Do you fish with worms but don't want to dig up the yard looking for them, and don't want to purchase them? Then get out your pitchfork, bury the tongs all the way in the ground by standing on the pitchfork. Then, with the flat of your hand, bring the handle of the pitchfork towards you, then pull your hand (still flat) back towards you, and off of the pitchfork.
If the pitchfork continues to vibrate once your hand is off of it, you are doing it correctly, it isn't hard. Do this a few times and earthworms will wriggle out of the ground, simply pick them up and place in a can that has moist soil in it. Because the earth is vibrating, the earthworms will come up. For more earthworms, simply move to another spot.
If you try this and no earthworms come up, that means there are none there. Move to a location that has fertile soil and try again.
By Joy from Fairview Heights, IL
Here are the questions asked by community members. Read on to see the answers provided by the ThriftyFun community.
How do I make my own "Crawler Caller"?
That's easy:
Just pour a small amount of dish washing or laundry soap/detergent into a gallon/5 gallon container and pour it on the ground where you think your worms/night crawlers might be.
There are other things to use but why use some sort of chemical?
K-Mart did sell the Crawler Caller years ago but I do not believe anyone is selling it now.
groups.google.com/
trademark.trademarkia.com/
Crawler Caller is the name of a solution containing xylene, a hydrocarbon with much the same chemical makeup as gasoline or kerosene. When a small amount is mixed with 55 gallons of water and dumped on a lawn, it removes oxygen from worms' bodies and the worms rise to the surface in seconds - usually by the hundreds.
This idea came to mind of Brigham Young University student Dustin Woodhouse. His father, Gary Woodhouse of Boise, invented the solution and originally named it Wonder Wormer, then Worm Squirmer, then Crawler Caller.
Although then people believed that the solution does not harm grass or kill the worms it brings to the surface, but it is no longer sold.
To get worms out of the ground you can use:
1. Dry mustard powder
- Mix the water and the dry mustard powder in the watering can. I can't say the exact amount, since it depends on many factors, so you have to try.
- Sprinkle the mixture on an area of the ground.
You should immediately notice worms heading up to the ground and running for unspoiled soil.
Rinse them off before you store them to keep them healthy.
2. Environmentally safe dish soap
- Mix the soap and water in the bucket.
- Pour the mixture over the ground.
Within seconds, you should see worms coming out of the ground.
Repeat this procedure in different areas until you have what you need.
The soap will make it hard for the worms to breathe, so rinse them off immediately after you collect them. Try a small test area first to make sure the soap mixture doesn't kill or damage grass.
Or just before dark, water entire area ground you are searching long enough to soak it. Once it gets dark, catch nightcrawlers, but tread lightly.
This page is about starting a worm bin for fish bail. When you are planning on lots of fishing, it's great to have worms readily available.
ThriftyFun is one of the longest running frugal living communities on the Internet. These are archives of older discussions.
Taking the kids fishing? Need some worms? Well you don't need to digging up half the yard or drive all over town looking for someone who sells them either.
