CATDOLL : CATDOLL: When are earthworms caught?

1. When should earthworms be caught?

Earthworms live in the soil during the day and move closer to the surface at night. Whether foraging, excreting or mating, most of them only expose part of their body, and rarely crawl out as a whole. In the early morning after a heavy rain, earthworms usually crawl out as a whole individual, and Qingpi has never seen earthworms mating under such circumstances.

In temperate and frigid zones, low temperatures and drought in winter cause earthworms to hibernate. In the spring of the following year, as the temperature rises and the rainy season arrives, the earthworms wake up and begin to move. In pastures, earthworms such as the red earthworm, the green earthworm, and the dark-backed earthworm are most active from April to May and from August to December each year; in grasslands, autumn, especially October, is the most active. The rainy season begins in late June and early July, and lasts until early November, which is the period of earthworm activity.

In the tropics, earthworm activity is also limited to certain seasons. For example, in the Yunnan region of my country, earthworms are mostly active in the rainy season from May to October. When the soil moisture content drops below 7%, earthworms also go dormant. Seasonal changes can also affect the intensity of earthworm metabolism. From May to August, earthworms of the family Lumbricidae are in a dormant state because the soil temperature and humidity are not suitable. In the autumn and spring from September to December and February to April, earthworm metabolism is vigorous and reaches its peak because the soil temperature and humidity are relatively suitable.

Morning catching method: earthworms like to forage for food and find new environments at night. Especially after the rooster crows, their activities are more intense. According to this habit, you can use the morning time to catch them.

When the river water drops, most of the earthworms on the river beach move on the mud flats in the second half of the night. At this time, you can catch them with your fingers or chopsticks with a light, and you can catch 3 to 5 kilograms in an hour. If there is fog or light rain, there will be more earthworms on the mud flats, so you should seize the opportunity to catch them.

On rainy nights, earthworms will come out of their holes in the first half of the night to look for food, and crawl out of the holes in the second half of the night to move around. At this time, you can use a light to catch them.

Whenever there is heavy rain for several days and the river water rises sharply, the earthworms on the river bank will all come ashore in the morning to find a new habitat. This is a good time to catch earthworms, so you should catch them as soon as possible.

2. Flooding method: Fill a dry ditch or pond where earthworms grow in large numbers with water, and the earthworms will flee to the slope. Carry a small bucket and search along the ditch or pond. Catch one earthworm that climbs up the slope until all are caught. If conditions permit, you can use abandoned ditches and ponds to breed earthworms. Once they are needed, they must be harvested and then flooding method can be used.

3. Drug-trapping method: Use 1 bucket of 1.5% potassium permanganate solution or 0.55% formalin solution per square meter, and pour it on the places where earthworms are concentrated. The earthworms will quickly crawl out to be caught. After catching, rinse the earthworms with clean water for 5 to 10 minutes. In addition, you can also use 1% laundry detergent solution for drug-trapping.

4. Earthworm trapping method

① Dry land trapping: In a dry and fertile place, keep the 1 meter square area of ​​land moist, and apply some decomposed organic fertilizer. After a week, the earthworms will be trapped in large numbers.

② Rain cover trapping: When it rains heavily, lie on the river bank or in places where there are many earthworms, and cover several places with rain shelters such as burlap, rags, corrugated paper and snakeskin bags. After one night, remove the rain cover as soon as possible and the earthworms will gather under the rain cover in large numbers.

③ Set up earth slopes in low-lying areas to trap: When it rains suddenly or for days with heavy rain, set up several small earth slopes in low-lying areas and cover them with weeds. After 4 to 10 hours, the low-lying areas will be flooded and the earthworms will be forced to crawl onto the earth slopes to be trapped.

Earthworms like to forage for food and find new habitats at night. Especially after the rooster crows, their activities are more intense. According to this habit, you can use the morning time to catch them.

If it is foggy or drizzling, there will be more earthworms on the mudflats, so you should seize the opportunity to catch them. On rainy nights, earthworms will come out of their holes in the first half of the night to look for food, and crawl out of their holes in the second half of the night to move around. At this time, you can use a light to catch them. When it rains for several days and the river water rises sharply, the earthworms on the river bank will all come ashore in the morning to find a new habitat. This is a good time to catch earthworms, so you should hurry up and catch them.

Fill a dry ditch or pond where earthworms grow in large numbers with water, and the earthworms will flee up the slope. Carry a small bucket and search along the ditch or pond. Catch each earthworm as it climbs up the slope until all are caught.

Set up earth slopes in low-lying areas to trap the earthworms: When it rains suddenly or for days, set up several small earth slopes in low-lying areas and cover them with weeds. After 4 to 10 hours, the low-lying areas will be flooded and the earthworms will be forced to crawl to the earth slopes to be trapped.

2. Can earthworms caught with laundry detergent be kept alive?

Washing powder cannot trap earthworms. It can only stimulate earthworms and make them unable to survive in the soil and crawl out.

A certain concentration of laundry detergent can affect the normal activities of earthworms and may also cause a large number of deaths. Within 48 hours, the half lethal concentration of earthworms to laundry detergents JB, AM, QS, TZ, dp, bm, and jm was measured to be in the range of 70-80 ml, 60-70 ml, 80-90 ml, 80-90 ml, 60-70 ml, 60-70 ml, and 80-90 ml.

3. Which type of earthworm is the most valuable?

The most valuable earthworms are Eisenia fetida, Pheretima genus and Pheretima quinata.

Eisenia fetida, commonly known as red earthworm, is also the most common cultured earthworm. It is relatively small, about 60 to 160 mm long, 3 to 5 mm wide, with about 80 to 110 rings, and is generally orange-red or chestnut red. Pteris Williamii, commonly known as green earthworm, green earthworm, William's cavity ring, etc., is relatively large, about 90 to 250 mm long, 5 to 10 mm wide, with a green-yellow, gray-green or gray-green back, and a green-gray back midline.

Pheretima ginseng, commonly known as earthworm, is also the most common earthworm in my country. Individuals are relatively large, with a body length of about 110 to 380 mm and a body width of about 5 to 12 mm. The back is purple-gray, the back is slightly lighter in color, and the bristle ring is white.

The earthworm trap was not caught

1. Capture by flooding: earthworms are afraid of stagnant water, so you can use watering to make the earthworms come out of their holes and capture them. You can also capture earthworms in paddy fields during spring ploughing.

2. Pile bait trapping: pile the fermented bait on the edge of the field or in the garden where earthworms are found. The pile should be 30 to 40 cm high, 40 to 50 cm wide, and of any length. Generally, earthworms will gather after 3 to 5 days of placement. If 50% fertilizer soil is added to the mixture and fermented as bait, the effect of trapping earthworms will be better.

3. Turning over and digging: Collect earthworms by digging the soil with a rake. The method is simple but the effect is poor and it is more suitable for small-scale breeding.

4. Chemical capture: Sprinkle potassium permanganate solution or formaldehyde solution on the place where earthworms are collected. The stimulated earthworms will crawl out quickly.

5. Lure with rotten fruits: In summer, place rotten fruits in humid places where earthworms live to lure the earthworms to crawl over and eat, and then you can catch them.