Another question

[Jean]

Has anyone transplanted night crawlers into their gardens or yards? We have none here but the local hardware is stocking Canadian night crawlers for fish bait. Would these worms thrive in zone 5 (Iowa)? We do like to fish but don't like to drive 20 mile round trip just to get fishing worms and would like to raise our own. Thanking you in advance for any information.
Jean

[Micheal]

Yes I have; well I've tossed excess nightcrawlers (left after fishing) into the garden. Did they stay, ahh, I guess. I say that only because I already had worms there.
Although I'd say that yes the worms would stay as long as the place they were put was a sorta ideal habitat in the first place - containing organic matter, non acidic soil, etc.........

[Mavors]

If you are digging and finding no worms then putting nights in will be a waste as they will leave for better accommodations.

I would do as the previous poster mentioned and first build an inviting environment where you want the worms. Compost piles in direct contact with the dirt does well once they have lost their heat. Once you start seeing you native worms(this can take some time if your soil is as poor as mine was)...probably a red worm of some type then try adding some nights and see if they stick around and multiply. You'll have a good start, but need to keep adding organics for them to eat to keep em around.

Worms are great. This is how I work my gardens most of the time. I push to attract worms and have great growth due to mine and the worms efforts.

Mav

[LFmenagerie]

I agree with the other posters, make the environment worm friendly for the worms that are already local to you. Worms, including night crawlers, are actually thought to be invasive species in most of the U.S. http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/invasives...rms/index.html
I would try not to add any more invasive species to your yard or garden than you already have. Just my opinion.
Tom

[solidwoods]

A good site for info about raising worms
http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/a...worm/worm.html

jim

[Windy in Kansas]

I don't know if in your area you are finding earth worms or not, but one property I owned I never saw any-----until I added 200 bags of leaves one fall. By the next spring I could hardly put a spade into the ground without finding many. I think it had simply been to hot and with too little organic matter for them before but with the addition the soil cooled and they simply came to the surface.

[ronbre]

don't use bait worms in your property

[jkhs]

Around here people try to get rid of nightcrawlers in their yards-they ruin the lawn. I've also heard that nightcrawlers are slower to break down organic materials so they don't make good compost worms. If you want nightcrawlers for bait and don't want the drive to town just buy extra when you are there and keep them in the fridge. They last a long time in their containers if they're cool and their bedding doesn't dry out (or get too wet).

[geo in mi]

Originally Posted by jkhs

Around here people try to get rid of nightcrawlers in their yards-they ruin the lawn. I've also heard that nightcrawlers are slower to break down organic materials so they don't make good compost worms. If you want nightcrawlers for bait and don't want the drive to town just buy extra when you are there and keep them in the fridge. They last a long time in their containers if they're cool and their bedding doesn't dry out (or get too wet).

Just curious to know where you live that neighbors go to the extreme of eliminating nightcrawlers from their lawns because they ruin a lawn? I know the stores have all sorts of chemical "killers", but I haven't heard of nightcrawler wormicide in a bag or in spray form. Who looks at their lawns at night, anyway? (NIGHTcrawler????) They are sensitive to light, so they go back underground at daybreak......
That's a new one......
geo