Shocking Night Crawlers…Ever Done It ?

Just curious is anyone has ever done this ? And if so what was their technique ??

Many times, but I think it is hard on the crawlwers.

My Neighbor used to do it when i was growing up,had a probe that he pushed into the ground,and up they would come,did it for a couple days after raining.also found out something that works by accident.my Mom had me rinsing out the garbage cans,had some dish soap in it,dumped the water,and crawlers would come up,alot of them too.the soap must be an irritant.we would rinse em off under water,and head to the river.Dawn seemed to work the best Mom had the cleanest garbage cans in town after that

Used to be able to buy them but due to stupid use I think they are no longer sold. We made our own. Make sure your shoes and socks are soaked while……………………………………………just kidding.
They work.
I’d rather recommend you get your butt out of bed about 1:00am when they are fully out of their holes and pick them up the safe way.
Unless your neighbor’s dogs are running loose.

Hi Dave, I have done it, but it was a long time ago. The tool used was my friends dads. What I remember is it had a handle with a metal rod 12-12 inches long. Plugged it in and stuck it in the ground the full lenght. It kind of made the ground shake, in a couple seconds, up came the crawlers and we grabbed them. If I remember right we couldn’t get real close to the rod. ah memories I probably would not have remembered had it not been for your post. thanks -John

Yep, soapy water works too. Forgot about that one.

A guy with a new Ranger can’t afford bait?

I’m sorry, I just can’t help myself.

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A guy with a new Ranger can’t afford bait?

I’m sorry, I just can’t help myself.

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Go Pump Water Herb

As a kid I use to shock crawlers in the back yard when my parrents wern’t home. I cut the end off an extension cord and added a couple of jumper cable style clips to the ends. Stuck two welding rods in the ground about a foot or so apart, attached the clips, stood back and pluged in the extension cord. If the ground was damp, they’d come out pretty quick. I did this during the day in areas we found crawlwers at night. Make sure you cut the power before you go over to pick up the harvest.

I’m sure this wasn’t considered the safest thing for a kid to be doing after school but hey, I’m here to tell you about it.

Dang!, you’re good. I actually am pumping water after the 5 1/4″ of rain last night.
By the way, I have crawlers all over the place right now.

yes it works well! you need to take a wood dowel drill a hole in the end and put in a metal rod! take an old extension cord and connect one( ONLY ONE OF THE WIRES TO THE ROD) cut and remove the other wire off the extension cord! use electrical tape to cover exposed end of this wire so you dont accidentally touch it! stick her in the ground and plug it in to the wall! wetter the ground the better it works! IT DONT KILL THE WORMS!

yup used the guts out of a old bell crank telephone, then went modern drop cord 2 brazin rods. best one was the old welder cord and 2 3ft dbl ott copper grnd rods all i remember is the bright flash of lite

to make your own rods just take the white wire and attach it to a rod and tape the black and green wire so they touch nothing. Place in ground, and pllug in to outlet or extension cord. You can pick up the crawlers while plugged in, the rod will let you know how close you can get WWorks Welll JJJJaust DDid IIIT T TT This Morninhg

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Just curious is anyone has ever done this ? And if so what was their technique ??

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We did it much like the previous post, but we never unplugged the cord. You’d definetly know when you picked up the worms to close to the rod, tingles a bit. We never had any problems with the shocked night crawlers, but the ones that were picked off the pavement never lasted worth a crap. Another thing that works is walnut hulls, spread them on the ground, wet them, and the hulls had to be green. Most likely the acidity in the hulls would bring them up. This worked very well.Good luck Dave

LOL. Old memory. Yep, under no circumstances touch a worm if it is touching the rod.

Yep, works great! I just, ah heck, hold on, I need to go flip the breaker again…..

I told the kids to wear shoes on the trampoline darn it!

Tell ya what Dave, I’ll buy the crawlers if you buy the gas

I’ve seen it done and it does work well, but be carefull, Don’t want to hear about you on 1000 ways to die.

I tried it this afternoon…

Guess I don’t have any crawlers in my yard…at least not within 100 feet of my plug-in

I tried it also and even left it plugged in for an hour and nothing. What is the secret to this myth

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I tried it also and even left it plugged in for an hour and nothing. What is the secret to this myth

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Push the rod up and down

This came via PM

Attach a cut drop cord to it with a hose clamp like described in your post. Just one leg of the wire. Tape the other back out of the way. Plug in and insert the rod near where worms have been seen. Pull on the rod real slow, like pulling it out of the ground. If you feel a little vibration you are good to go. If not, stop and turn the plug end around. I use 2 prong plugs so they can be reversed. The worms will take a while to come out if it has been dry. If it has rained recently, they should be there right away. Good luck.

I’m gonna guess that even with all the technique in the world, my yard, which is 8″ of dirt on top of 40′ of sand, isn’t going to yield much for crawlers.

Sad thing about living in the land of lakebottoms.

Dave,

We used to do it all the time, but it was hard on the crawlers. They didn’t last long. If you don’t feel the vibration, I don’t think it works as well.

What ya doing? ISn’t it a couple months early to be needing this technique? You not getting any rain up there?

220 LOL