Getting worms out of the ground

iwanttofish · 12-30-2004, 10:08 AM

Does nay one have a easy way to get night crawlers out of the ground by either electricity or spraying something on the ground.

RoscoeP · 12-30-2004, 10:12 AM

I've heard of the electricity thing but don't know how it is done. I've always had great success going down to the local school or park at night, after a good hard rain, when it is relatively warm and muggy. Most of the crawlers are right on top and easy to grab. A dull flashlight and a coffee can are all you need. It's great fun for the kids too.

bellinghamangler · 12-30-2004, 10:19 AM

You can make them come up at night by watering your lawn in evening. People on the west side of the Cascades can probably wait for a good rain also. Use a flashlight with a red lense and they won't react to the light.

lost_sailor · 12-30-2004, 10:49 AM

Quote:

You can make them come up at night by watering your lawn in evening...

More likely in May than in January!

My Grandpa had a "worm-getter" - plugged right in ... scary!

Cliff · 12-30-2004, 10:54 AM

hey, i found the best way to do it!! Just wait till after a heavy rain, walk outside... walk down the road, around 10pm. or really early like 4-6am, and they will be all over the roads, so just walk up and down the street and pick em up!

Cliff

lilfisherboy · 12-30-2004, 11:00 AM

all you need is a used power cord and a metal rod and cut the cord and only tape the positive side to the metal rod and than stick the rod in the ground as far down as it will go tham plug it in and don't touch the rod at all than the worms should pop up out of the ground.

RODACTION · 12-30-2004, 11:02 AM

Watering the lawn will make the worms more active as the ground will be soft. The same as if it has been raining. I think the worms are more active in warmer temperatures than the cooler.

You can also use a pounding on on the ground with a big stick. Like a 2x4 or a broom handle. The thump,thump,thump on the ground seems to drive the worms up out of ground.

good luck and Happy New Year !!!

Oregonhunter · 12-30-2004, 11:34 AM

Well......when I was a kid I used to sell nightcrawlers for extra cash (had to pay for my trout habit) and used to do the flashlight after dark routine, this was the safest way.

I did try the electric rod version and this did work but the worms did not live very long cause they dont care for electricution any more than we do!

Not to mention its not all that safe for us! Being the stupid kid I was I used to keep my worms in a large metal garbage can and as you know metal and electricity really like each other. Long story short....I set the metal rod on the garbage can then went to remove the lid but I forgot to unplug the rod first so as you can guess I ended up with a pretty good SHOCK!

This was the last time I ever tried this method!

I also tried using powder Comet cleaner (someone told me this really drove the worms nuts) I would take a fair amount of the stuff and mix it with some water in a large pail, then poor directly on the ground. The worms came up out of the ground quickly but who can blame them I just declared chemical warfair on the poor things! But they did not live very long after this method either, I vote for the flashlight method! :smile:

Take care,

Oregonhunter

mandinga · 12-30-2004, 12:29 PM

lots of h2o always worked for me.

Tarterman · 12-30-2004, 01:04 PM

I've did the electricity method years back. Me and my brother use to sell worms. It was a lot of fun. We just got some pieces of wood (like 1 foot sections of a broom handle or something) and then some hangers. We cut the hangers and used electrical tape to hold the hangers and the wire to the parts of the broom handle. We then cut and spliced an old extension cord. We had 4 or 5 "prods" daisy-chained.

Looking back, it might not have been the safest but we used it for 2 or 3 years and never once got shocked. We got so many worms it wasn't even funny.

T-man

Fish-n-Fever · 12-30-2004, 01:08 PM

Use 1/4 cup liquid dish soap (dawn etc..) to 5 gallons tap water, mix well and pour it on the grass, or any area where worms live wait 10 secs to 30 seconds and start picking the worms up. Won't harm the grass and works day or night and works well.
Ron

MasterCaster · 12-30-2004, 01:09 PM

Moist ground-DAWN dish soap-5 gallon bucket-water. Thats all you need if your in a wormy area. Put about 1/4 cup give or take a little (its been awhile since Ive done this)of DAWN dish soap in the bucket and fill it with water. Pour this over an area of sparce grass or bare ground that has signs of worms. They will wiggle their way right out within minutes usually if the gound is already moist. I just rinse them off afterwards to make sure they are ok. I caught 81 dozen nightcrawlers over a few nights doing this and just walking around at night to take on a trip and they lived for over a week and a half until they were used up. Early morning or evening/night was the best time during the summer but I would think as long as its not frozen any time of day right now would work well.

