Crawdads? NGC, naturally

[Chuck in Indiana]

Ok, Dorcia is a Master Gardener. She has thousands of flowers, and loves ever one of them.    In her beds around the pond, we have this problem.

She says her flowers die wherever these are. Naturally, her problems are my problems. 
I'm *assuming* these are crawdads.. mudbugs..whatever you call them.
Correct?
If so, can I trap em and eat em? Any other eradication methods?
TIA

[Kev m]

I thought Crawdads/Mudbugs were Crayfish.... ya know, boil em, then pinch the tails and suck the heads!

[rodekyll]

I don't see anything in the picture that looks like a crawdad.  When I was a kid crawdads were a fresh water shrimp.

Side note -- they're an invasive species being found in Alaska waters recently.  The gubbmt is asking us to destroy them whenever we find them.

[Kent in Upstate NY]

All I see is a shoe. Crawdads look like little lobstahs.

[twhitaker]

If your 'aim' is good and the 'manifold pressure' is high enough you can 'flush' them out. 

[John A]

That's bad, Chuck, that's real bad.

[Chuck in Indiana]

Uhhh, I'm talking about the holes. I know what a crawdad looks like..

That's bad, Chuck, that's real bad.

Naa, John.. Momma didn't raise no foolish children. I won't be stepping on any of Dorcia's flowers.. 

[yogidozer]

sure they aren't cicada killers?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sphecius_speciosus

[Chuck in Indiana]

sure they aren't cicada killers?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sphecius_speciosus

Yeah, I'm familiar with cicada killers. We had those back at the log cabin. These holes are much larger, as much as 2 inches in diameter. I'm not seeing the typical mud volcanoes of crawdads, though. There is some mud around most of them, but not all..

[Rhodan]

Snakes?  Or maybe voles?  (not sure what's common where you live)

[LowRyter]

sure you can eat crawdads.  But I am not sure what's in those holes. 

[Chuck in Indiana]

Snakes?  Or maybe voles?  (not sure what's common where you live)

Snakes and voles are both common where we live. I just figured that there is a *bunch* of experience on WG, and someone would know for sure what is causing the problem.

[oldbike54]

Snakes and voles are both common where we live. I just figured that there is a *bunch* of experience on WG, and someone would know for sure what is causing the problem.

 The answer to that all depends on one's perspective 

  Dusty

[Chuck in Indiana]

The answer to that all depends on one's perspective 

  Dusty

True..true..

[pikipiki]

Found similar problem in parents garden at weekend.

Must be a different species **** chaffers, seriously the names they come up with, never seen or heard of them before

http://www.google.co.uk/search?q=cockchaffer&safe=off&hl=en-GB&prmd=ivns&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0CAYQ_AUoAWoVChMIzLTP7OK9yAIVgkQaCh1OPgLo#mhpiv=18

[rocker59]

http://www.ehow.com/info_12086433_causes-mud-piles-popping-up-backyard.html

[Sasquatch Jim]

  Crawdads are very scarfable,  mud holes and boots not so scarfable.  And that is the difference.

[Chuck in Indiana]

http://www.ehow.com/info_12086433_causes-mud-piles-popping-up-backyard.html

No chimneys..

[AJ Huff]

Looks like mud daubers to me. I wouldn't eat 'em.

-AJ

[dubtac]

Lol here in Louisiana we call them crawfish holes aka mudbug holes or sometimes lizards and frogs get down in there and drive me nuts in the summer. You can always try to flood them out if your feeling up to wasting water. Me personally I like to eliminate them with extreme prejudice and just pour old gas in the hole guaranteed to flush what ever out.  Good luck

[donn]

Looks like mud daubers to me. I wouldn't eat 'em.

Common meaning for "mud dauber" is a long waisted wasp that uses mud to build a tubular nest, that it stocks with spiders for the larva to live on.  This sure isn't that.

