The young brothers behind a successful worm-selling business in Cornwall, Ont., are appealing to the city to let them continue selling bait from their front porch.

Kristopher Cadieux, 10, and his brother Clayton, 8, started selling worms on their front porch earlier this summer.

The young businessmen dug up, sorted, and packaged the critters with the help of their sister and cousin, and then left the worms in a cooler for shoppers to browse and buy. They charged $2.50 per dozen worms.

But after an anonymous complaint, the City of Cornwall stepped in and shut down the bug business, citing bylaws that required the boys to move the sales inside and take down the advertising signs on their front lawn.

On Thursday, the older Cadieux brother told CTV's Canada AM that the sudden shutdown has been disheartening.

"It's hard on us because we were making so much money and we were getting used to it, but now we can't sell anymore," Kristopher said.

Before the city intervened, the boys had made more than $200 and sold more than 1,200 worms. They planned to use their profits to buy a four-wheeler for Kristopher and a dirt bike for Clayton.

Now, their dreams are on hold until their business can be revived, Kristopher said.

"It was pretty bad because we weren't going to make any money and we were saving up," he said. "All the people who come and try to buy worms, we say 'we can't sell them anymore.' I don't like it."

Though the boys are allowed to sell worms from inside the house, the brothers agreed that they preferred to run the business outdoors.

One reason for that, Kristopher said, is that the family feels uncomfortable welcoming strangers into the home.

"It's bad if you let someone in your house that you don't know," the 10-year-old said.

The city said in a statement that it is working with the family to find the best solution for the worm-selling dilemma. And while not everybody agrees, some local politicians are pushing to change bylaws as soon as September.

"We're going to be looking to fix that," City Coun. Justin Towndale told CTV Ottawa earlier in the week. "Let kids be kids. This is something kids do every summer to earn a little extra money,""

Discussing the dispute on Thursday, the Cadieux brothers said they had a message for the politicians who will decide the fate of their business:

"We're just kids. We're trying to make money," Kristopher said. "At least we're doing something. Most kids they just sit down and play video games. We're working for our money."