Let's take a look at the sort of domestic tasks to which worms can be put (good thing since that was the question). But first, why would one want to put them to any tasks and, then to finish up, which kinds are best suited for which jobs? Of course, all this comes from the perspective of a fellow who grows and sells worms so...

Lets start with an obsession of mine, freshwater fishing. I like to go fishing and when I go fishing I want to catch fish. To catch fish effectively I need to trick them into putting a hook into their mouths. To get them to do that I have to have a bait that the fish will take. Purests might say that hand tied flies and expensive tackle are the *only* way to go, so just for the record, I am a fly fisherman of some 30 years experience and more than 40 years of all kinds of fishing.... so when I call a pickled salmon egg a "pre-emergant salmoniod nymph" then that is what it is! (it is *not* "cowboy caviar" as some claim!) back to the point...

Over all the years I have been fishing, no bait (whether lure, fly, stink, dough or anything else), has consistantly performed as well for me on so many varieties of fish as worms have. Worms work year round and big fish eat them with relish. I like to fish with worms ... for you dedicated fly fisherpersons ... the "Trusty Garden Hackle" might be a more acceptable term than 'worm' ;-) Guess what? A lot of other people like worms too! Which brings us, at long last, to the point which is, fishermen buy and use worms. So worms which are pleasing to both fish and fisherman and which can be picked or raised in quantities sufficient to supply the demand, are worthy of the task of being bait.

In section '6' I already mentioned L. terrestris as a bait worm but there are others which are, in my opinion, at least as good and perhaps better for most kinds of angling and which are better suited for the grower. Among these are, L. rubellus, E. foetida and the Pheretimas.

Organinc gardening and farming can be greatly aided by worms. By increasing the organic content of the soil, a gardener or farmer can increase the size, disease resistance, and quality of fruit, veggies and other crops, and in so doing, also increase the ability of his soil to support large worm populations. I am a proponent of worm implantation into growing areas which need improvement and also of using domesticated worms to produce castings and enriched compost for growing areas. Casting and vermicomposting operations for large land area fertilization have been undertaken successfully and have been proven cost effective, environmentally sound alternatives to the use of chemical fertilizers.

Manure worms like L. rubellus and E. foetida are well suited for the work of composting and casting production. Other varieties having essentially the same habits are in use for the same purposes in different areas of the world. In the U.S., E. foetida, commonly called 'brandling', 'tiger', 'yellow tail' or a host of other names, is raised by many breeders and so is readily available in large quantities. In the fields of the north and central part of the country, L. terrestris and particularly the common field worm, A. calignosa does well, in southern areas, the Pheretimas do the job well also.

Casting production is another commercial aspect of the work worms can do. I'll be getting into castings at some length later on but for now, suffice it to say that for those who grow plants, whether indoors or out, worm castings are perhaps the best soil amendment you can use. The production of casts by the worms can be combined with other commercial objectives i.e., composting for organic gardening, bait worm producton, waste stream reduction or sanitation to name a few. Again, the manure worms fit the bill nicely.

In the"COSMIC" section of the site I get into waste stream management, past and present, and if you hop around from there, you'll find some other pretty nifty uses for worms as well.

The use of worms for stock feed is generally considered to be non-competitive as dried worm flour has about the same protein content as soy flour, or meal, or chicken poop. What's that? Chicken droppings as stock feed? Yep... that's a very common practice. Still, if problems in preserving the worm flour can be overcome, it might prove worthy of consideration, particularly if the worms were themselves a bi-product of other revenue producing activities by the grower. Speaking of worms as a food source, there is some demand for the critters in pet stores, as bird and reptile food.