How to Raise & Breed Nightcrawlers
Nightcrawlers are one of the largest breeds of earthworms. Whether you are raising them as pets, to feed other pets, to use as bait for fishing or to sell, raising and breeding nightcrawlers is easy. You can keep them in nearly any container in nearly any part of your house. These creatures are fairly self-sustaining, needing only soil and food to live and breed.
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Instructions
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Prepare the container for your nightcrawlers. Worm boxes can be made of just about any material, including plastic and cardboard. The box should be at least 2 feet deep and 3 feet wide. Store the box in a dim, cool place such as a garage or basement.
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Fill your worm box with 8 to 10 inches of moist soil. The soil should not be so damp as to be muddy; you can drown nightcrawlers with soil that is too wet. The soil should be damp and squishy.
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Acquire nightcrawlers to raise and breed. These can be purchased from pet stores or obtained from the soil in early spring. When the soil is cool and moist (especially after a heavy rainfall) in early spring, dig up the soil to find nightcrawlers.
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Place the nightcrawlers in the box; they will dig into the soil immediately.
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Feed the nightcrawlers. Nightcrawlers will eat just about anything, but it must be small enough to fit in their mouths. Table scraps will work as long as they are diced and shredded into small pieces. Ground oatmeal, cornmeal or coffee grounds also can provide food for the nightcrawlers.
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Allow two to three weeks for the worms to breed. Nightcrawlers are hermaphrodites, meaning that each worm contains both male and female sexual organs. As long as there are at least two worms, they will breed on their own.
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Tips & Warnings
Drip more water into the soil as needed throughout the lives of the worms to keep the soil moist.
Do not store the worm box in the sun, as direct sunlight will dry out the soil and kill the worms.
If you intend to store your worms for long periods of time, purchase a soil tester from a hardware or garden specialty store. Worms thrive in soil with a pH, or acidity level, that is between 6 and 7. Do not allow too much variation from this ideal, or else the worms will die. Add calcium or lime as necessary to regulate the pH of the soil.