If it's crayfish, those would be exit holes, true?  maybe 1/2 inch?  Pygmy crayfish maybe?  Crayfish incidentally comes from Old French crevice, related to German krebs ("crevice" comes from Old French crevace.)  There are a lot of different species, I think most of them don't burrow.

I bet old gas would be a marvelous soil amendment for the garden, too.  (Not really.)

Looks like this might call for some work with a shovel.  They probably go pretty deep, that isn't topsoill is it?

[donn]

Common meaning for "mud dauber" is a long waisted wasp that uses mud to build a tubular nest, that it stocks with spiders for the larva to live on.  This sure isn't that.

If it's crayfish, those would be exit holes, true?  maybe 1/2 inch?  Pygmy crayfish maybe?   Given that they're next to a pond, though, I think it's a pretty safe bet they're crayfish.  Maybe if you give them time they'll put up some taller chimneys.  Crayfish incidentally comes from Old French crevice, related to German krebs ("crevice" comes from Old French crevace.)  There are a lot of different species, I think most of them don't burrow.

I bet old gas would be a marvelous soil amendment for the garden, too.  (Not really.)

Looks like this might call for some work with a shovel.  They probably go pretty deep, that isn't topsoill is it?

[Travman]

Those are crayfish holes.  The ground underneath stays soggy.  That is why her plants are not dong well.  She should plant something there that likes "wet feet".  There are plenty of flowering plants that like growing in marsh like conditions. 

[Chuck in Indiana]

Those are crayfish holes.  The ground underneath stays soggy.  That is why her plants are not dong well.  She should plant something there that likes "wet feet".  There are plenty of flowering plants that like growing in marsh like conditions.

She knows her stuff about what plants grow where. These are steep banks around the pond. Her plants do just fine except where the holes are.
Doing a little research, the little buggers like to eat roots. No wonder the flowers die around the holes.  Naturally, there is no chemical control.
Looks like I need to make some traps. Just what I need.. another project.

[CapitalGoose]

Yep. Growing up in South Louisiana, I can confirm those are crawfish holes.

Pretty hard to catch the suckers, but you can set traps. They'll come out at night to eat whatever gross meat  you put in the traps.

Unless you have hundreds of those little holes, you probably don't have enough for a proper meal! 

Good Luck!

Crash

[Chuck in Indiana]

Yep. Growing up in South Louisiana, I can confirm those are crawfish holes.

Pretty hard to catch the suckers, but you can set traps. They'll come out at night to eat whatever gross meat  you put in the traps.

Unless you have hundreds of those little holes, you probably don't have enough for a proper meal! 

Good Luck!

Crash

Thanks for that, I was looking for confirmation.. didn't want to waste my time trying to catch crawdads when what I needed to catch was a snake or something else. 

[oldbike54]

Thanks for that, I was looking for confirmation.. didn't want to waste my time trying to catch crawdads when what I needed to catch was a snake or something else. 

                                                                       Chuckie , the famous crawdad hunter


  Dusty

[Chuck in Indiana]

                                                                       Chuckie , the famous crawdad hunter


  Dusty

Maybe I should start a "reality" show..

[oldbike54]

Maybe I should start a "reality" show..

 I was trying to plant the seed ...

  Dusty

[donn]

Pretty hard to catch the suckers, but you can set traps. They'll come out at night to eat whatever gross meat  you put in the traps.

Unless you have hundreds of those little holes, you probably don't have enough for a proper meal!

Unless you're hoping for a reliable food source here, it might be worth thinking about a two pronged attack, wherein you enlist the support of some aquatic predator that could get the young ones in the pond.  Bluegills for example, but keep the number of adults down and provide cover for younger fish, they're the ones that will clean up the little crayfish before they start burrowing.  Gradual results are better than immediate extinction, you want a stable predator population that can take care of crayfish that will continue to re-infest the pond.  Pond owners in your area will have better information about what works.  I hope you don't have ducks or geese in there, my guess is that makes it a lot harder.