Pat Hunke, Swimmers Itch committee
There has been a very big concern about swimmers itch in Otter Tail Lake and surrounding lakes. Your Lake Association (OTLPOA) now has a Swimmers Itch committee. The committee has been in contact with a company out of Michigan (Swimmers Itch Solutions, LLC) to see what if anything can be done to eradicate or diminish the effects of swimmers itch.
The answer is yes, there is a solution and maybe, that it can be implemented. Through their studies and application they have found the main culprit is hooded mergansers, mainly the young. The parasite easily bores into the young waterfowl and is dispersed through their droppings. Then to certain snails in the lake and then back to the waterfowl, boring into us and our grandchildren by mistake.
Swimmers Itch Solutions solution is to remove the merganser population by trapping and moving them far away to lakes that do not provide recreational opportunities as our lakes do.
There are two problems with this solution.
- #2. It is quite expensive. The first year with an assessment study and the mitigation could be somewhere between $50 and $100 thousand dollars, then several follow up years to eradicate.
- And that last word in the previous sentence brings on problem #1. To remove any wildlife causes harassment to that species, The MNDNR really frowns upon harassment of any protective species, it’s not impossible to get a permit, they have in Michigan, but it would be a battle.
If any members have any ideas, experience, or connections that would help us in our quest to reduce swimmers itch, we are really motivated to do something.