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hello,
this instructable was inspired by my dog, "Hunter".
one day as i was washing him with dog shampoo, i noticed that there were allot of worms all over my feet, and on closer inspection i noticed that in a 2m circle all around earth worms were shooting from the ground, and wriggling over the grass and going away to who knows where.
anyway, on another day when i washed the dog, within 2 minutes of washing off the shampoo, it happened again, worms were everywhere.
in this instructable, is about how to extract large amounts of worms from the soil, and also identifying a suitable area to extract the worms from!
in the included video you'll see that it only takes about 10 seconds before the worms come from the soil, times may vary depending on how much soap or shampoo you use.
remember not to take too many worms from one area in your yard or it may negative effects on the environment in your yard, its very easy to severely deplete worm numbers, so be sure not overdo it. and remember, the soapy water wont work twice in the same location twice in 9 days.
this instructable was inspired by my dog, "Hunter".
one day as i was washing him with dog shampoo, i noticed that there were allot of worms all over my feet, and on closer inspection i noticed that in a 2m circle all around earth worms were shooting from the ground, and wriggling over the grass and going away to who knows where.
anyway, on another day when i washed the dog, within 2 minutes of washing off the shampoo, it happened again, worms were everywhere.
in this instructable, is about how to extract large amounts of worms from the soil, and also identifying a suitable area to extract the worms from!
in the included video you'll see that it only takes about 10 seconds before the worms come from the soil, times may vary depending on how much soap or shampoo you use.
remember not to take too many worms from one area in your yard or it may negative effects on the environment in your yard, its very easy to severely deplete worm numbers, so be sure not overdo it. and remember, the soapy water wont work twice in the same location twice in 9 days.
worming.wmv9 MB
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Signing UpStep 1What youll need.........
in order to successfully extract worms from the ground without actually digging them up, you will need the following
i recommend washing the worm bucket with bicarb soda prior to putting the worms in
optional
* an old beach towel you don't mind getting dirty
must be big
- water distribution device such as watering can , though i only use a the soap filled bucket (in areas where the ground is not saturated, a watering can is recommended.
- a dark cool damp shady spot were worms would like to chill out. this can be everywhere in tropics during monsoonal/wet-seasons
- environmentally friendly soap (i use dogs tea tree oil based shampoo) i use about 30-50ml's
- a filter of some sorts, an old, but clean rag will do
- a bucket to put your worms
- a container of some sorts (large bucket ) to mix the soap and water together, MUST NOT BE THE SAME BUCKET YOU PUT YOUR WORMS IN. SOAP IRRITATES WORMS IF THEY STAY IN CONTACT WITH IT FOR A LONG TIME, SO MAKE SURE YOUR WORM BUCKET IS 100% SOAP FREE.
i recommend washing the worm bucket with bicarb soda prior to putting the worms in
optional
* an old beach towel you don't mind getting dirty
must be big
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by the way, did you check the video?
when i looked back at it myself i was somewhat amazed as wel at how quickly the worms come out, i didnt even know they could wriggle out that fast!
anyway, if you havent seen it i recomend you do!
i too have never tested it though. ironically i dont use or need worms, not yet anyway, as i said before, theres nothing here to catch with them.
By the way, anyone fishing in a freshwater area can usually get worms from most all the swampy areas (soft and muddy, but no surface water), near freshwater, though dont use too much non biodegradable soaps, as it has the potential to poison these swampy spots
Unfortunately because i live in the damn tropics, i cant use worms for bait, since all fresh water is muddy and full of crocodiles and an hour away or has no fish, and the only fish worth catching there eat other fish which weigh up to a kilo. so unless i catch a mega worm, i cant really use them :(
Its like seisha all over again (billions of locust , but no fresh water to use them in)
They are trying not to drown (rather than being filthy soap-dodgers), so you don't need much detergent, if any.
L
after some rain, i sprayed some dog shampoo on a section of lawn, and within a minute the worms started comming out, prooving that unless they were already on their way our after a 2 hour heavy downpour, it was definitely the soap.
L
i have no idea on wether or not the human shampoo causes them any pain, but the super crazy squirming that causes them to occasionally leap a few cm into the air seems evidence enough it hurts them.
incase anyone is wondering why
it may be largely due to the scents and perfumes and scented plan extracts in the shampoo that do this.
perticularily citrus oils which are quite powerful and are even used as pesticides.
If you plan on fishing with these worms, the fruit oil extracts will never come out of the worms, and will make you unlikely to ever catch anything.
use generic brand detergents and shampoos with zero scent additives, although less effective, but will get you nice clean worms for fishing with.
as for anyone in the northern territory, tropical queensland and nothern western australia.
This instructable will definitly work for you.
On this last note, i will hereby and hence forth begin using firefox when writtingmy instructables, to avoid any spelling mistakes.
which should please some members have been targeting my integrity based entirely on the fact i make spelling and grammar mistakes so much.
in lots of different sources ive heard theat worms like the detergent, in others it burns them, in a few ive heard it has the same effect oil has on fish, which is thta it coats the parts they use to breath, so they need to get to the surface, anlso ve heard that if the soap sets in the ground, the worms cant move, so they leave the ground and move that way, to avoid getting stuck. now i havent a clue as to which one it is, only that this works, and that its probably because detergent burns them or sensitzes their skin.
also, i recomend using natural soaps and detergents, because normal soap and washing detergent, can kill off grass, that requires high acidicy to survive, such as those that prefer to grow in damp conditions.