Abstract The agar-gel migration technique has previously been described, however, aspects regarding the effect of timing on worm migration needed further scrutiny. In the first experiment, pigs inoculated with Oesophagostomum dentatum were slaughtered simultaneously and their intestines stored at 2123C until processed pairwise 2, 4, 6, 8, 12 and 18h after slaughter. More than 95% of the worms migrated out of the agar if processed within 6h. In the second experiment, intestines were treated immediately after slaughter and the migratory speed of adult worms or 4th-stage larvae of O. dentatum or O. quadrispinulatum, or adult Hyostrongylus rubidus were studied. For both Oesophagostomum species, more than 90% of the worms were recovered within 1h. H. rubidus was significantly slower; however, approximately 98% of the worms had migrated out of the agar-gel by 20h. This information is essential in planning experiments where recovery of live worms is of value.