Zebra Mussel Question for Craig

Craig,
Could you go into more detail about the 5 day drying period to prevent zebra mussels for us? I am unsure if the 5 day drying period is an attempt to make sure everything on and in the boat is dry or if the 5 day period ensures the zebra mussels and the microscopic young are dead. I am taking every precaution to help prevent the spread but even after 5 days out of the water I found water inside the bearing buddy bras' on my boat. I pulled the caps off last night before heading to Pomona this morning and found both of them still had water in them even after 5 days in all this heat. Of course I cleaned the entire boat with bleach water as soon as I found it but I am wondering if this is enough?

So what I am asking is, is the 5 day drying to make sure everything is dry or is it to make sure anything in the remaining water on or in the boat is dead?


Thank you for your time,
Keith

Very good question Wheels that would go along with my question about the water remaining inside the trailer frame.

The first boat I had the trailer frame was made with open channel frame and every thing would be dried out by the time I drove home from the lake.

My current boat trailer is of closed box frame construction and I can tell you that the inside of it can stay very wet for many days after setting in the garage.

So how does one get the inside of the trailer frame dry on trailers with the closed frame construction?

I would venture to guess that the majority of all water craft trailers are made with closed frame of either box or tubular types.

Well I drilled a .50 hole in the caps that cap off the tail end of the channels on my trailer and that will drain them. You would have to drill a .25-.50 hole wherever you think the frame would be holding water. As long as you don't drill thru any welds you should not compromise the strength of the framework.

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Originally Posted by wheels70

Craig,
Could you go into more detail about the 5 day drying period to prevent zebra mussels for us? I am unsure if the 5 day drying period is an attempt to make sure everything on and in the boat is dry or if the 5 day period ensures the zebra mussels and the microscopic young are dead. I am taking every precaution to help prevent the spread but even after 5 days out of the water I found water inside the bearing buddy bras' on my boat. I pulled the caps off last night before heading to Pomona this morning and found both of them still had water in them even after 5 days in all this heat. Of course I cleaned the entire boat with bleach water as soon as I found it but I am wondering if this is enough?

So what I am asking is, is the 5 day drying to make sure everything is dry or is it to make sure anything in the remaining water on or in the boat is dead?


Thank you for your time,
Keith

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Keith,

Ideally, all equipment would be dry or would have been treated with 140+F water before the boat is launched in another water body. Now let me expand a bit...

Draining of ALL possible water from the boat decreases the chance of moving veligers as the more water that is present the higher the number of veligers that could be moved. Draining decreases the number of individual veligers that the boat owner has to worry about. The better a boat is drained, the more quickly the remaining water can either evaporate or the more easily it can be treated with hot water. Draining is easy and it speeds the demise of the veligers (or adults) and makes the other control recommendations more effective.

The five day drying time is intended to create conditions that are not capable of supporting the life processes of the zebra mussels. Since zebra mussels (veligers and adults) both require water for extended life, they are quite easy to kill...just remove the water! Most Kansas boating anglers launch the boat at the beginning of the fishing trip and load it the same day. Daily trailering of the boat greatly reduces the chances that adult zebra mussels will be attached to the boat so these anglers will mainly be dealing with the veligers (Boaters should still inspect the boat and equipment, especially anchors containing mud or other bottom materials for the presence of adult mussels). Adult zebra mussels can live out of water for quite a while, depending on the weather conditions, so dealing with them requires additional caution than dealing with the veligers. Is 5-day drying time sufficient for a house boat that has been docked at El Dorado for four years and has thick encrustation of adult zebra mussels present? Certainly not!! Veligers are much more fragile than the adults. Veligers have yet to develop the hard shell which can protect the adults from drying. Veligers are microscopic and not easily seen, but they are easily killed. Veligers, as well as adult zebra mussels, are living creatures and have certain life requirements. Obviously, one requirement is water. They also require dissolved oxygen within the water and they have a temperature range in which they can survive. Mess up any one of these three requirements and you have a dead zebra mussel!! Areas that remain moist (inside of Lee's trailer frame) but have been exposed to long afternoons in the 100F Kansas sun and have risen to temperatures well above 100F will likely not support veligers. Those metal areas can reach very high temperatures during the summer months in Kansas and can burn bare skin in a hurry as well as ‘cook’ veligers! If we have this discussion during the Fall months in Kansas when temperatures are much cooler, then DRY becomes very important as the veligers would have increased chances of surviving in wet locations without the cooking Kansas sun raising the temperatures beyond the range that the veligers can tolerate or increasing the temperature of the water and lowering the concentration of dissolved oxygen to deadly levels. Freezing temperatures will also kill veligers as well as adults. Mild temperatures and high humidity provide conditions where the zebra mussels can survive out of water for longer periods.

The 'DRY' is only one step of the recommended CLEAN DRAIN & DRY. It takes these three steps in combination to effectively stop the spread of zebra mussels from one water body to another. CLEAN DRAIN & DRY...every lake, every time. It sounds as though you have been doing an EXCELLENT job in cleaning your boat! Thank You very much for your efforts in controlling the spread of ANS in Kansas! Hands Clapping Thumbs Up

Are the veligers mostly a seasonal problem, or do they exist in a lake all year? I didn't know if the zebra mussels "spawned" in the spring like many fish, or if they are constantly releasing veligers into a body of water. Thanks.

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Originally Posted by Fish Taxi

Are the veligers mostly a seasonal problem, or do they exist in a lake all year? I didn't know if the zebra mussels "spawned" in the spring like many fish, or if they are constantly releasing veligers into a body of water. Thanks.

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Zebra mussels are capable of spawning anytime that the water temperature is 52F or above. Zebra mussel veligers remain suspended in the water column until they grow large enough to settle out. Cooler water temperatures result in slower veliger growth which increases the amount of time it takes for them to settle out. Mature individual females spawn multiple times during a single growing season. I have collected plankton samples containing zebra mussel veligers during 9 months of the year at El Dorado Reservoir. Veligers could be present in other months as well but I have not collected veliger samples during January, February, or March. I have seen veligers present at El Dorado as late as December 29th.

The peak of zebra mussel veliger densities in Kansas usually occurs in June or July. We saw densities near 300 veligers per liter of lake water at El Dorado in 2006. That equates to VERY high numbers of veligers present in a livewell or boat bilge where multiple gallon capacities are involved!

Thanks for the info, Craig. After reading your response, I think you may have told me that before and I just had a case of CRS.Rofl

Craig,
Thank you for your very informative response, your response has certainly helped me better understand what must be done and why it must be done to prevent the spread of ANS. With a species which is as prolific as the Zebra Mussel it is very clear why we must go to such great lengths to make sure our equipment is clean before entering any body of water.

It is disheartening to see any invasive species spread but with the mobility we have in society today it is easy to see how they are spread so quickly. Hopefully at some point in the near future a way to control or eliminate invasive species will be discovered. The problem I see with this is figuring out how to control one species without sacrificing other species in the process. I would assume that any method used to eradicate zebra mussels would also eliminate or at least have significant negative impact on other mollusks as well. The trick will be to find the one biological difference between zebra mussels and native mussels and focus on that difference in an attempt to eliminate zebra mussels.

Thank you again for taking the time to respond to our questions on this forum. Your responses and explanations are very helpful in providing a deeper understanding of the complexities of aquatic management and how we as sportsmen can help.


Keith