Every year I have this Crayfish/Crawfish/Crawdad problem. They live in the wet soil under the surface and build mounds all over. In the 5 years I've live here, I have only seen one alive as it scampered back into it's hole. I had a post on this last year on TBN, and couldn't come up with a solution. I found this on a web search:

"Since the methods used to kill crayfish can contaminate nearby bodies of water, the following treatments are suggested by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service:

1) Dissolve one pound of chloride of lime in three gallons of water. Application can be made with compressed air sprayers or a watering can with the sprayer nozzle removed. One to two ounces of this liquid should be applied into each crayfish burrow and the opening of the burrow closed by pressing the earth together with the foot. The chloride of lime will kill the crayfish within a few hours.

2) Sodium hydroxide (lye) at the rate of two or three pellets (1/2 tsp) per burrow provides effective control. This method has been used to control crayfish in narrow earth dams.

3) Mix two quarts of turpentine and one-fourth pound of soap powder with one quart of water. Mix one part of this stock solution in 50 parts of water and apply in the same manner as given in Number 1 above."


So, are they implying that the 3 methods listed are OK near a water source? I told the kids to tell their cats to eat them, but so far no luck!