Somehow, I’ve grown a brown thumb and have been fascinated with growing nightcrawler worms for money. The million-dollar question is the hassle worth the money (if there is money)? Also, how much investment and time does this worm business take, right?
Nightcrawler worms can make good money because they create fertilizer, castings, tea, cocoons and you can sell the worms.
Keep reading, and I’ll go over in more detail the 4 ways to earn money with nightcrawler worms and what to consider when starting this business. Lastly, I’ll share what nightcrawler worms eat and a way to increase your earnings even more.
4 Different Ways to Get Paid from Nightcrawlers
There are many different ways someone can get paid from Nightcrawlers. The first thing that may come to your mind is selling the nightcrawlers to fishermen.
Sure, this is one way. According to a friend I have, nightcrawlers sell for around $30-$32 per pound, and you’ll sell about 350 to 400 nightcrawlers per pound.
Contrary to popular belief (myself included), selling the nightcrawlers might be the last step. The first way to earn money with a worm business is by selling compost.
Compost is a natural organic fertilizer. This is valuable because chemical fertilizers are not as attractive. Fertilizers are used for growing plants, lawns, vegetables, gardens, and flowers.
Gardening is “only” going to grow in popularity due to the (going green) movement, rising food prices, and the boredom of retired people.
The second way to earn money raising nightcrawler worms is worm castings (A.K.A. worm poop). Turns out worms eat your garbage and poop gold (what’s better than that?). The castings can be sold on their own, or even better, mix their poop into a concoction that easily improves the soil.
My friend told me the concoction sells for $25 a gallon.
The third way, as I mentioned earlier, is to sell the nightcrawler worms directly. Local fishing places could buy the worms, you could sell them directly to consumers, and even some pet stores could buy them.
The fourth way is to harvest the cacoons and sell them. Each cocoon may hatch anywhere from 2-7 worms, and they are designed to protect the worms as they grow.
You might be getting excited now, but hold on, there are some things to consider with this business.
5 Things to Consider When Starting a Worm Business
The first thing that came to my mind is how much of a pain in the ass this business is to start. The good news is you can actually start a worm business with as few as 100 worms.
It doesn’t take a ton of seed (I mean worm) money to start.
The next thing to consider is where the business will be. My friend said you don’t even need a garage, but it can be done in a closet.
There are different systems to this business, but the first thing to consider is not killing your worms. Just like you don’t want to be too hot or freezing, worms like nice temperatures.
Worms prefer to be at 15 to 25 degrees Celsius. This is 59 to 77 degrees Farheneight. If it gets too cold, they just might freeze to death.
Not killing your worms might just be priority #2. Of course, getting your partner ok with this project just might be priority #1, right?
Also, if you tell people you’re growing worms and they laugh in your face, you’re going to have to be ok with that.
You might also be thinking that a worm farm is going to stink like shit. The good news is that as long as you don’t overfeed them (some people think it’s a common mistake), your worm farm will not smell because they eat up all your organic garbage.
Plus, worm poop doesn’t smell (contrary to what some people think).
Another thing to consider is how this business works. You put worms in a bin, and each bin produces money. The more money you want to earn, the more bins you will need.
My friend told me he says he earns $250 a month for a single bin. You might be skeptical, but there are many ways to earn money with this business.
Also, consider the marijuana business, how much fertilizer they need, and how fast that is growing. There is even a way to rent worms out (believe it or not).
Some businesses suck up your time like the TSA line at an airport. I know you’re insanely busy and might be wondering how much time this business takes.
My friend told me it takes about an hour total a week to care for the worms, and costs nothing.
What to Feed Your Nightcrawler Worms?
The great thing about nightcrawler worms is that they eat a wide variety of stuff. The nerdy term is detritivores, and this means they can eat decaying matter. If you have a dead body (I’m joking), a wide variety of items can be fed to it.
There are discarded plant materials, I’m talking about grass clippings. If you drink coffee, then the good news is that the old grounds can be used as food.
Heck, even old eggshells can be used to keep these critters alive. Another idea that might sound crazy is even feces. Yeah, if someone has horses nearby, their droppings can be used along with tons of other stuff.
You could even be the hero in the neighborhood picking up ALL the dog poop (You’ll be loved)!
Anything that was once living can be used as food, including fruits and vegetables. The real question is, what do nightcrawler worms NOT eat?
Food that is highly oily or greasy, like meats, is not the best for the worms. Dairy products are also not the best choice, such as cheese, milk, and butter. Processed foods probably should be passed on. Even yard waste that has been treated with pesticides could be unhealthy.
Basically, the standard American diet might make nightcrawlers unhealthy.
The main thing is to try not to overfeed your pet worms. The previous food you gave them should be mostly gone before you add more.
Conclusion
I hope this post on worm farming with nightcrawlers was at least a little helpful.
I’m sure you probably have TONS of questions. This place HERE, probably has some great resources on how to start this type of business.
Another side hustle that I’m a huge fan of is affiliate marketing. Even better, you could do affiliate marketing with a worm-farming business and earn money in BOTH ways.
Affiliate marketing is when you post a link, and if someone clicks on the link and purchases something, even enters an email address for more information, or downloads a free app, you can earn money.
What is so great about it is that it’s VERY flexible.
You can do it anywhere, anytime, around your schedule, in nearly any niche, and it can be very fun. Heck, you can do it with worms. Document your journey, find a few affiliate products, and bam.
If you want to learn more, I’ve been at it for 15 years, and you can view my whole system for FREE HERE.
Hope this post on worms was helpful or maybe entertaining. Bye for now.