbilly]

If you use bleach to bring them up, you have to use the worms within a day or so. The bleach kills them. Only about a tablespoon per gallon of water is enough. I only use it when I am in a hurry to get nightcrawlers. Otherwise I go out at night with a red light since the worms can detect white light.

[Stephen Cohen]

I had a friend who used to get large worms from the rainforest by starting his chainsaw and placing it on the leaf litter, the worms just crawled out of the ground.

[wv109323]

I have also heard multiple times that the tramming of bulldozers and such heavy equipment will draw rattlesnakes in such areas as logging and surface mining.
It is a common concern for mechanics/operators of such equipment to be on the lookout for rattlesnakes when working on/operating heavy equipment.
Bleach gets into the respitory system of the nightcrawlers causing them to come to the surface.

[skeeter2]

Growing up my parents yard had a ton of night crawlers. Nothing fancy, we just ran the hose and when the ground got wet the night crawlers came to the surface and we grabbed them in broad daylight. I never saw a need to do anything fancier.

[Olevern]

Pepper is good too. When they come up to sneeze you grab them real quick. :-P

:groner:

[Marvin S]

Walnut hull juice will also work.

[dagger dog]

Stick a pitchfork in the ground an beat on the shaft with a stick, it'll bring 'em to the surface.

[Ed Barrett]

I have used dry mustard powder mixed with water to bring up worms. It doesn't hurt the worms, biologists use this method for worm worm density counts. The fish may even like the worms better with a little mustard on them.

[Triggerhappy]

How much mustard do you use?

[beagle]

Research "fiddling" for worms on the net. This is done by pounding a stake in the ground. The stake has a fairly sharp edge on top. Another piece of wood with serrations is used to pull across this sharp edge and produces vibrations and drives them out. Much like fiddling. Scoop 'em up when they come out./beagle

[Echo]

I've heard that sprinkling used loob grooves on the grass will bring them up, but I doubt it...

[Uncle Grinch]

Research "fiddling" for worms on the net. This is done by pounding a stake in the ground. The stake has a fairly sharp edge on top. Another piece of wood with serrations is used to pull across this sharp edge and produces vibrations and drives them out. Much like fiddling. Scoop 'em up when they come out./beagle
Back in the early '50's my granddaddy showed me how to get fishing bait by driving a stake in the ground (look for the castings first) and rub the end of it with a piece of flat iron. We used a piece of leaf spring off a wagon. A few minutes of making that post vibrate (hence the grunt'un sound) the worms will come crawling out like the mischief!

Another was to find some real active wigglers was to find a grove of hardwoods (we had live oaks in south Georgia) and take a stick and scratch the leaves on the ground. This is the same thing turkeys and chickens do. The wigglers will be right under the leaves, but you have to be fast or they will scoot right back in their hole.

Most kids today think I'm crazy when I mention grunt'un worms. They think I may have some kind of intestinal issue!

[white eagle]

personally I just go buy em

[Tom W.]

All of my fishing worms are plastic...

[Ed Barrett]

How much mustard do you use?

Liquid Extraction

In this method you pour a solution of mustard water on the soil allowing it to percolate down. The mustard solution irritates the skin of earthworms and they come to the surface to avoid it, where they can be collected, preserved and identified. To make the solution, mix 4 liters (~1 gallon) of water with 40 grams (~1/3rd cup) ground yellow mustard seed. This is the same powdered yellow mustard you will find in the spice rack in any grocery store. However, if you plant on doing this a lot it is MUCH cheaper to buy it in bulk at the local food coop.
liquid extraction

A 4L jug of mustard solution is enough to sample a 35cm x 35 cm (1 square foot) sample plot. Clear away the dry surface litter in your sample area (if the litter is wet you may have to search it by hand for errant earthworms). Slowly pour about half of the jug of mustard solution over the area allowing it to soak in as much as possible. If worms are present and active they should begin coming up almost immediately. If they don’t come up immediately, wait 2 minutes or so and then pour again. A forceps is handy for picking the earthworms up off the surface. Have a collection tray to put them in until you’re done, since they can come up in rapid succession and if you are collecting and preserving your earthworms, put some alcohol (isopropyl or rubbing alcohol) in the collection tray to anesthetize the earthworms as they surface. When picking up the surfacing earthworms, WAIT until they come all the way up and out of the soil before you grab them or they will try to go back down and you will most often get an earthworm piece, rather than a whole earthworm. After a few minutes, and the initial flush of earthworms slows down, pour more of the solution over the sample area. You will probably get another flush of earthworms coming to the surface. Continue this until the whole gallon is used up (2 or 3 pourings). Deeper dwelling species take longer to surface than those close to the surface to don’t be too impatient. Total sample time is usually 5-10 minutes.

This technique works well for all species of earthworms but only when the earthworms are active. If it has been very dry, very hot or very cold in the week(s) prior to sampling they may not respond as very well since they may be in aestivation (earthworm version of hibernation). In contrast, if air temperatures have been moderate and it has rained recently they are likely to be active and respond well to the liquid extraction. AN EXCEPTION – if the soil is very compacted and/or has a poor structure (heavy clay, fields, roads, etc.) the extractant doesn’t move well through the soil and the earthworms will not respond because the liquid doesn’t reach them. BUT, in most hardwood forests of our region the liquid extraction method works very well. Try it, it’s fun!

If you are only interested in generating a species list for your site, then you can choose to sample here and there across your site. However, if you want to measure relative abundance of different earthworms for your site then use a plot sampling scheme (see study design).

Types of data you can collect using this method:

A complete list of the species and/or ecological groups present
Relative abundance of different species or ecological groups
Density of earthworms on an area basis (i.e. number of earthworms per m²)
Biomass on an area basis (i.e. grams of earthworm biomass per m²)

Types of data you cannot collect with this method alone:

[steg]

I use loobgroves as snares, actually a little (diluted alot) of distilled vinegar will do the trick too, make sure you rince them well to get off that acid

[waksupi]

I use loobgroves as snares, actually a little (diluted alot) of distilled vinegar will do the trick too, make sure you rince them well to get off that acid

If you use vinegar, you are likely to kill any grass it gets on. I use vinegar in a spray bottle to do edging work around the cabin and shop.

[7br]

Just noticed something interesting. Was in the driveway washing out the kitchen trash can with a little beach and water. Got done and dumped the water out in the driveway. Came back an hour later and where the water had run into the grass there were dozens of huge 8-9" nightcrawlers. I knew about using electricity to drive them to the surface, but this was really simple. Not much bleach, 1/2 cup with 5 or so gallons of water. Not much water made it to the grass, sure worked though
Cheers.

TH

Fishing for White Bass?