Storing Night Crawlers ???

[SkunkedAgain]

Mine was doing well until my wife set it out in the sun while we were doing a yard clean up... By the time I seen it, I had rotten worms again... I'm a failure, but I did get one good fishing trip out of that bin of worms... I like the video, I need to figure out how to get worms started in my compost pile, I think they would do well there, it's big enough that the bottom will stay cool after the heat cycle is over anyway... Later J

[Mildog]

I used to catch crawlers and sell them to anglers and local fishing stores . I had a big untreated plywood bin I kept them in with Buss bedding . Never really fed them just kept them cool
And damp in basement. Kept thousands sometimes! Sold them
Off periodically so there was turnover. So last year I decided to catch and keeps some. Tried several bedding combinations, ended up losing 12 doz or so. This year I caught 6 doz a month and a half or so ago. I put 3 doz in styrofoam commercial worm
Caddy with moist bedding it came and 3 doz in cut off gal milk jug with damp leaves a little garden soil and brown grass clippings. Check them both every few days add a bit of bottled water to keep moist but not “wet “ they had been doing fine. Came back from Powell trip for a few days commercial bedding styrofoam all dead!!! Milk jug with leaves, soil perfect fat and happy!!
Done with thst brand of bedding. Want to try the old standby buss bedding ( it seems like it is ground up newspaper as I remember It worked great for so many years. Egg cartons cut up or shredded seem like they would be very similar to buss, may try that. Will have to catch a few more while yard is still damp tonight for more testing!

[Kent]

My go-to since I have been a small kid is a styrofoam cooler (with a couple of small holes drilled in the top) with tree leaves and nothing else.  I wet the leaves down before putting them in the container.  Just damp....not dripping!  I do "pack" the leaves down before adding the worms.  Not hard, but just to eliminate most of the air spaces from the leave layers.  I keep it in my garage (about 6 months of the year) or basement cold storage (in winter and during July/Aug).  It is surprising how much heat the worms can take in those leaves.  I mist the top layer of leaves occasionally with a spray bottle, but maybe 3-4 times/YEAR.  I tried the cornmeal, and it just got moldy and smelled bad.  The worms eat the leaves and I'll switch out the leaves in the fall if I have any worms left.  Simple, easy, low maintenance.

I must have done something wrong, because I thought that I had followed these instructions and placed the Styrofoam cooler in my basement.  I have been checking them to make sure they didn't smell (which, of course, would mean that they had died) and lightly sprayed the surface leaves, a couple times.  Today, I decided to actually look at the night crawlers.  I was disappointed to find that they had all died.  One plus, I suppose, is that they never did smell!

[Gone Forever]

So at my age I ought to know how to take care of worms, but unfortunately I don't... I have a bait fridge that smells of rotten worms so bad I can't stand to open the door.  I have tried filling a cooler with soil and half burying it in the shade, it dried out on me, then I tried to slightly dampen it, so of course it got too wet and the worms rotted.  I have had limited success with the worm boxes and media you can get at sporting goods stores... Basically I'm a failure at keeping worms good and I never seem to remember the night before to go catch a new batch... Does anyone know a simple fool proof way to keep some worms around that will last?  I don't have a problem catching some, it's just keeping them alive until I get a chance to go use them... Most of my trips are local and I don't go past any service stations to pick up a carton of worms on the way, so looking for a homemade keep me some bait ideas...  I appreciate your help... Jeff

When I get back, I dump the leftovers in my garden, (raised bed) have been for probably 20 years.  With normal watering and application of mulch for the garden all I do is dig up what I need before going.  I don't think they hurt the garden either.
A good watering will bring them up the night before to just pick them up and put them in the container for tomorrow.