African nightcrawlers are my worm of choice being it can accomplish all these things in a variety of ways. The one drawback to this worm is the fact it must be raised in warmer conditions (70 degrees Fahrenheit or better is best) compared to the red wigglers or European nightcrawlers which can be raised at much cooler temperatures.

When it comes to consuming most waste, the African nightcrawler can outperform the other three worms we raise, red wigglers, European nightcrawlers and Alabama Jumpers. The reason I mention most waste is the fact they do very well with vegetable scraps, shredded newspapers… however one of the things I noticed is that they do not do as well as some other worms on shredded corrugated cardboard.

The reproduction rate can be faster under good environmental conditions than the other worms raised on Organic Worm Farm. In fact many times when harvesting in two weeks time, not only do we collect a number of cocoons but find a few that have been laid and already hatched within the same time period. To grow a large African nightcrawler up to eight inches does take longer than some other worms to grow out, up to eight months time, however can grow out quicker under ideal conditions.

The worm castings, when a proper bedding material is used, such as those outlined in the 14 Day Worm Castings eBook, come out more like mice droppings, shape and size rather than a fluffy like peat moss. This makes it possible to actually use a seed or fertilizer spreader to cast around your yard and garden areas as well as makes it much easier to mix when making your own potting soil.

African nightcrawlers make a superior fish bait in a couple ways. First they offer a better presentation to the fish than most worms by illuminating blue fluorescent stripes running throughout its body especially in clearer waters as the picture below depicts, catching the fish’s attention more readily.

Blue Fluorescent Stripes on African Nightcrawlers

They can be used for a variety of species, i.e. 2”-3” worm for brim, 4”-5” are becoming popular in some areas throughout the country for trout fishing, 6”-8” are a favorite of catfish and other fish such as bass.

As anyone familiar with targeting catfish will tell you an odor can be instrumental and why many folks even make their own “stink baits” for catfish. It appears the African nightcrawler puts off an odor when stressed similar to that of the red wiggler hence why catfish literally go crazy for this worm.

As for trout fishing, while raising the worms in warmer conditions is necessary, they can survive quite a while in colder trout waters.

Unbeknownst to many anglers is the fact that the African nightcrawler can survive brackish water (mixture of fresh and saltwater). The only other worm I have heard but not tested is the European nightcrawler which supposedly can also survive brackish water. Further testing on a variety of worms is planned for the future!

Raising the African nightcrawlers for worm castings or fishing does not require the concept of composting with food waste… but can be done by top feeding with the use of products such as Purina Worm Chow which also helps to fatten the worms up for fishing.

By raising these worms, an angler can have a full array of sizes for different fish one wishes to target  from two inches up to eight inches plus on any given day.

Being this worm spreads well over the spectrum of different reasons for raising worms, makes it a favorite of mine.

Bruce

Let me begin that many websites offering information, not just African nightcrawlers but other worms as well, do not even raise worms. Rather, they simply use a drop ship company or companies to fill and ship all of their customer orders. That being said, I personally raise red wigglers, African nightcrawlers, European nightcrawlers, Alabama Jumpers and Mealworms. I also have two dogs

Why would some websites state that you can raise African nightcrawlers in colder temperatures? Your guess is as good as mine however many probably due to lack of knowledge and experience. I have seen a number of websites which have literally copied and pasted, word for word from other websites.

Rather than me simply restating what I have before, which is in direct conflict with some other websites, I figured I would prove it to you so as there would be no question in your mind. I decided to run an experiment which by the way I had informed a friend would only last 24 hours due to my experience in raising worms. After all, as the saying goes, a picture is worth a thousand words.

Now before I proceed, let me inform you that the last picture is kind of graphic which may not be suitable for some…

That being said, I decided to use a refrigerator which I store mealworms prior to shipping which is set at a constant 48 degrees Fahrenheit. Now mind you, I only used four good and healthy 6 – 8 inch African nightcrawler worms since I did not wish to waste a bunch, which by the way I hated to part with

You can see the four worms in the bait cup, which I then placed some castings which were straight from the original bin I had pulled the four worms from. You will notice the worms look in great shape. I proceeded to place the African nightcrawlers into the refrigerator at 7:48pm January 1, 2010.

