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Night Crawlers.

Markw

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I was wondering what temperature these guys should be kept at. Here, its staying in the 90s. When you buy them from the bait shop, you keep them in the fridge, but the way I figure it, the top layers of soil cant be too much cooler than the ambient temperature that is in the 90s. I was going to set up a 20gal bin (or larger, I have to check it.) and put worms in it that I caught from the yard, feed them right for a while, then give them to the axies. All the while putting whatever worms I find in the yard in the bin to replenish my 'stash'. So anyways, would it be okay to just put the bin on the porch in the shade? Ive read from places that you have to dig it into the ground and put the whole bin in the ground. Any help with this would be great.

Mark
 

ghostsaw

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I know canadian nightcrawlers like cooler temps than africian nightcrawlers...It would be useful to list what kind of nightcrawlers you have...
 

nora

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The temps. have been in the 90s where I live. All my worms in my worm bin(20g) have bit the dust:( or the exited via the air holes. I had them in the coolness under my house. The shade on my porch was 87. You might want to do a larger bin or wait til it cools.
My kid,who works the school worm bin,says worms can travel very deep into the soil to escape the heat.
 

Jennewt

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the top layers of soil cant be too much cooler than the ambient temperature that is in the 90s.
Actually, soil stays suprisingly much cooler than ambient temperature, even just a few inches down under. Ever been in a cave? It's the same effect. Soil below the frost line stays pretty much the same cave-like temp all year round. If we are talking about Canadian nightcrawlers (the large ones sold as bait), these are worms that dig very deep, up to 10 feet down, so they are definitely accustomed to cave-like temps.

Smaller gray worms that you catch in the yard are usually the type that live in the top 2 feet or so of soil. But they also prefer it cool. It'll be difficult to keep them cool enough unless you bury the tub. I've never been able to keep them alive at room temp. Let us know how it goes.
 

Markw

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I dont know which species they are, Im going to dig them up from my yard in Baltimore, Maryland. How deep was your bin that you were keeping them in? This one is about 2' tall.

Mark
 

Markw

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Exactly how cool can you keep them? How could I keep them in the winter, then?

Mark
 

nora

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The bin is little less than 2' deep. I was hoping to keep some going for winter. Now I'm going to build a deeper,larger bin out of concrete blocks and hope for the best in winter. My smaller bin will be used for keeping worms short term for feeding during the weeks when digging is to time consuming.
 

Markw

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Can worms dig through plastic? I dont see how they could, but instead of burying a bin, I was thinking of digging a hole, then lining it with heavy duty trash bags or a tarp and filling it back up with the same dirt and just filling that with dirt. I would then use plastic siding (used for walkways and other things) to make sure the top is about 6" off the soil top and put a screen over that (or some sort of top.). Would this work?

Mark
 

SludgeMunkey

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Lumbricus terrestris, what we call a nightcrawler here in North America, is an import from Europe. They are surface feeders and breeders. Their burrows can often be identified by piles of castings with bits of decaying vegetation standing up like a flag in the entrance

These are "deep divers", meaning their burrows can be to a depth of up to a meter! In the wild, anything below about 127mm (5 in) the temperature averages around 13º C (55ºF) =/- a few degrees. Below 300mm (about a foot) the temperature is a constant 13ºC year round.

Anything over 18ºC (about 65ºF) for an extended period will be fatal to these worms.They are best kept in a container of deep, barely moist potting soil with a tight fitting well ventilated lid, as they are prone to migration if they are to be kept more than two weeks.This container should be kept in a basement or air conditioned area. They can be fed with flake goldfish food sprinkled over the surface of the soil every five days. Even with this method, adult worms only live a few weeks. They die off and rot quickly, fouling the substrate and killing off the juveniles. They breed slowly and eggs can take months to hatch.

Short term the fridge is fine, as long as you keep them in the door, the warmest part. I do not suggest you try to keep more than a dozen in the fridge though, as they are prone to dying in large groups in this circumstance. The smell of rotting nightcrawler is one of those that once it gets in your fridge, you will never get rid of it.
 

Jennewt

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Can worms dig through plastic? I dont see how they could, but instead of burying a bin, I was thinking of digging a hole, then lining it with heavy duty trash bags or a tarp and filling it back up with the same dirt and just filling that with dirt. I would then use plastic siding (used for walkways and other things) to make sure the top is about 6" off the soil top and put a screen over that (or some sort of top.). Would this work?

Mark
This would keep the worms inside, but it might flood during heavy rain (no drainage out). Being in water (or soil soaked in water) will also be fatal to the worms.
 

nora

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Markw
There is a product called garden cloth. Maybe using that instead of plastic trash bags will give you the drainage you need. It allows water to seep through it.
I am going to have to line my outside bin with small wire mesh because I have an abundance of moles that love worms.
Gosh, what I thought was going to be a simple setup has evolved. Maybe I should go back to the old,wet cardboard method of worm harvesting.:happy:
 
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