I washed my hands in a Yabby dam after dipping the sheep; next day we found that the yabbies had walked out and died; any connection?
Since crustacea (crayfish) are the same group of animals (Arthropods) as insects, any insect poison like sheep dip is also very deadly for them, too. The old, now banned, chlorine based insecticides (DDT, etc) were doubly bad because they did not break down for decades and accumulated in soil, water and animals. The “new” phosphorous based and synthetic pyrethroid (sheep dip, etc) poisons are biodegradable within a day, or so, but fresh from the tin are extremely toxic in very small amounts to arthropods. We’ve done research on using sheep dip to clear a dam of a crowded, stunted Yabby stock so as to restock it, properly- see the answers on Yabby biology.
