You're not the only ones dealing with illegal aliens in your waterways:
Full article on Crayfish
Quote:
The alien in question is Pacifastacus leniusculus, aka the 'American Red' signal crayfish.
'They're a vicious invader. They can grow up to 12 inches in length, live out of water for months and can climb up almost anything. They burrow into the banks and make them unstable; we lost a metre of land in just one year. We pulled out over 23,000 signals over a three-month period along that 100-yard stretch,' he added, pointing with a hand scarred by encounters with their pincers.
Larger and more aggressive than the native white-clawed crayfish, the signal lays more eggs and can reproduce in a shorter cycle, allowing it to establish itself as the apex predator in many of the UK's rivers in less than 30 years.
|
Ok, they don't jump up and hit people
Quote:
|
The Environment Agency got more than one report last year from parents whose children, paddling in the Thames, had their feet nipped by a red signal.
|
But they aren't confined to rivers either
Quote:
Abby Stancliffe-Vaughan and her colleagues at the Brecks Conservation Project have already had a number of calls from the public who have found the American Red near their homes, most of which are not near rivers or have no pond in the garden.
'They're on the increase. They can live for months out of water and I can see a time when people will be beating them away from their back door with a stick,' she said. 'If nothing is done, they may become as common as rats in some areas.'
The American Red is now believed to inhabit more than 80 per cent of rivers in mainland UK and will wipe out the native species if not stopped. The problem is so serious a conference of 120 European Union scientists has discussed how best to counteract the threat.
|
We'll get them the old fashioned way though...
Quote:
|
One method that has been tried is the pheromone or sex trap. Male crayfish are lured into a cage baited with the female pheromone, a scent secreted when ready to mate. The male is fished out and put in the freezer, the quickest, most humane way of dispatch.
|
... with sex!