Once you have collected an amount, dump the container right on top of the bedding, don't bury them. The healthy ones will start digging themselves in right away, whereas the sick or injured, will still be on top in the morning. Discard these ones, they will only cause you problems.

I have several rules on my boat when it comes to worms, the first one is, when you are finished taking a worm out, they are put right back into their own cooler. The second is never, ever put a half a worm back into the container, (unless we happen to be short on worms). This half a worm will be forgotten and introduced back into the collective, and will die.

I use plastic pop bottles the litre, and half liter size to keep my worms cool on the road. Fill with water, and pop them into the freezer. They will stay frozen most of the day, keeping the worms at a nice comfortable temperature. After fishing the worms go right back into the fridge, dumped on top of the bedding. I check them later for dying or injured ones.

Worms that have been exposed to the heat in any way, or ones that I have forgotten, get tossed, they never go back into the collective. One bad worm like the proverbial apple, can and will spoil the entire bunch. Worms will actually move as far away as possible from a sick or dying worm.

I had worms outside for years and always had problems with spoiling or raccoons getting them (One year I forgot several hundred in the back of an old van,, man what a stink !). It wasn't until I called a worm farmer, and asked allot of questions before I fully understood how to properly care for crawlers. A dew worm or night crawler if kept outside needs one cubic foot of soil to live properly. The more worms you cram into that cubic foot, the more likely you'll have problems with spoilage. Bacteria levels get very high under these conditions, it travels quickly throughout the bed, killing allot if not most of your worms. When you find dying or dead worms remove them pronto, and also the surrounding bedding. If you don't have a fridge, make a very large box, and bury it under shade, or keep them in a cool basement.

With the temperature I keep my fridge at I have no problem storing 1500-2000 worms all summer long. They are always nice and firm, and will crawl out of your hand. A sick worm will be limp, and just lie there. Keep an eye on your worms to make sure everything is OK with them. Pick out any dead ones, and oxygenate the soil by turning it with your fingers. Never use a tool within the bed, you will only damage your worms.

If you see worms that are fat, and full of water, it means the bed is too wet. Refill the boxes, with fresh bedding and keep an eye on them, they should firm up in a couple of days.

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