How to Build Easy Crawfish Traps

Crayfish, also called crawfish or crawdads, are small crustaceans found in freshwater areas. They look much like miniature lobsters and are a staple in Cajun cooking. Whether you are catching crawfish for the first time or have caught them in the past, you will need a trap to be successful in trapping. If you plan on trapping crawfish to distribute them to consumers, commercial traps are your best option, but they can be expensive. However, if you want to make an easy crawfish trap at home for personal use, you can make your own at home with little more than some mesh hardware cloth.

Things You'll Need

  • Mesh hardware cloth
  • Steel tie wires
  • Bait
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Instructions

    • 1

      Cut a piece of mesh hardware cloth into a 2 foot by 2 1/3 foot piece. Roll the piece lengthwise to make a cylinder. Use steel tie wires to connect the sides together and hold the cylindrical shape.

    • 2

      Cut two more pieces of mesh hardware cloth into semi circles that measure 9 1/2 inches each. Fold the pieces of mesh along the straight edges to form funnels. Use steel tie wires to connect the edges and hold the funnel shapes.

    • 3

      Cut the tips off of the funnels. This will create a 2-inch hole at the end of each funnel. Place these cut ends into the cylinder you created in Step 1. Place one funnel on each open end. Use steel tie wires to adhere the funnels to the cylinder.

    • 4

      Mark a 4 1/2-inch-by-4 1/2-inch square on one of the long sides of the cylinder. Cut from corner to corner in the square to make an X. Press the points of the X inward. This will be the opening for the door to access the crawfish. Cut a 7 1/2-inch-by-13 1/2-inch piece of mesh hardware cloth to cover the hole you just made. Place the cut piece of cloth over the hole and attach the top two corners to the cylinder using steel tie wires to make a hinged door.

    • 5

      Choose your preferred bait. Fish is the best option, such as cuttings of salmon. You can ask your local grocery store for the scraps they have left after trimming the fish. These are usually free. The important thing is the fish is fresh.

    • 6

      Place your baited traps in the water.