The Myths and Hysteria surrounding Zebra Mussels

By Jeff Peltier

There is a lot of Hysteria floating around regarding Zebra Mussels and the damage they can cause, so let’s review some of the concerns.

Zebra mussels will destroy docks and lifts.

While they will attach to objects and as they become more populated, even plants and other clams or shells, they do not eat metal or plastic.  We are fortunate that in our climate the lakes freeze over and people take their docks and lifts out.  The Zebra mussels die when out of the water or at temperatures below freezing.  If you would like to remove them from your lifts and docks and want to do it at a minimum effort, I would wait until spring after the mussels are dead and have freeze-dried a few times.  It’s much easier than trying to remove them right after removal from the water.

The exception to this is docks or lifts that are sold to someone on another lake (this applies mostly to the Dock & Lift service people or owner-to-owner sales), where the rules state that the equipment must be quarantined and dried for two weeks.  Obviously the people that wrote this don’t understand dock and lift construction and that not all the tubing necessarily drains.  To truly guarantee there are no larvae in the tubing, it would be preferable for the equipment to sit over a winter before going to another lake.

Zebra mussels will destroy boat engines.

While remotely possible on IOs or Inboard engines, it is virtually impossible on an Outboard, as they are self-draining.  For IO’s or Inboards, you would have to use it once or twice early in the season, tow it to the landing because it didn’t start, and store it in a heated shed over winter without any winterization so the mussels could continue to grow.  So the bottom line is that if you keep your boat on a lift and out of the water when not in use, you’ll be just fine.  The potential for damage is much higher, just by using your boat in salt water.

Obviously for lakes in more southern climates this could be different, and probably how the rumor got started.

Zebra mussels will plug up lawn irrigation systems or shallow wells.

Again remotely possible on irrigations systems, but you would have to use your irrigation once or twice in the spring when you really don’t need it and then leave it off for the rest of the season, so the larva would have a chance to grow inside the pipes.  It takes a season to grow to the size of a thumb tack.  You would also need to have your irrigation lines buried below the frost line, so the mussels could continue to live and grow through-out the winter.  While the screens could plug up much as they can from algae, etc, they can be brushed off.  As a side note, the mussels don’t stick to the plastic laser-cut screens very well and are easily cleaned off.  Also, copper, the biocide in most bottom paints, offers good control of all types of mussels and clams.  Do not; however put this paint on aluminum screens as there is a severe galvanic action between aluminum and copper, and aluminum loses every time.  There are bottom paints made specifically for aluminum that are somewhat effective, but not as good as copper.

Zebra Mussels will destroy the fish ecosystem of the lake.

While it is true, the zebra mussels are great filters and eat the same plankton as the small fish in the food chain (fry), there is no evidence that they have taken over lakes of any size and destroyed the fish ecosystem.  It’s more likely that it would be altered somewhat over a period of many years.  For example, there are certain types of sunfish that thrive on eating zebra mussels.

There are also the promising biocides that are in the experimental stage, and research is continuing.  While it is an inconvenience and there are some new rules we must abide by.  The bottom line is that Pelican Lake is one of the premiere lakes of the area and will remain that way well into the future.