Where Do Crawfish Go When the Season Ends in Louisiana?

🐊 KNGT 🐊 | Louisiana — If you are like me and love crawfish then you are gonna be sad this week. You know, Father’s Day is normally when the crawfish season wraps up here in Louisiana. But this year? Man, it’s been a record-breaker! Crawfish counts were up from previous years and this season was a record breaker.

Where do Crawfish in Louisiana go after Season?

So where do those mudbugs go after we finish the last boil? Well, don’t worry, they don’t retire to Florida or hide out under your porch. Instead, they go back underground like a little Louisiana army retreatin’ for the summer to stay cool.

Here’s the scene: once the weather warms up, crawfish start digging. These fellas are burrow experts, according to the LSU Ag Center they can dig 2 to 3 feet down, sometimes as much as 6 or 8 feet! . They curl up in those cool, damp tunnels to chill out till the weather cools again.

READ MORE: Crawfish Farming In Louisiana: History, Growth, And Tradition

I like to imagine them find a secret crawfish speakeasy underground, sipping moonshine and swapping swamp stories about how they didn’t get caught. Nothing fancy, just a simple mud bar where they catch up till next season.

And why do they leave us? Well, markets drop the price so low, farmers barely break even, and banks start sweating, so everyone, crawfish included, takes a beating .

But here’s the good news: come fall and first big rains, the crawfish pop back up, ready to party again. They’ll be ready for the first boil of next season, piping hot and spicy, like we all love.

So even if Father’s Day comes and goes and you ain’t seen a crawfish for a minute, don’t fret. They’re just takin’ a summer nap. And maybe, just maybe, dreamin’ of that next boil with you and your buddies, and a whole lotta butter.