Others find blow-up kiddie pools placed down by the water an acceptable alternative for infant to 3-year-olds. Some find relief by traveling to and swimming in nearby waters where the parasites are absent or greatly diminished. Very few cercariae were found in deeper water when samples were taken at regular intervals on a straight line transect from shore to deep water with either an offshore or onshore wind. Results from work done in 2018 (Project ’18 Final Report6) show cercariae numbers increasing near shore with an onshore wind, with very high numbers found within 1 meter from shore. 5, 2018), with significantly higher concentrations found with onshore winds. SWIM WITH OFFSHORE WINDįWS/UA scientists were able to show a strong correlation between wind direction (onshore, offshore, alongshore) with cercariae concentration (Rudko et al. FWS/UA documented that riparians greatly reduce their risk of being exposed to virulent cercariae as the day progresses.
Since most of the itch-causing cercariae exit the snails in the morning and only live for a day, you would expect fewer cercariae to be around in the afternoon due to movement by wind, predation, natural mortality, etc. As mallard ducks are a designated game bird, there are limitations as to what we can do with them.ģ) Greatest quantities of schistosomes occur during the morning hours and decrease throughout the day.Ĥ) Concentrations of schistosomes diminish as you move into deeper water.ĥ) The Long Lake Association board has authorized additional sampling and testing this year in areas that new incidents of swimmers itch are reported.įRESHWATER SOLUTIONS PREVENTION STRATEGIES SWIM AFTER LUNCHįWS/UA scientists were able to quantify the risk of contracting swimmer’s itch as a function of time-of-day (Rudko et al. Also, a physical count of the types and quantities of potential host birds was performed.Ģ) It appears mallard ducks maybe the bird host most typical to the Long Lake schistosomes. Samples were taken from 10 distributed sites for analysis of types of schistosomes and snails prevalent to those sites. Different species of schistosomes are linked to certain bird or mammal hosts as well as specific snail species.ġ) LLA contracted FWS to do an Assessment of Long/Mickey Lake in the summer of 2018. These larvae are known as schistosomes and have a complex relationship with its hosts. The larvae then quickly die, since humans are not suitable hosts. If you want to make it easier on yourself, just head off to one of our Great Lakes for a day at the beach.Swimmers itch is developed in people when microscopic parasitic larvae burrow into human skin, causing a red, itchy rash. You can always contact the DNR to see if any lakes you frequent have reported cases of swimmers itch. Some scientists have said that you should watch the water temperatures, the warmer the water temperature the more likely to have swimmers itch. There are creams you can use before entering the water, I have found these work great. As I mentioned earlier, toweling off after getting out of the water is KEY. To avoid getting swimmers to itch there are some precautions you can take. Once the warm weather hits lake lovers hold their breath in hopes that they won't have to deal with the itch this summer. In the past, Michigan lakes like Torch Lake, Cadillac Lake, Lake Mitchell, Walloon Lake, Glen Lake, and Lake Leelanau all had swimmer's itch issues. Other states like Minnesota and Wisconsin also deal with swimmers itch. Higgins Lake is not the only lake in Michigan that has had to deal with swimmers itch. Toweling off immediately after getting out of the water helps, in most cases. Swimmers itch looks a bit like the measles, but it is nasty and worse. The parasites hang out in the shallow waters at the lakeshore and on the sandbars. Never really bothered me but it sure bothers others like my daughter and husband. The parasite that causes swimmers to itch is found in Higgins Lake and other lakes around Michigan.