Zebra Mussels

by Brian Geihl
Have you ever been swimming in a lake when suddenly you step on a clam? Most of the time tthe clam is just going to be a common lake clam. But once in a while in certain lakes you may come across a zebra mussel. Zebra mussels look some what like clams but they have stripes on their shell.

Life cycle of a mussel

You may think that these are harmless but each individual female mussel is capable of releasing 30,000 to 40,000 microscopic eggs a year. And some even exceed 100,000 eggs a year. Eggs are fertilized outside the mussel's body and within a few days develop into free-swimming larvae called veligers. Veligers remain suspended in the water for three to four weeks, drifting with the currents. If they don't settle onto firm objects, they die. Those that find a hard surface quickly attach themselves and transform into the typical,

double shelled mussel shape. Within a year, a zebra mussel can grow up to an inch. The life expectancy is 3 to 5 years. The average size of a mussel is about 35 mm in length. The reproduction begins when the water temperatures are 55º to 70ºF.

The mussels arrived in North America in the late 1980's. They came in the ballast tanks of freighters. They were discharged into the Great Lakes. Since that time, the number of zebra mussels has been rapidly growing. First they spread into all five of the great lakes. Now they are getting transferred to inland lakes from boats.

The mussels climb into the motor or even stick to the hull or the transom of the boat. (the hull is the bottom of the boat and the transom is the back of the boat that holds the motor) The mussels have spread far and wide-as far west as Oklahoma and as far south as Louisiana.

Power plants and water treatment plants are being affected the most by mussels. The mussels bunch up on hard surfaces and the pipes. They clog the pipes causing the water treatment plants to have to blow them out.

A way to stop these mussels from getting in the pipes is to put a screen across the front of the Prevention

There are a few ways to prevent zebra mussels from getting in your lake. Give the boat a high-speed run to help detach any mussels.

When you remove your boat: 1)Hose and brush down the boat.

2)Drain all bilge water, live wells, bait buckets and waste.

3)Destroy and dispose of all live bait.

4)Remove all weeds from boat and trailer.

5)Dry all of your nets or dip them in hot water.

6)Clean down your engine.

7)Allow the boat to dry out and leave in sunshine for a week.
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