Although commonly used to collect fishing bait on a small scale, this technique seems to have reached its greatest level of development in Florida's Apalachicola National Forest, where an entire bait industry developed in the 60's and 70's with thousands of people grunting for worms for supplemental income or as the major means of supporting their families. As a result of these vibrations, earthworms exit their burrows and can be easily collected. The strategy consists of a range of methods by which man-made vibrations are communicated to the soil, either by using hand tools or occasionally power equipment (more recently chain saws but historically a model T ford might be used). This technique is variously called worm grunting, fiddling, snoring, and charming (hereafter called worm grunting after the yearly “Worm Grunting Festival” in Sopchoppy, Florida). In a number of parts of the southeastern United States, families have handed down traditional knowledge for collecting earthworms by vibrating the ground.
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