(Looks like dad beat me to it!) Good luck

Jon :smile: :grin: :smile:

WishinIwasfishin · 12-30-2004, 02:49 PM

Fred Meyer sells em and buy one doz get another free!!!!!!
I have never bought any from them so I can't speak of quality.

Seefood Man · 12-30-2004, 04:47 PM

I wet the ground and use a 12 volt battery charger. Safer for you and better for the worms to. I do like the Dawn trick, I'll have to give it a try.

iwanttofish · 12-30-2004, 05:13 PM

I like the charger idea I will try that tonight.

wannacatchem · 12-30-2004, 05:20 PM

do a google on "grunting" for worms. They actually have a contest for this in the south. Seems you pound a stick in the ground, then rub a stick across the top so it vibrates (hence the "grunting) Vibration drives the worms out. Look out tho, they are pretty P.O.'d when they come up. Seems they attack en masse

steelydan · 12-30-2004, 05:26 PM

Dawn dish soap looks to be a clear winner, but by accident I was in the yard running my outboard with the hose hooked up for a few minutes, looked down and must of had a couple dozen of those buggers at my feet. I guess the vibration from the motor and the wetness of the ground they thought it was pouring rain outside.

SD

Up-4-Air · 12-30-2004, 05:55 PM

Now that you've got them, what's the preferred way of keeping them? How long do they keep? :whazzup:

farm5 · 12-30-2004, 06:48 PM

Look what we have secumbed to, dumping chemicals and amature electrocution.

Just get yourself a darn flashlight, enjoy the pain in your back and hunt in the dark the old fashiond way. The more ya do it the better you will get. Even better if you can get someone to go with you and hold the can.

Anglerp · 12-30-2004, 07:58 PM

The quality of FM worms is ok just always check the box but it is not buy 1 dozen get anouther free, it is bye 1 dozen get one additional worm free so 13 for the price of 12. lol

Old Coot · 12-30-2004, 08:41 PM

My wife and I watched the cute little boy next door to her sister's place grow from a 4-year old catastrophe into a strapping 14-year old young man. Then he went to his grandparents for a visit and used grandpa's electric worm probe to get some bait so they could go fishing, just like always.

This time something went wrong, and David was electrocuted.

I don't recommend the electric probe approach. Just water the lawn, put a foam coffee cup over your flashlight, and go pick 'em up. Fishing beats funerals any day.

iwanttofish · 12-30-2004, 09:06 PM

well right now it is too cold out for them so I am out of luck for tonight oh well.

Fishstix · 12-31-2004, 06:08 AM

Growing up, we always used the metal rod with electricity technique. It worked great. Just don't grab a worm within about a foot of the metal rod. The ground might feel a little tingly.

lamiman · 12-31-2004, 08:45 AM

bread crums, rice, bird seed or grass seed. Put it on your lawn during the rain, tons......of worm surface not sure if they are eating it or what but it works. Feeding birds sometimes I get hundreds of worms on my cement and lawn.

PATRICK 11-14 · 12-31-2004, 09:25 AM

I can't stop laughing about the electrical zap, rod, battery charger etc!! All for worms???

I can just see some old boy standing in his yard getting zapped b/c of the water under his feet and the power rod......Sorry but this seem like alot of work for some poor ol' worms!!! The soap thing might be ok...is that where blue grass comes from???? :grin:

Seefood Man · 12-31-2004, 03:09 PM

OH Patrick, Patrick, Patrick, this is not a thread about catching worms

. This is a thread of the anticipation of catching fish that comes from getting those worms

cade · 12-31-2004, 03:16 PM

When i was younger, me and my brother had turtles so we would go out at night after it had rained that day, and have flashlights and butter tubs, or other holding devices, and grab the night crawlers (worms) and hold on to on end, and they would try to get away but if you hold on to them and not pull to hard you will get them out! It was a great way to have fun for us, and the turtles liked them.

Seefood Man · 12-31-2004, 03:17 PM

Just had an idea

! I'm going to get my neighbor kid's boom box out of his car and point those speakers face down on the lawn and play that Rap-BOOM BOOM BOOM garbage. That will run them worms out of there

farm5 · 12-31-2004, 05:27 PM

Cade,

Exactly, you got it perfectly the way it should be. You went and caught the worms as they were meant to be caught and fed them to critters who showed their appreciation for your effort. That's as good as it gets. Discouver other critters and go about your way to make them as comfortable as you can.