Rusty Crayfish Removal Services

Although a tasty delicacy when cooked, the Rusty Crayfish is indeed an invasive species here in the mid-west and is known to cause some big problems to both our fisheries, and ecosystem. Originally native to only the Ohio River Basin, the Rusty Crayfish was most likely introduced here as bait. Now years later, the species is competing with our native crayfish species and in some lakes taking over. The Rusty Crayfish is a very aggressive species when it comes to feeding. And this also becomes a problem for the native fish population. Crayfish are scavengers and will eat anything, which includes the very important weed beds, aquatic plants, and other vegetation fish needs for shelter, nesting, and hunting. Removing this vegetation can also cause erosion and other negative impacts to our natural ecosystem.

How can our removal services help? Although removing all Rusty Crayfish from a lake would be next to impossible, we can put a big dent in the Rusty Crayfish population for years to come. Once a removal project has been completed, we extend our knowledge to our clients and share our techniques to help them continue taking easy preventative measures moving forward. By doing so we keep the lakes we have worked on healthy and mostly free of Rusty Crayfish year after year, giving the vegetation and fisheries a chance to recover. One single female crayfish can produce and carry up to 500 eggs under her tail. By targeting crayfish before, during and after mating season, and specifically targeting females we can greatly reduce the population. Over the years, we have grown to become experts on the species, studying its behavior, feeding patters, mating, molting, and even how the species reacts to different kinds of bait throughout the seasons. We know this species in and out, and we have learned to predict their behavior in different weather conditions throughout the seasons. This, in combination with our special gear, bait, and trapping techniques makes us experts on trapping this delicious yet invasive species. 

Whether you are on a smaller lake, or you are part of a lake association of a bigger lake, or chain of lakes, feel free to reach out to us to see what can be done about your Rusty Crayfish problem. We have worked with both private individuals as well as cities/counties alongside the DNR on a number of similar projects in the past, with very successful results.

Cost of removal projects depend on size/depths of waters that we work on, as well as length of projects. Please contact us with questions or if you have a project to discuss: martin@nordiccrayfish.com