How to Raise a Night Crawler Worm Farm

Raising night crawlers requires following the same basic strategy as successfully raising any other compost worm in a worm farm, with perhaps some adjustments if you are raising them for fishing bait. The European night crawler is tended "much the same way as the red worm, which makes it extremely easy to raise and breed," notes Ken Chiarella of Wormman.com.

You'll need to provide an appropriate container for your farm, as well as bedding, food, moisture and pH levels. Be certain that you obtain the right kind of worm--European night crawlers, under the scientific name Eisenia hortensis--from a worm supplier (see Resources).

Things You'll Need

  • Worm farm
  • Bedding
  • Food scraps
  • Moisture/pH meter
  • Worm colony
  • Water bottle
Show More

Instructions

  1. Preparation

    • 1

      Construct or buy a worm farm that permits at least 8 inches of bedding for your European night crawlers. Use salvaged wood to construct a shallow box with a lid. Use plastic totes, discarded bathtubs or other scrounged materials as an alternative. Buy a commercial worm bin if your budget permits.

    • 2

      Fill the worm farm to within a few inches of the top with peat moss, soaked newspaper or cardboard torn into strips, torn junk mail or coconut coir (fiber). Use a mix of several bedding materials for best results.

    • 3

      Stock the worm farm a week prior to the arrival of the European night crawlers with food scraps. Allow the food scraps to become slightly moldy to provide the worms their preferred fungi and bacteria as part of their diet. Place the scraps in a pocket of bedding about 3 inches deep and cover the top of the scraps.

    • 4

      Add the European night crawlers to the bedding immediately upon their arrival, typically by Priority Mail. Tip them gently out of the muslin bag used for shipping on top of the bedding and spritz with dechlorinated water. Place a lid on their farm so they can acclimate in darkness.

    Care and Monitoring

    • 5

      Monitor the moisture level of the worm farm using a combined moisture/pH meter. Aim for a moisture reading of between 70 and 80 percent. Adjust by adding handfuls of dry bedding if too wet or by spritzing with water (declorinated by leaving overnight in an open-mouthed jar) if too dry.

    • 6

      Check for a pH level using your moisture/pH meter of around 7 or neutral. If the number reveals acidity (6 or lower), add crushed eggshells and check that you are keeping citrus fruits and rinds out of the bin.

    • 7

      Provide enough food to meet the needs of your European night crawlers but not so much that the bin turns foul. "Our studies indicate that the European will consume food scraps at a greater rate than the common red or compost worm, Eisenia fetida," Chiarella notes. Beware of overfeeding, however, as indicated by bad odors in your worm farm. Check that all food is consumed in one pocket of bedding before adding more food.