Any tips for Night Crawler picking?

Anyone have any tips or pointers for gathering crawlers. I had mine survive over winter in my basement fridge, and wouldn’t mind stocking up for the season……for free.

make sure it’s night, hate to see the neighbors expressions if they catch you hunting during the day!

We used to get them during the day in North MPLS. I think they where afraid to come out at night.

Teach your kids how to pick them.

As kids we would tape a piece of of red tail-light tape over the flashlight. This helped prevent the “targets” from feeling the heat generated by flashlight and ducking back in the hole. Now-a-days they sell red lens flashlights. Also ~ keep any pets away from the hunting zone. This all of course assuming your plucking in grass areas versus picking up them on gravel where their bodies are completely out of the ground.

In grassy areas, I have better luck on ground that has a slight grade, not a steep hillside nor flat areas. If it has been raining and its dark out, the picking is easy. Keep the main beam of the flashlight off them, pick them quick and when you get your fingers on them don’t pull right away, you’ll rip them in half. Let them relax slightly and then slowly pull them out of their hole.

Don’t bring your dog, warn the neighbors so they don’t call the cops and you’ll be good. A nice cold beverage helps on those hot-humid nights!!

Is there some kind of “bed” a guy could create? Till up the ground and mix leaves or peat moss or somethin? Might take some fun out of it, but still would be nice.

I have the best luck just putting on my rain gear and going out when it’s pouring rain.

Best time I ever had was going out on campus early last spring during pouring rain and getting more than I needed off the sidewalks. Should have seen the looks I got. It was a very good test of will not to chuck a few at the girls walking around doing there best to look “fashionable”. They’d think twice about staring at a redneck picking up crawlers!

The later you go out the farther they will be out of their hole. They start coming out as soon as it starts to get dark, but the longer you can wait the easier it can be. If there hasn’t been any rain for a while then just water down an area during the day where you plan on picking later that night.
Lights you can mount on your head work very well. Something that is not too bright. Work slow and walk soft.

Good Luck,
Jason

To me the best time to hunt crawlers is during a rain and after its been raining atleast one hour. Picking them up off the sidewalks and streets is the easiest and it dosen’t hurt or injure them. We used a 100 gallon watering trough and bedded them in a mixture of soil and cellulose, befor they added the fire retardent. We kept them on the basement floor all summer and changed the bedding about once a month so they didn’t poison themselves from their waste. Still had plump and fat crawlers that fall. I’ve heard that you can also use cattle feed pellets, ground up, mixed in the bedding so they can feed, thats supposed to work good because of the added protiene. Keep them cool.

we had a pool back in the day and all we had to do was back wash some water from out of the pool and we could get plenty of crawlers

Golf coarses are a good place to crawler hunt. They usually water ever nite plus easy to find in short grass. During and after a hard rain they will be thick even on the greens.

If you see 2 stuck together, remember the spot and harvest them later. They will naturally restock your crawler bed.

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Golf coarses are a good place to crawler hunt. They usually water ever nite plus easy to find in short grass. During and after a hard rain they will be thick even on the greens.

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X2 For bedding, the best I have done with is sphagnum (sp?) moss. I would get a bail from a florist, soak it in rain water, then ring out all the water I possible could. Could keep them for nearly a year in a cold place.

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As kids we would tape a piece of of red tail-light tape over the flashlight. This helped prevent the “targets” from feeling the heat generated by flashlight and ducking back in the hole. Now-a-days they sell red lens flashlights.

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I always just kept them on the “fringe” of the light, for some reason I never thought of a red lens, makes sense.
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My tip is to get good with the light and then pin your kids against each other in competition. You run the light and they crawl around picking them up. If you make it a game you will have a hard timing getting them to quit.

I think I got my wife….yes, my wife, to pick crawlers for me next rain. I told her I wasn’t having much luck, and she started rambling on about how many she see’s at her work. I asked if she would be willing to get me a bunch, and as of now, its a yes. I think I may need to get a pic. of her doing this. Her co-workers are gonna be like WHAAAAAAAAAAAT????!!!!???? What a woman. She just keeps reminding me why we are married. Anyone see a lady in heels picking crawlers, tell her how lucky “GET HOOKED” is.