Zebra mussels clog pipes, take over boat hoists and slice the feet of unsuspecting Great Lakes swimmers. The invasive pests are typically managed with chlorine, but that could soon be a thing of the past.
Using two toxins to manage zebra mussels is more effective than using them separately. Photo: SMN (flickr)
A study of potassium chloride and polyDADMAC (or, if you’re feeling adventurous, polydiallyldimethylammonium) found they are far more deadly to mussels when used together rather than separately.
Essentially, the two toxins are greater than the sum of their parts, and when they’re used together fewer chemicals are needed to manage mussels.
Two other mussel-killing weapons are Biobullets and Zequanox.
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A smaall lake I fish near me, not far from lake Michigan, was overrun with carp. They killed it in the 80’s, and restocked it.They missed some upper conected lakes and some carp survived. I often wondered why i did’nt see any zebra mussels. Last year I snagged a stick, pulling it out, on the part that was below the mudline packed with zebra mussels, the part exposed was clean as a whistle. The part that the Perch could see. This lake has a very high Perch population. There’s still some carp left, but they never took over again, no doubt the Perch are keeping them in check. This year after heavy rains raised the water level, then receded, I saw zebras on rocks 3 feet from the water, but the rocks in the water (where the Perch can get them) clean. We have predators for zebras and carp, including Asian carp, restoring native predators more environmentally friendly than toxic chemicals!
until we prohibit ships from other countries from entering the fresh water of the U.S., we will continue to get more and more invasive species. I give up, nothing is changing. Develop your taste for Asian Carp, and buy a kevlar net to put over your boat so they don’t jump into your face while taking a nice boat ride.