Now for any skeptics out there, I used my automotive multimeter which also has a built in thermometer that I now use full time on my worm bins as it is easy to read the temperature especially when your eyes begin to deteriorate as mine have. As you can see when I placed the sensor on the end of the wire inside the refrigerator with the door shut, the reading was at 48 degrees Fahrenheit.

I checked on the worms 12 hours later and they were already just about dead as they had begun to discolor turning a pale white towards the tail ends. Basically the circulation to the tail end of the worms has either stopped or slowed considerably. Mind you twelve hours is basically the time for an overnight temperature. At this point, even if the temperatures had risen up to the eighties, these four worms would not have made it as they were already too far gone.

I did not get a picture of this stage as I found out the batteries in the camera had run too low, hence I placed them on the charger.

I had some running to do this evening, January 2, 2010, hence I checked on the worms a little later than I had anticipated. I pulled the worms out of the refrigerator at 8:29pm just about 24 hours and 49 minutes since the experiment had begun.

As you can see from the picture below, the African nightcrawlers are dead. The pale white color has spread throughout their bodies while a bulging red color separates the paler areas. These worms are not only dead but have been for a while since they are now beginning to decompose.

One major item to notice is the fact that all four worms are the same. In other words, the temperature did not affect 25% or 50% but rather 100% of the worms!

Even if you tried to raise African nightcrawlers at 60 degrees Fahrenheit they would die, most likely surviving up to a week before keeling over, however the end result would be the same.

This is mainly why I state the African nightcrawler needs 70 degrees minimum. In fact, this is the low end of the spectrum. If you really want your Africana nightcrawlers become active and prolific, get the internal worm bin temperature up to 80 – 85 degrees Fahrenheit, which is what they prefer!

I hope this helps to clarify first the temperature range by which you want to raise your African nightcrawlers and secondly that I will not throw you a bunch of misinformation, but rather facts from my years of experience in raising worms.

Now go and tuck your worms in for the night to keep them warm

Bruce

African Nightcrawlers are raised by some just for the castings. The African Nightcrawlers worm castings are darker in color and fluffier than other composting worms. There is no difference in the microbes or quality of the worm castings other than the looks and feel.

The macro photograph below does not really do the worm castings justice; however you can make out the African Nightcrawlers castings on the left, which are darker. The worm castings on the right are red wiggler worm castings.

Both worms were fed the same diet and were raised in the same bedding materials.

Some worm farms and brokers sell African Nightcrawlers in counts of 600 to 1,200 per pound. These are bed run, usually very small African Nightcrawlers which are still good for composting; however do not make a very good fishing worm as many are the same size as red wigglers at these counts.

Many others offer a 200 to 300 count per pound African Nightcrawlers. These are approximately eight month old worms which run about 6 to 7 inches in length without being stretched out. These make an excellent fishing worm in the warmer weather as African Nightcrawlers are a more heat tolerant worm.

Organic Worm Farm offers the latter, 200 to 300 count per pound as well as the super large African Nightcrawlers, 180 to 225 count per pound! These monsters are approximately 10 months old and run up to 10 inches before being stretched out. If you are looking for the largest, active worm to fish with, these are the worms you want. The Canadian Nightcrawler will run larger, however is not nearly as active as the African Nightcrawlers.

The below photo shows an average 200 to 300 count African Nightcrawler on top with the super large African Nightcrawler, 180 to 225 count per pound below it.

The monster, super large African Nightcrawlers were raised by feeding them Purina Worm Chow. It is a food formulated especially for worms which is fortified not only with grains but minerals and vitamins as well. To raise the largest, fattest worms as well as the most prolific worms, there is nothing that beats using Purina Worm Chow as either a diet supplement or as a sole diet for worms.

Bruce “The Worm Expert” Galle

Scott R. – Illinois

Scott,

Raising African Nightcrawlers is very similar to raising red wiggler worms. Actually the African nightcrawler is a hardier worm than not only the red wiggler but its cousins such as the European nightcrawler. I personally prefer the African as it eats more food, hence producing more worm castings faster.

Setup your bin as you would for red wigglers with one exception, make the bedding thicker. I recommend 6 to 8 inches of bedding such as shredded newspaper and cardboard. Moisten to about 70% to 80% moisture content on a moisture meter.

The feed is the same as you would feed your red wigglers.

Sit back and get ready to harvest your worm castings!

