![]() Most all of the young Merganser chicks carry the flatworm while only half of the adult. In Michigan, Common Merganser ducks are the species that most commonly carries the Swimmer’s Itch flatworm in their digestive tract. 46 cases of Swimmer’s Itch were reported around Glen Lake in 2020 using the new system. The natural cycle involves 2 hosts for different life stages of the parasitic flatworm. In 2020 the GLA joined a new North American Swimmer’s Itch reporting effort aimed at collecting data to aid in prediction of swimmer’s itch risk, identifying hot spots, and contributing to development of a SI alert network. Use a kid friendly wading or “kiddie pool” for small kids vs. Develop a specific swimmers itch assessment plan for the summer of 2020 that documents snail infection levels and/or cercarial densities in water samples.Use a parasite skimmer to remove the itch from the surface of the lake.Install a swim baffle (float) in your swim area to block the itch.Do not swim/wade in shallow water without prevention measures.Do not swim when an onshore wind is present.Swim in the afternoon or early evening vs.(SI rarely affects a person’s hands, feet, and face) Small reddish pimples appear within twelve hours. Cover your skin with full body swimwear, a “rash guard” suit Symptoms of swimmer’s itch may include: tingling, burning, or itching of the skin small reddish pimples small blisters Within minutes to days after swimming in contaminated water, you may experience tingling, burning, or itching of the skin. ![]() The GLA firmly believes that it would be ineffectual and a waste of precious dollars to continue down the path of trying to control, mitigate, or eradicate swimmer’s itch on a lake-wide basis.ĥ0 years of trial and error, plus the latest research have shown our best and most cost-effective defense against Swimmer’s Itch is prevention, not control.By equipping the swimmer with prevention strategies, we can now target our itch reduction techniques where they belong, namely, the swimmer.Removing a top predator like the common merganser year after year may produce unintended consequences that would put the balance of life in our lakes in jeopardy. We still don’t know what the long term adverse effects, if any, there might be on the Glen Lake ecosystem by a sustained live-trapping program.So just live-trapping the “summer resident broods of mergansers” is not sufficient or effective. We now know that migratory mergansers, geese, and mallards also contribute to the itch.It is simply not possible or legal to live-trap all three species of birds every summer in an attempt to eradicate swimmer’s itch. Based on the science, we now know that Canada Geese and Mallards also contribute to the itch. More than one bird host (common merganser) contributes to the problem.People ask “why can’t the GLA eradicate swimmer’s itch on Glen Lake?” Here are a few reminders as to why: The Higgins Lake community has battled Swimmers’ Itch for decades.
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