Worm catching technique.

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Julia
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Julia
I have been trying to catch some of the large earth worms that reside in my garden, but they seem to outwit me!!:uhoh:As soon as I get close enough to grab they disappear...its becoming a bit of a mission now. So are there any handy hints and tips for me..I can not be defeated by a worm:frog:
 
Lay a large damp piece of cardboard down over night, wake up early in the morning before the sun comes up and you should have a ton of them under the cardboard. I found digging for worms to be tiresome so I bought 2 pounds of red wigglers and they are happily breeding away AND eating my garbage :D
 
I use a shovel. Dig a hole, search in the dirt for worms, cover hole. It does leave brown patches, but the grass grows back after awhile.
 
I have a spot set aside in my garden. Just a piece of earth with nothing growing in it, but it has a plank of wood over it to keep the cats off. The wood also helps to keep the ground cool and damp and I find the worms don't seem to dig as deep into the earth in this spot.
I dig a small hole and quickly use a pair of tweezers to grab any worms I find. They can't really escape tweezers and it doesn't take long to gather enough for a meal for my axolotls.
I'm also going to try throwing some veg peelings under the plank to see if that fattens them up more and brings them higher to the earths surface.
 
An old angling book recommended walking round bowling greens at night with a torch and a pocket full of sand. The torch was to spot the worms, the sand was to make your fingers less slippery...

Has anyone tried 'worm charming' methods? I once persuaded about twenty worms out of a damp spot by rhythmically pressing the soil with my foot- I've never managed to do it again.
 
I just look under objects in my yard. Logs, potted plants, rocks, etc. I usually find alot under the potted plants.
 
I live on a dairy farm and the cows make ruts in the ground when its soggy and you can just see the worms in them and pick them out, easy for me!
 
EASY! Lazy way buy worms from pet shop. D.I.Y way get two cardbord boxs put shreded news paper in one fillit to 10-20 cm high then put the other box ontop fill with dirt add worms put a damp potato sack ontop wait for them to breed. Good way (I think this is the best one) buy a cheap worm farm and do the same as what you do with the D.I.Y box.
Mini worm box line an ice cream box with news paper fill it with dirt add worms (they will breed) and don't forget to put holes in the lid.
 
Thanks for your responses.it has given me a few more ideas. I do have a compost bin that tends to supply my axolotl with all the worms that they could ever want...I just wanted to catch one of the monster ones that lurk in the garden!!
Last night however I had success and managed to grab/ wrestle one before it escaped.
 
I usually just wait until it rains. The worms come up to the surface, and I just pick them off the pavement!
 
Hi

I just go out and dig up worms, although having a job as a gardener helps.

After a good bit of rain i got this lot in about 3/4 hr, i got about a 100 or so.

Ben
 

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    @Thorninmyside, I Lauren chen
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