Bruce

S. B. the number of European Nightcrawlers in a ¼ pound varies just as with any worm dependent on the size of the worms. Being our European Nightcrawlers are large being mature adult breeder size, there are less per pound however are ready for breeding or excellent for fishing. These are Hand Picked unlike most sites offering bedrun which offers a mix of juvenile to mature size.

To see the actual size we offer and ship out, visit our 1/4lb European Nightcrawlers. Simply click on the “Click to Enlarge” link toward the top right of the page under the picture.

You do not want to keep many types of worms; including European Nightcrawlers in the refrigerator to simply state it is too cold for them. European Nightcrawlers prefer a room temperature of 65 to 75 degrees Fahrenheit. If you keep in the refrigerator they will most likely survive for a while, depending on the temperature setting of the refrigerator. However they will slow down, will not eat, hence become real sluggish and weak. This makes it tough on the worms.

Actually I see them all the time in refrigerators in bait supply stores. I have actually gone back and shown them mine versus what they are offering and ask me if I can supply them my worms instead! The difference in circumference, activity… is like night and day!

Hope this helps to clarify,

Bruce

Is any type of shredded paper ok?  Everyone says shredded newspaper and never mentions shredded paper such as what would come out of an office shredder.

Thanks for your patience.   Joyce

Joyce, earthworms you are digging up in your yard live in the soil. The red wigglers will not survive in soil as they are strictly a composting worm, eating decaying organic products. In short, yes either let the earthworms go or try placing some decomposed material if you have some, leaves, shredded paper, cardboard… in a pile and let them go.

As for the type of paper to use for your red wigglers I highly recommend you stick to shredded newspaper, brown, non waxed cardboard…

I tried using some office paper which I had shredded and placed on one side of a worm bin. The worms did not care for it and actually stayed away from it. My guess is that it was probably bleached paper, which much of your white paper is in order to get the brilliant white color. Bleach and worms do not mix!

If you wish to test some paper, you can always place a little in a corner of your bin to see how the worms will react. In fact I do this with new foods and grain mixes I come up with prior to utilizing throughout our bins.

I will be shipping your worms out Monday, July 13, 2009… Thanks for the order and let us know how you make out

Bruce

P.S. Check out our all new Red Worm Online Store!

First the African nightcrawler is probably one of the most heat tolerant worms around. They like temperatures around 75 – 80 degrees Fahrenheit. These are also a very large worm with mature adults reaching 6 – 8 inches in length.

African Nightcrawlers are definitely the super red worm for fishing, especially in the hot summer months when water temperatures peak, hence killing off other worms much quicker.

One area that is overlooked when it comes to the African nightcrawler is the fact that it eats more food than other red worms, including red wigglers and European nightcrawlers.

I have seen numerous sites state that red wrigglers are the best composting worm.

Since many people do not raise African nightcrawlers, perhaps they are just repeating what they have heard online posted by others; which in reality is the way the Internet works sadly. One person states something and others basically plagiarize what they read

Being I have raised these super red worms for a while along with red wigglers and European nightcrawlers, I can tell you from personal experience there is no comparison between the African nightcrawler and red wiggler. The African nightcrawler wins hands down.

Below is a picture of a new African nightcrawler bin I setup just three weeks ago.

I cleared to the bottom of the bin, only to expose 3″ of mostly worm castings, not vermiculture. My last bin was setup only for a month and a half and after screening yielded a full 5 gallon bucket of worm castings. Keep in mind this is a 30 gallon bin whereas most people use an 18 gallon bin.

As another comparison, I did the best I could as the nightcrawlers were camera shy

The African nightcrawler just stretched all the way out and sat there while the European nightcrawler wanted to curl up.

The photo below is of a 4″ or so European nightcrawler and as you can see the African easily surpasses this by about twice the length, although he looks lean from being stretched out on a paper plate .

Here is a snap shot of an African nightcrawler. To give some comparison, I used to play basketball and easily could palm the ball

In conclusion, if you are looking for a heat tolerant red worm which in my experience, by far the best composting worm all in one, try setting up an African nightcrawler worm bin.

In order to make this easy and cost effective, I am offering a ¼ lb starter package shipped priority mail. Click here for more information on how to obtain these super red worms!

Happy Worming,

Bruce Galle