Not to be confused with any other crab, the giant land crab is my
topic. It is primarily herbivorous and is a nuisance when digging
holes in a lawn.  However, they, unknown to most people, are very
edible.  My goal is to capture these crustaceans alive and eat them as
I do the blue crabs I catch in saltwater.  The crabs are very alert
and dart into their holes when there is any movement near them.  They
migrate to the water on the full moon to spawn.  My property on the
Indian River in Florida has an overabundance of them, and I'm looking
for ways to trap them.  I've used various enclosed traps, used peanut
butter as bait, put smoke bombs in their lairs, and even used old gill
nets to try capturing them to no avail.

They are easily scooped up with a long handle net when their dens are
far from the water (on the full moon when they go to the ocean or
saltwater river to spawn), but my property is bordered by the Indian
River and there is not an open space of any distance where I could
catch them between the water and their hole.  I'm looking for a
sure-fire method of catching them alive without digging down three
feet or more into the ground which wouldn't work anyway.

Hello dood,

Thank you for your question. 

Although there appears to be a scarcity of information on capturing
these creatures on the Internet, all is not lost. The natives of St.
John's appear to have been doing this successfully for some time!

At St. John's Beach Guide, I found:

"Hunting land crabs for food is a part of St. John culture and
probably has been so since the first human beings came here about
3,000 years ago. The primary use of the land crab is to provide the
essential ingredient for the tasty West Indian dish known simply as
crab and rice...

...An essential ingredient for the dish "crab and rice" is the crab.
They cannot be bought at any store; so you first have to catch some
crabs. Crab hunting is usually a group activity that takes place in
the spring and summer on a waning moon, a time Virgin Islanders call
dark night. This is when the land crab is most likely to be found out
of its hole. Crabs are very skittish and have excellent senses of
hearing and sight, so normally it is extremely difficult to sneak up
on them and catch them. If you shine a bright light on them at night,
however, they tend to stop in their tracks, blinded by the glare.

Catching crabs at night is locally called "torching," a name, which
comes from the days before flashlights were commonly available and a
torch was used instead. Torches were made out of an oily wood, aptly
named torchwood or in later years would be made out of a piece of cut
up truck or automobile tire tied to a stick.

Torching requires at least one of each of the following, a flashlight,
a forked stick and a sack. Usually one person wields the light,
another catches the crab and a third holds the sack. The beam of light
from the flashlight serves to blind the crab and momentarily stops it
from running away. The stick is useful to control the movements of the
crab and to block up its hole if it tries to get back in. The goal is
to snatch up the crab and put it in the sack. This is done with a
quick sweep of the hand grabbing it firmly from the back and tilting
it forward to prevent being pinched by the claws. Less confident crab
hunters may wear a heavy glove as a semi-protection against this
possible pinching, which can be quite painful.

Crabs can also be caught during the day. On method is to lay a noose
over the entrance to the crab hole and secure it to a stick pounded
into the ground. The crab and exit its hole with no problem, but when
it returns it often gets snagged in the noose. Another procedure takes
advantage of the fact that the burrow goes down on an angle. First you
look down the crab hole and if you see the crab near the entrance you
pound a pointed stick into the hole in back of the crab. This prevents
him from going deeper in. Then you gradually pry the stick upward
forcing the crab to exit his hole and into your waiting sack. There
are many other methods including a hook with bait technique and the
direct "stick your hand in the hole and grab the crab method." This
latter approach can, however, result in a painful experience if not
done properly..."

You will find this a fascinating page on these crabs even including
recipes!

http://stjohnbeachguide.com/Land%20Crab.htm

And, this page offers even more on these critters:
http://www.cruisingthecaribees.com/crabbing.html

Crusing the Caribees

"...Abijah Bryden knows a good deal about catching land crabs. His
techniques are so practiced and so refined that he can catch them
blindfolded, so I've heard. When I first learned about this remarkable
man, nothing else would do, I simply had to meet him. Maybe if he were
kindly disposed he'd even show me how it's done.

   Abijah isn't a professional crab-catcher, understand. There aren't
many of those around any more. They're a vanishing breed of men, now
that better opportunities are opening up in international tourism in
all the islands. When you come right down to it, nobody in modern time
has become a professional crab-catcher except in desperation, when all
else has failed and the only alternative is starving to death...

   ..Anyway, it was my great pleasure eventually to meet Abijah
Bryden, and such is his affection for his avocation that we had hardly
finished shaking hands when he invited me to accompany him on a crab
hunt on the next moonless night...

...It isn't hard to fixate a land crab with a flashlight. Their eyes
bulge out on tiny stalks and you really can't miss. I mean, they can
see all around, nearly 360 degrees, as I understand their
capabilities, and all you have to do is aim the light in their general
direction and it blinds the bejesus out of them.

   "He'll be wantin' to attack the light," Abijah whispered. "If he
comes at you fast with his claws up, just switch it off and he'll stop
and wait a few seconds." The crab was out there not five feet away,
reared back with his claws raised high and open in attack stance,
waiting. I turned off the flashlight, just to check our defenses..."

I'll let you read the rest of the story for yourself and decide just
how much truth or how much fiction it has to offer. It is an enjoyable
read either way.

Search Strategy:

Capturing +"giant land crab" OR "Cardisoma guanhumi"

I trust my research will help you prepare a crab feast. Do read the
reccomendations in the articles above for proper purging of your
catch.

If a link above should fail to work or anything require further
explanation, please do post a Request for Clarification and I will be
pleased to assist further.

Regards,

-=clouseau=-

I would have to give this researcher a 5 star rating.  He found
something I obviously had not found, and it sounds like it will work.