[5] Adults can adapt to a broad range of salinity,[6][7]: 71  substrate types and the presence of aquatic vegetation.

[6] The signal crayfish is endemic to North America west of the Rocky Mountains, including the Canadian province of British Columbia, and the U.S. states of Washington, Oregon, and Idaho.

[3][12] It was first introduced to Great Britain in 1976,[13][14] and is now widespread across the British mainland as far north as the Moray Firth.

[16] This implies that this species cannot be imported, bred, transported, commercialized, or intentionally released into the environment in the whole of the European Union.

[18] Multiple studies have been published to identify effective mitigation strategies for the detrimental impact of the settlement — and subsequent overpopulation — of invasive signal crayfish in Europe.

This includes studies regarding effective upstream barriers against signal crayfish that do not adversely affect fish migration,[19][20] as well as other, aggressive but more efficient approaches which may cause further harm to existing ecosystems, such as eradication (by means of drainage or destruction of waterways, and biocides) and suppression (by means of extensive trapping, electrocution of waterways, and introduction of predatory fish), with eradication being most successful.