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what to do with dead crabs
- Thread starter P-NUT
- Start date
Seems like an awful lot of work when dried and prepared crab shell can be purchased rather cheaply for use on the small scale.
Unless you are an avid composter that has high demand for a large volume of compost for outdoor gardens and flower beds, I just don't see a use for that much crab shell. The stuff stinks so it's not really something you want hanging around.
You need to remove any bits of flesh and dry it real well before you'd want to use any of it indoors. If you had moist conditions and flesh remnants I could see it rotting and really stinking up the place.
Unless you are an avid composter that has high demand for a large volume of compost for outdoor gardens and flower beds, I just don't see a use for that much crab shell. The stuff stinks so it's not really something you want hanging around.
You need to remove any bits of flesh and dry it real well before you'd want to use any of it indoors. If you had moist conditions and flesh remnants I could see it rotting and really stinking up the place.
Maria_Vanessa
Member
The reasons why it is not advised that to add animal waste to compost piles is due to bad odors, attracting animals like rats and raccoons to your compost pile and not creating an environment where the compost pile is uniformly hot enough to kill off any bacteria such as E.coli from the animal waste.
With that being said, if have your heart set on using crabs and you are comfortable with composting, treat the crab as you would any other nitrogen source like vegetable/fruit waste and leaves, grind the crabs up as small as possible and layer them in your compost pile with other carbon sources such as newspaper, sawdust, etc.
Make sure you have the best carbon to nitrogen ratio for your compost pile to minimize odor and optimize decomposition. And just to be on the safe side, secure it from any potential animals invasions.
A slow boil can help you remove all the meat, and potentially still use that meat if it's not rotten. After the shell and meat are separated, you will need to bake the shells at a low heat(225-250 for at least an hour or two). Then after letting that sit and dry for a week or two, pulverize it(an old hand-cranked metal meat grinder works well for that). You may need to break it up with a mallet a bit to get it into the grinder though. As mentioned above that is a lot of work for what it's worth. Unless you plan to bag and sell the stuff as a soil additive, you're probably better off only doing a small batch of it or just buying some.
Yeah it really stinks bad but I got a lot of property and some neighbors I dont like so I was thinking spreading some in a garden plot I wanna use for veggies next year and tilling them in and making a huge compost pile for my indoor soil mixes. Would they need to be ground up or would a big enough and hot enough pile that sat for say 6 months be enough to properly compost them
First of all, doing something to PURPOSELY aggrevate neighbors you don't like, while you have an indoor grow room going, doesn't really sound like the smart thing to do..
Secondly, I would not put dead, uncleaned crabs in MY veggie garden... You're liable to end up with a lot of nasty pathogens that you don't want your veggies growing in..
Thirdly, piling up all the rest of the dead crabs in a big pile to compost is gonna attract EVERY stray cat and every raccoon and every 'possum for miles around. Plus it's gonna STINK to high heaven....
Not everything that is offered to you for free is a good bargain...(like the free case of crabs I got; they weren't worth it either)
Secondly, I would not put dead, uncleaned crabs in MY veggie garden... You're liable to end up with a lot of nasty pathogens that you don't want your veggies growing in..
Thirdly, piling up all the rest of the dead crabs in a big pile to compost is gonna attract EVERY stray cat and every raccoon and every 'possum for miles around. Plus it's gonna STINK to high heaven....
Not everything that is offered to you for free is a good bargain...(like the free case of crabs I got; they weren't worth it either)
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I got a free case of crabs once, but that was back in the 70's when I was a young man.
haahaa
this guy!!! haha..you talking about the something...right?! haLol no worries about my neighbor. I was meaning mix the crabs with lots of oak leaves and other high carbon materials to compost them. Im sure itll bring all the wild animals out not too concerned about that I just wanna make use of all these dead crabs. Im sure they wont hurt my veggie garden itll be like 8 months before I plant there and they will be tilled in.
I got a free case of crabs once, but that was back in the 70's when I was a young man.
Lol!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2bCuY9JFE4Y
If they were bust up small then half the jobs done & they`ll compost a lot easier . If you want to do a bulk run then tip a couple of buckets of them fresh in a cement mixer with 3 or 4 half bricks no water & let it run till the jobs done .
edit . if that don`t work try it with some water & then tip into a wheelbarrow with a few small holes drilled in it to allow the water to drain.
edit . if that don`t work try it with some water & then tip into a wheelbarrow with a few small holes drilled in it to allow the water to drain.
Its hard to even imagine what that racket might sound like. I'd recommend some hearing protection if you do that lol
specialized composting microorganisms will keep the smell down and quickly compost the meat and shell. these are something you can purchase or, culture on your own.
from my own experience, if you make the compost right it will not attract stray animals or offend neighbors, finish within 3-4 months, and be great soil building material.
if you do it wrong, on the other hand, with those materials, it has the potential to attract more attention than just hungry raccoons ... the stench of putrid fish travels wide and lingers for days.
I've composted shrimp shells, crab shells, and fish carcasses...
in a short time they all will become this ...
then, eventually ...
here's a couple links to help out...
http://www.norganics.com/applications/cnratio.pdf
http://klamathsustainablecommunities.org/greenwelcomewagon/tools/compost/howtouse.php
I would do it ... even if you only did it once, just for the experience.
from my own experience, if you make the compost right it will not attract stray animals or offend neighbors, finish within 3-4 months, and be great soil building material.
if you do it wrong, on the other hand, with those materials, it has the potential to attract more attention than just hungry raccoons ... the stench of putrid fish travels wide and lingers for days.
I've composted shrimp shells, crab shells, and fish carcasses...
in a short time they all will become this ...
then, eventually ...
here's a couple links to help out...
http://www.norganics.com/applications/cnratio.pdf
http://klamathsustainablecommunities.org/greenwelcomewagon/tools/compost/howtouse.php
I would do it ... even if you only did it once, just for the experience.
Too, my vote is for more earth worms!
Can only imagine the involuntary gagging if shelled matter is not properly decomposing. Nas-ty!!
Remember overhearing at a party that a spiteful move towards an ex spouse....fill the curtain rods with shrimp. Makes me almost retch thinking about the stench...thus....the work to have crab carcasses (thoroughly cleaned) do it's thing far outweighs the benefit. Just my opinion.
EARTHWORMS!!
Can only imagine the involuntary gagging if shelled matter is not properly decomposing. Nas-ty!!
Remember overhearing at a party that a spiteful move towards an ex spouse....fill the curtain rods with shrimp. Makes me almost retch thinking about the stench...thus....the work to have crab carcasses (thoroughly cleaned) do it's thing far outweighs the benefit. Just my opinion.
EARTHWORMS!!
soldier flies would probably eat up all the meat and leave mostly shell behind, plus their own chitin as they die for various reasons.
