# Keeping crawlers



## Star1pup (Aug 3, 2004)

For some reason my last 2 batches of store bought nightcrawlers died. I keep them in the fridge and I just checked the temperature and it's 42 degrees. I check them to discard and sick or dead so that is not the problem. I use pure lake water and also keep a spray bottle of water in the fridge if I think they need a little dampening.

Can anyone recommend a good bedding? I tried Thill and lost the entire batch using it. I actually remember doing the best with the old fashioned Buss Bedding and feeding once in a while. I have kept crawlers all winter in the past, but not now. I'm not sure what is happening.


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## Ripley (May 10, 2010)

i just do potting soil... rip/shred up some plain unbleached paper toss in some coffee grounds... egg shells and a just a little bit of veggies .... put them in a zip lock gallon bag and mix... then add nitecrawlers... put in fridge and flip every other day ... changed it every couple of weeks so the wormies had fresh ... 

i bought a hundred of them last year for $15 in may and used them until all gone in october... i think some of the originals that i started with got bigger and fatter by october...


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## Shortdrift (Apr 5, 2004)

Keep your crawlers at 52 degrees and very moist. There are commercial bedding available that are supplied moist and ready to use complete with food. Check the crawlers every three to four days for dead ones. All the other worms will be killed if the dead one is not removed. Do a computer search "keeping worms" or "Night crawlers" and it will explain a lot.


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## saugmon (Jun 14, 2006)

We always had good luck with rolled up black adn white newspapers in a cool refrigerator around 50 degrees or so.A couple 2-3 months is no biggie.6 months may be pushing it.

Soak a few newspapers in a 5 gal bucket of water and let them get nice and saturated. Leave the papers in 6 or so pages together and quarter that paper and twist each one of those 1/4 sheets,wring out,and place in a large container. Crisper drawers work great and you can get quite a few in each drawer.. Change paper once a month. Main thing is dip the crawlers in some nice clean water before placing on the newspaper.Put a layer of those twisted papers on bottom,slap a handful of crawlers on it,and start your next layer,etc,etc. They'll tunnel through those papers and they do thrive.Around a month later, replace paper,just unravel those crawlers out of the old paper and into a new bucket of water and sort them out onto the newer paper.

Best thing about this is how much cleaner and juicier those crawlers are and and no messy dirt in the boat. Even if you go with the potting soil route,you can still dip them in water and fresh newspaper twisties when it's time to fish and still have a clean boat and hands.


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## Shortdrift (Apr 5, 2004)

Don't use treated (chlorinated) tap water as this *WILL* kill the worms. I use water out of my neighbors pond.


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## T-180 (Oct 18, 2005)

You could also google"vermie composting". My son did it for a 4-H project and we kept worms year round & they reproduced. Just keep the tub in the basement & added moisture as needed.


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## Kenlow1 (Jul 14, 2012)

As Shortdrift said commercial bedding is best but you can make your own too. If you have a paper shredder you can take black and white newspaper (not the colored ads) and run thru shredder and also coffee grounds and corn meal works good too. We used to go to 
Canada every year back in the late 70's and would take 500 up with us in styrofoam cooler. We would start catchin crawlers in May and by late 
June would have our 500. Kept in refrigerator about 50 degrees. They will keep several months. One year we had a family of raccoons get into our cooler, they ate every one of the night crawlers and we had to buy up there, an expensive lesson. We had left the cooler outside on porch.


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## Lewzer (Apr 5, 2004)

I use the Frabill paper bedding with lake water. I hate using any type of soil as the crawlers fill with black crap which stains your hands and boat when you pinch off an inch for your jig.
After a couple of days in Frabill paper, they are clean inside and out, fat and juicy. I leave them in a bucket in my garage and they do just fine for a month or two as long as they do not get overheated.


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## billorp (Aug 25, 2007)

I got a plastic 55 gallon drum, cut it about 18" from the bottom and than drilled holes in the bottom for drainage. I dug a hole next to my shed (in a shady spot) about 15" deep and put it in the hole. Next i mixed half a bag of peat moss with rain water and put it in the drum about 6" thick. Every time it rained, I went night crawler hunting and before you knew it I had about 100 night crawlers. I keep it covered with a piece of plywood with small holes for air. make sure you keep the bedding moist and add coffee grounds and other food, and the worms will last the entire season. I have been doing this for the last few years and at the end of the season when I empty it into the garden, I always very lively worms left. By the way, I started this year in april and i am using worms just this last weekend. Every time I used some, I just waited for the next rain to re-stock.


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## viper1 (Apr 13, 2004)

I always use commercial sphagnum moss. Feed small amounts of commercial food or coffee grinds and much more. To little water they dry out and die and to much they drown. 45-55 degrees is great. Keep them in lowest spot of refrigerator. Or as I do in the basement. Mines in my rood cellar and stays pretty constant. I have had they even breed this way. Keep it damp but not wet. And like they said removing the dead is critical. I also prefer a breathable box. Not plastic or such


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## Star1pup (Aug 3, 2004)

Before I moved I had a small fridge in my workshop. Worms did great in it. When I moved I sold it and regret it. I kept things I'll never need and sold things I wish I had. I think I'll buy another apartment size fridge and try to find a worm habitat that will fit it. I hope to be able to buy worms in bulk as I use a lot.

I used to buy worms here near Negley and they were healthy and big. Sadly that gentleman passed away and I don't know where he got his crawlers. His widow said she thought they bought them from a guy near Berlin. Someone told me to order from Canada. Any suggestions or opinions?


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## saugmon (Jun 14, 2006)

Try craigslist for one of those small black & Decker apt sized ones. Or wait til garage sale season kicks in.

I rarely buy crawlers,but when I do,they are always canadian crawlers.Practically every store,carryout,and gas station sells them and they're all canadian.Pretty odd buying canadian crawlers when ohio's littered in fat juicy american crawlers!


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## viper1 (Apr 13, 2004)

Use to order a crate quite often. Glenn at Glens archery guilford use to get some for me. I kept them in a fridge too. Just dont let them freeze. Kept them in moss just slightly damp. And dont forget to feed. Kept them year round with no problem.


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## fishingguy (Jan 5, 2006)

Last year I ordered the box of worms from canadiannightcrawlers.com. 500 large crawlers delivered to your door (there actually were more in the box). Guaranteed alive, arrived in good shape, no problems. Used three containers with potting soil, egg shells and coffee grounds. Separated them by size, kept them in the garage fridge. I think it was around 50 bucks for the worms, I can't remember what the shipping charges were, if any. I go through a lot of worms pullin harnesses on Erie. I plan on making the same purchase this year.


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## Star1pup (Aug 3, 2004)

fishingguy said:


> Last year I ordered the box of worms from canadiannightcrawlers.com. 500 large crawlers delivered to your door (there actually were more in the box). Guaranteed alive, arrived in good shape, no problems. Used three containers with potting soil, egg shells and coffee grounds. Separated them by size, kept them in the garage fridge. I think it was around 50 bucks for the worms, I can't remember what the shipping charges were, if any. I go through a lot of worms pullin harnesses on Erie. I plan on making the same purchase this year.


I checked their website and I think that is where I'll get mine this year. Since I live on a lake I no longer fish Erie regularly, but we have a lot of walleyes in this lake.


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