# Earthworm hunting. How do you do it?



## AquaNekoMobile (Feb 26, 2010)

Well I plucked about 47 worms last night after watering the backyard for 2 hours.

The way I did it was using a pair of pliers from my multitool while holding a red led flashlight. When I spotted a worm I tried to see where the body was in the ground and how much was extended out. Sometimes the worm didn't move for a minute and I had to wait till I saw which end was moving when it was under weeds and some cover. A quick dive and gentle squeeze of the pliers and an instant light pull caused the worm to slide out of the ground.

I learned quickly if you don't give that quick instant tug the worm will retract quickly then it'll be very hard to pull it out as all of it's muscles are going back down into the ground and if you do get the worm it'll likely get ripped as I've got a few pinched worms here. 

The tough ones to get are the ones hiding under some grass/weeds as the slightest touch on a blade of grass/leaf and they're gone unless about half the body is out and you dive in fast with the quick jerk.

A tip, if using pliers don't use needle nose pliers. Because they are narrow tipped you run a good chance ripping the worm in a tug fight. My multitool pliers are a little wider then the needle nose pliers. Also spring loaded pliers helps a lot to keep the pliers open for that ready to attack ease without having to use like the middle finger to keep the pliers from closing on you with non spring loaded ones. That helps especially when trying for those high difficulty finds when the worm is under folage 

So where does everyone find thier worms? Forest, revines, etc? Lets hear how you do it?


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## boun (Feb 16, 2012)

Start with the watering...During will depend on area your are planning to cover. A good soaking is needed. A garden is great for this as you are watering your garden and getting the benefits of catching worms. If you are planning to catch worms on your lawn then water only the area where shorter grass. Worms are harder to see where the grass are longer. The shorter grass area is also easier to catch. For longer grass you will have to wait until they surface to near the top of the grass and this can be very late.

Equipment: A small bucket, a dim flashlight(a head lamp is better to free up your hands a red light head lamp is even better), piece of cloth.

Your light should be just dim enough for you to see, and not to scare the worms when you shine the light on them. There should be a one second pause or more before they start moving back to their hole. If your light is too bright, dim it with a ply of tissue paper tide down with an elastic band. More tissue will create a dimmer light. Tissue paper can be toilet paper, Kleenex, etc...
Free up one of your hands! If you have a head lamp then carry the bucket in one hand and use the other empty hand for picking. If you have a hand flash light then put the bucket down somewhere by your feet and free up the hand for picking.

Wait until dark. During the summer probably midnight. During the spring or fall when the nights are cooler you can do this earlier. The later the better as this will allow the worms to come out more and they will be easier to spot and pick. 

Plan a path around your yard. Straight back and forth usually works for most peoples back yard. Most people will be able to clear a path about 1M wide. Just like a ninja out to assassinate the evil worms gently, move along the yard head down I tend to watch the border of my light for worms which is also with in arms reach. Any closer the worms would have gone under already due to lack of training as a ninja. 

Technique: No pliers as I found this to be too hard on the worms and they tend to break . Form your hand as if you able about to pinch someone. Your thumb, forefinger and index finger should like "pliers". Grab the worm by the head. The head is usually darker and bigger. The tail is thinner and pale looking. Practice by picking up a piece of string on a soft surface like a pillow or a seat of coach. Speed is essential. 

Once you grab the worm by the head and they are holding on for dear life, you can work them loose moving you hand in a slow circular motion and gently pull them out. If they really hanging hard, just hold still and wait a few seconds and you will notice a slight release from the worm. If one angle does not work try the opposite side. The tail of the worm will form a "hook" and will latch onto their hole. The hole is usually in an angle to the surface of the ground. If you pull against the hole angle you will break the worm. Find the angle that will align the worm to the hole and it should an easy pull.
Wipe your fingers once you noticed the worms are harder to grab. Move the bucket to your feet as you go along so to create less noise from walking back and forth.

This takes about half an hour for me to catch three to four dozen worms.


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## Greg_o (Mar 4, 2010)

Phenomenal thread you guys make worm hunting sound fun.


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## AquaNekoMobile (Feb 26, 2010)

I find the plier method works well when the worms are under foliage. I tried the hand method and it is very hard for those high difficulty areas when worms are under something. I have clear bare patches of dirt in my backyard but I find after a wave of plucking it is best to wait about 30-60mins before doing it again.

If you have kids or friends to help this is good as you can get up chairs and have each person cover their own section and rotate in teams every 15mins or so , so each person can relax their back. Doing the Quasimodo for 1hr adds up quickly on the back.

A mossie jacket helps as well under a long sleeve shirt which keeps the mossies off you. Wear a hat as well if you have a mossie jacket with the face shield as I find without the hat the face netting may sit on the skin while you're hunting the worms and I've gotten a few mossie bites that way despite wearing a mossie jacket.


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## AquaNekoMobile (Feb 26, 2010)

Hey how long do worms live in a fridge? Should you store them in the drawers or in the open space? The cheeze isn't freezing in the drawers so I figure the worms can stay there.


