Fact or Fiction???

[Ardon]

When was 8yrs ('73 in the dark ages) and starting out angling my old lad told me that a good way of catching earth worms can be made a lot easier by throwing soapy water onto a grassy area and then to wait a couple of mins as many many worms un-earth themselves!!!

And it works 100%...

Why does this happen????

Anyone know???

[PikeHunter]

True bill mate!

As for why it works? Who knows, maybe something to do with oxygen levels or some damn thing? I don't have a clue!

[Maddison_Twatter]

When it rains worms come out to mate, the soapy water jus makes it easier to pick them out. I used to get them this way all the time but for some reason my new garden doesn't produce any , I think the ground is too clayey. You can also tap the ground to imitate rain drops to get them out also .

[NICK R]

worms breath through their skin , the soap stops this so they come up to fet some clean air

[Ardon]

I did notice that the worms by this method didnt live as long as manually dug up specimens!!

As for the raindrop theory - I heard that peckish seagulls stamp their feet on the ground and this is a calling card for the dumbass worms to surface to see what all the noise is about!!!!

[BoldBear]

I don't like using the soapy water method because I always suspect that the detergent may be a deterent. Even if you wash them it may not get rid of the smell/taste on them.

I usually collect my lobworms in the summer and move them into a couple of buckets full of earth and Spagnum Moss (which you can buy fairly cheaply from a plant nursery) and occasionally feed with a few slices of apple and potato laid on the surface and keep the earth slightly moist. that way I always have a few lobworms even in the winter.
Once or twice each year I transfer them into fresh soil & Spagnum Moss.

When I need to catch some lobworms I just water the lawn on a warm summers evening then wait till it's dark. then I creep onto the lawn after dark wearing slippers and the worms are all lying on the surface with the tips of their tails in their holes. they can zip back down their holes on a fraction of a second if you tread too heavily which is why I wear slippers. as soon as you see one you need to put your thumb over their rear end to stop them from dissapearing back down their hole and with the other hand grab the worm and gently tug.
You can gather enough worms for a trip or two in no time.
If you damage a worm don't put it in with the others; throw it away as a dead worm seems to make the others start dying for some reason.

[pestguard1]

Here`s a gret tip for getting worm from grassy areas , get hold of some farmaldihide from a agri merchants , dilute 1 part with 5 parts water , use watering can ,and sprinkle over grassy area , worms come to the surafce within seconds , ..then do a quick rince in some water , ...loads of worms.
I use this method all the time for fishing , and I get hundreds of worms.
Another method is to find a MOLE nest (useually the largest of the mole hills ) dig down about 2 feet and raid the moles nest of his worms that he has in his larder............all this is FACT not FICTION

[Ardon]

Originally Posted by pestguard1

Here`s a gret tip for getting worm from grassy areas , get hold of some farmaldihide from a agri merchants , dilute 1 part with 5 parts water , use watering can ,and sprinkle over grassy area , worms come to the surafce within seconds , ..then do a quick rince in some water , ...loads of worms.
I use this method all the time for fishing , and I get hundreds of worms.
Another method is to find a MOLE nest (useually the largest of the mole hills ) dig down about 2 feet and raid the moles nest of his worms that he has in his larder............all this is FACT not FICTION

Robbing a blind man in his own home!!!

Moles have rights too!!!!!!

[NICK R]

Originally Posted by Ardon

Robbing a blind man in his own home!!!

Moles have rights too!!!!!!

pmsl

[barbelblanker]

Don't like the soap method either.

I reckon it just irritates their skin and as the hole is covered in it they just try and get away from it.

Another trick that sometimes works is to put a fork in the ground and "wiggle" it. I reckon the vibrations must be similar to heavy rain and up they come. Sometimes.

Easiest method is well cut damp grass at night.

Lobworms do not like soil that is dug over too much either so you'll often find them in big tubs or under them too. Once dug out though they probably won't recolonise for a while, disturbs the soil.