# How do you take care of crabs? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 20, 2014, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-take-care-of-crabs/686518 "2014-04-20T01:36:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Superhal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Superhal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superhal)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2014, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-take-care-of-crabs/686518/1 "2014-04-20T01:36:54Z")
I love dugeoness crabs but the fish market told me a few restaurants cornered the market and bought up the entire supply for the area. So, if they’re that popular, why not make a crab farm and then I can have access to crabs whenever I’ve got the itch? What kind of pool do they need? It seems they need cold too, how cold? ---
**Author:** ![Lukeinva](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lukeinva/32/17872_2.png) [@Lukeinva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lukeinva)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2014, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-take-care-of-crabs/686518/2 "2014-04-20T01:40:38Z")
You’ll have to shell out a lot of cash. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2014, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-take-care-of-crabs/686518/3 "2014-04-20T01:42:20Z")
Most folks use lice treatments like A200, but my father recommended a treatment using whiskey and sand. The little bastards get drunk and throw boulders until they are all dead. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Pig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c57346/32.png) [@Little\_Pig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Pig)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2014, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-take-care-of-crabs/686518/4 "2014-04-20T01:43:46Z")
Blow torch. Oh, you mean those types of crabs. Never mind. ---
**Author:** ![randompattern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/7993a0/32.png) [@randompattern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/randompattern)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2014, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-take-care-of-crabs/686518/5 "2014-04-20T01:51:01Z")
In a pinch, you could go to another town where nobody knows you to get crabs. Then you can bring them home and give them to your friends ---
**Author:** ![randompattern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/7993a0/32.png) [@randompattern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/randompattern)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2014, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-take-care-of-crabs/686518/6 "2014-04-20T02:09:30Z")
This may be why Red Lobster is failing. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2014, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-take-care-of-crabs/686518/7 "2014-04-20T02:15:33Z")
Watch and learn [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/0aO0xI0dwPU/maxresdefault.jpg "Farming blue crabs in a backyard above ground pool") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0aO0xI0dwPU) ---
**Author:** ![Superhal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Superhal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superhal)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2014, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-take-care-of-crabs/686518/8 "2014-04-20T02:49:20Z")
> [@randompattern](#): > > In a pinch, you could go to another town where nobody knows you to get crabs. > Then you can bring them home and give them to your friends On a plane, would I have to let them ride on my lap? ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2014, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-take-care-of-crabs/686518/9 "2014-04-20T02:54:28Z")
I know Baltimore Maryland, in fact all of Maryland, apparently hogs all of the crabs and eats them like the rest of us schmucks eat McDonalds. There’s no way to grow crabs like chickens for the rest of the 49 states, much less de-meat them from their shells. We are stuck with imitation crab or frozen crab meat at what-the-fuck dollars per pound. ---
**Author:** ![Superhal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Superhal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superhal)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2014, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-take-care-of-crabs/686518/10 "2014-04-20T02:56:50Z")
> [@salinqmind](#): > > I know Baltimore Maryland, in fact all of Maryland, apparently hogs all of the crabs and eats them like the rest of us schmucks eat McDonalds. There’s no way to grow crabs like chickens for the rest of the 49 states, much less de-meat them from their shells. We are stuck with imitation crab or frozen crab meat at what-the-fuck dollars per pound. Wow, that must mean thousands of crabs for every man, woman and child in Maryland. ---
**Author:** ![Dallas\_Jones](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dallas_jones/32/3277_2.png) [@Dallas\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dallas_Jones)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2014, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-take-care-of-crabs/686518/11 "2014-04-20T03:58:32Z")
Dungeness crab is a West Coast crab and they are delicious. Maryland crabs compare to Dungeness the way goat meat compares to prime beef, as in no comparison. The way I get Dungeness crab is to just go out sport fishing for them. Limit is 13 crabs per person, per day, a minimum of 5 3/4 inches across the back. Annual shellfish license cost $7.50 and covers my digging razor clams too. Both items grace my freezer most of the year. ---
**Author:** ![Labrador\_Deceiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Labrador\_Deceiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labrador_Deceiver)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2014, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-take-care-of-crabs/686518/12 "2014-04-20T04:12:48Z")
Bull-shit. Blue crabs are sweeter, but they do require more work. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Pig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c57346/32.png) [@Little\_Pig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Pig)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2014, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-take-care-of-crabs/686518/13 "2014-04-20T05:15:37Z")