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## boun (Feb 16, 2012)

Normally earthworms can live up to 5 years and this will all depends on how they are kept. Keep them refrigerated in a large sealed container with holes for air. You want to seal, else you will get crawlers all over your fridge It does not matter if they are in the drawer or not. Unfortunately large containers will also take up precious fridge space. I used flat butter containers that is about 6"X12"X3" (LxWxH). Feed them well fed and they will do well.

A beer fridge in the garage works well. You can usually find an old fridge on Kijiji for less then $50. If you are going this route, some people will use foam containers since they have more space.



AquaNekoMobile said:


> Hey how long do worms live in a fridge? Should you store them in the drawers or in the open space? The cheeze isn't freezing in the drawers so I figure the worms can stay there.


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## solarz (Aug 31, 2010)

Does anyone know if you can catch "red wrigglers" instead of the more common types from your backyard? I'm looking to set up a worm compost.


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## Ciddian (Mar 15, 2006)

I have a wack of them myself solarz, or the petsmart at eglington and birchmount had them. That is where I picked up mine


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## AquaNekoMobile (Feb 26, 2010)

Ciddian said:


> I have a wack of them myself solarz, or the petsmart at eglington and birchmount had them. That is where I picked up mine


What? I thoguht PetsMart oes not sell red wigglers and what they stock is global in all thier stores. At least that is from all the stores I've been to around the GTA/GTA North.

How much are the red wigglers and how many do you get? What containers are they sold in?


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## Ciddian (Mar 15, 2006)

I didnt see them for the longest time, then they started stocking earthworms, and then I saw the red wrigglers. I have a bunch of babies wriggling around in my bin now.

They where in the same area as the mealies, same sorta container but I think it was black.


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## AquaNekoMobile (Feb 26, 2010)

solarz said:


> Does anyone know if you can catch "red wrigglers" instead of the more common types from your backyard? I'm looking to set up a worm compost.


You can find red wigglers under decaying items. Like if you put a plant pot on the ground covering up the grass and the grass dies when you lift the pot you'll see some underneath there. When I am doing weeding (in the jungle backyard ) I put the weeds on the ground in small piles which not only dries them out to make it lighter but also as it breaks down a bit while I wait for the next lawn collection date when I lift the pile I see the small red wigglers underneath there. Seeing as you're in the Yonge & Finch area you may want to find a park near by (I'd suggest Cummer/Lesile Don Trail) and some green or black colored garbage bags. Find a spot, clear some ground, lay thin twigs and lots of leaves around. Cover the stuff with the bags and weigh it down with stones. As the stuff breaks down you'll have your little hidden worm spot to dig up or surface pluck the red wigglers.


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## AquaNekoMobile (Feb 26, 2010)

I'm finding red wigglers works well for fishing. The night crawlers being thicker don't wiggle as well as the red wigglers about half it's thickness tho still attract some hungry fish.


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## df001 (Nov 13, 2007)

AquaNekoMobile said:


> I'm finding red wigglers works well for fishing. The night crawlers being thicker don't wiggle as well as the red wigglers about half it's thickness tho still attract some hungry fish.


Really depends what you're fishing for, and how you're fishing them. I've succesfully used both types for bass, perch, pike, pickerel, lake trout, brookies, splake.

my go-to never fail bass rig is a hook, with half an earthworm. tie the hook directly n with a palomar, feed the worm onto the hook so only about 1/2-1" is left dangling, toss it in by the structure or drop-off, wait for it to hit bottom (if it even takes that long to generate a strike) and then lift it up with some gentle jerks and repeat.


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## solarz (Aug 31, 2010)

AquaNekoMobile said:


> You can find red wigglers under decaying items. Like if you put a plant pot on the ground covering up the grass and the grass dies when you lift the pot you'll see some underneath there. When I am doing weeding (in the jungle backyard ) I put the weeds on the ground in small piles which not only dries them out to make it lighter but also as it breaks down a bit while I wait for the next lawn collection date when I lift the pile I see the small red wigglers underneath there. Seeing as you're in the Yonge & Finch area you may want to find a park near by (I'd suggest Cummer/Lesile Don Trail) and some green or black colored garbage bags. Find a spot, clear some ground, lay thin twigs and lots of leaves around. Cover the stuff with the bags and weigh it down with stones. As the stuff breaks down you'll have your little hidden worm spot to dig up or surface pluck the red wigglers.


Thanks for the tip, I'll go try it out. I live in a condo, but I can always go to my parents' place in Vaughan.


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## AquaNekoMobile (Feb 26, 2010)

solarz said:


> Thanks for the tip, I'll go try it out. I live in a condo, but I can always go to my parents' place in Vaughan.


I know you're in a condo thus the park idea. Another idea is find out who does the gardening/lawncare on the property. Explain you're into fishing or etc what you're doing and see if they'll let you bury a clean small yogurt container with drilled holes and inside filled with moist leaves/thin twigs then harvest the worms later.


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