zebra mussels

okay, i remember reading about these, but don't pay much attention to stuff like this.

I had a session on Monday and we were at the lake. In the water. The bottom of my foot looks like i was jumping on broken glass.

Whoda thunk it!?!

I hope you killed a whole bunch. They are an invasive species.

do they die when you step on them?

if you break their shells they may die. and yes they are a horrible invasive species that cause billions of dollars in damages. and are very hard to contain.

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Originally Posted by adina

do they die when you step on them?

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Nope, not that easy. People think Lake Michigan is so wonderfully healthy because it's so clear, but it's the work of the zebra mussels they're seeing. They eat the food that would normally feed fish, so their count goes down. Been to Cana Island lighthouse in Door County? The whole far end of it is just a big pile of shells. Plenty of other places especially in the north part of the lake, but you can see down 20-30' down on a calm day...

hmmm....i never knew any of this!

what i do know, is that i have slivers in my foot, and they hurt like you would not believe, and dh can only get them out a little at time. partly because i cry like a baby, and partly because they are so far in....

Ouch! Sounds painful.. Hope you get em all out.. and be sure to wear footwear next time!

I was wearing footwear! 4 inch wedges! But thought I'd do better in the water without! :D

On a good note they have cleaned up the lake of all its toxins due to they filter the water, bad thing is they themselves are highly toxic and any thing that eats them will in turn become toxic and so forth.

So yes clean water but no fish really can be eaten from the lake

Has anyone tried cracked mussles with garlic and butter??

Probably be good diet food - it would take all day just to pull a handful of them out of their shells! Pre-seasoned with all those toxins so the garlic might be optional.

Lake Ontario as been jammed with those pests for quite some time. We have to watch where we swim, or risk a foot injury. I never though about trying to eat them, though...

Andy

They are nasty suckers, I've heard stories of their larva getting into people's houses (water pumped straight from the lake) and taking over the pipes as well.

We just got municipal water at our camp on Ontario and I couldn't be more thankful. Seaweed causes enough problems with the pump/water set up ZMs can be far worse. We got lucky and it never became an issue.

They are great for scuba diving though, the lakes have never been so clear.