> [@Dallas\_Jones](#): > > Dungeness crab is a West Coast crab and they are delicious. Maryland crabs compare to Dungeness the way goat meat compares to prime beef, as in no comparison. > > The way I get Dungeness crab is to just go out sport fishing for them. Limit is 13 crabs per person, per day, a minimum of 5 3/4 inches across the back. Annual shellfish license cost $7.50 and covers my digging razor clams too. > > Both items grace my freezer most of the year. We buy ours live, right off the boat at [Pillar Point harbor.](http://www.smharbor.com/) Never had Blue crab. I have no doubt they’re tasty. Just don’t get out to the east coast much. ---
**Author:** ![Superhal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Superhal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superhal)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2014, 6:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-take-care-of-crabs/686518/14 "2014-04-20T06:53:38Z")
Is it just me or does this crab look amazingly delicious? [![](http://needcoffee.cachefly.net/needcoffee/uploads/2007/10/coconut-crab.jpg) ](http://needcoffee.cachefly.net/needcoffee/uploads/2007/10/coconut-crab.jpg) I bet if I brought these crabs home and gave them to my wife, she’d love them. ---
**Author:** ![Jeff\_Lichtman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeff_lichtman/32/1531_2.png) [@Jeff\_Lichtman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Lichtman)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2014, 7:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-take-care-of-crabs/686518/15 "2014-04-20T07:03:37Z")
Where do you live, **Superhal**? I live in the San Francisco Bay Area, and my local 99 Ranch has tanks full of dungeness crabs. ---
**Author:** ![Superhal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Superhal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superhal)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2014, 7:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-take-care-of-crabs/686518/16 "2014-04-20T07:26:53Z")
> [@Jeff\_Lichtman](#): > > Where do you live, **Superhal**? I live in the San Francisco Bay Area, and my local 99 Ranch has tanks full of dungeness crabs. Yeah, I heard crabs are fairly common up and down the west coast. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2014, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-take-care-of-crabs/686518/17 "2014-04-20T14:32:45Z")
> [@Dallas\_Jones](#): > > Dungeness crab is a West Coast crab and they are delicious. Maryland crabs compare to Dungeness the way goat meat compares to prime beef, as in no comparison. > > The way I get Dungeness crab is to just go out sport fishing for them. Limit is 13 crabs per person, per day, a minimum of 5 3/4 inches across the back. Annual shellfish license cost $7.50 and covers my digging razor clams too. > > Both items grace my freezer most of the year. I bought licenses a couple of years, but they included the fishing license and cost $50. It cost $5 to put the boat (14’ Mercury ‘Zodiac’-type) in the water, plus gas, plus bait, plus the gear. Got rained on a bit. The first year I caught two dungies. I had better luck the second season, but never caught my limit (10 crabs). It sure was a hassle! Some friends and I crabbed off the local pier. Got a few dungies and some red rock crabs. The latter have an attitude, and their shells are harder to get into. Nowadays I have very little time for recreational activities. We had dungeness crabs last month, and I just went to the [local fish market](http://www.barleansfishery.com/PageID/126/default.aspx). $8.99/pound, and I don’t have to have a license or hook up the trailer and boat (which I no longer have), go to the marina, put the boat in the water, motor out to where the crabs are, bait the traps, motor back, wait a while, go out around the point again, try to find my traps amongst the many others that are out there, fill out the paperwork, motor back, get the boat out of the water, take it home and park it, and getting wet and frequently getting rained on. Oh, and waiting for the fairly short recreational fishing season. Beside the fact that the SO has to be ‘in the mood’ for whatever I cook. (Fortunately I can cook a lot of things and she likes my cooking. Unfortunately, I don’t get to eat burgers every day or have leftovers for breakfast, lunch, and dinner for a week.) I kill and clean my crabs before cooking them. That way I can get two in the pot. The SO came into the kitchen to say goodbye to the crabs. She said sadly, ‘Goodbye, crabs! See you at dinner!’ ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2014, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-take-care-of-crabs/686518/18 "2014-04-20T15:07:59Z")
In Toronto, it’s easy to find live Dungeness crabs in Chinese groceries. I guess the restaurant cartel hasn’t reached its claws across the border yet. ---
**Author:** ![Sahirrnee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sahirrnee/32/13937_2.png) [@Sahirrnee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sahirrnee)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2014, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-take-care-of-crabs/686518/19 "2014-04-20T15:12:40Z")
> [@salinqmind](#): > > I know Baltimore Maryland, in fact all of Maryland, apparently hogs all of the crabs and eats them like the rest of us schmucks eat McDonalds. There’s no way to grow crabs like chickens for the rest of the 49 states, much less de-meat them from their shells. We are stuck with imitation crab or frozen crab meat at what-the-fuck dollars per pound. That’s because we know how to cook them. No self respecting crab wants to be :eek: boiled. All y’all out of staters do eat them kind of slow. Whenever we have out of state company over for crabs I’ll take my time so I don’t appear to be a glutton and I’ll still get through a half dozen before y’all have gotten through one. Sometimes I think y’all do it on purpose just so we’ll pick your meat for you out of shear frustration after watching you struggle. ---
**Author:** ![GaryM](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garym/32/241_2.png) [@GaryM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GaryM)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2014, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-take-care-of-crabs/686518/20 "2014-04-20T15:24:12Z")
Question. Are all crabs eatable by humans? I’ve seen TV shows with what looks like millions of crabs crossing roads and being run over by cars and trucks. Could there be scooped up and eaten? Or are they of a variety that would taste bad? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-take-care-of-crabs/686518.md?page=2)