#GLEN LAKE SWIMMERS ITCH SKIN#
#GLEN LAKE SWIMMERS ITCH PROFESSIONAL#

That translates to a snail infection level of less than 0.05%. The results are in (AFTER Year 2 of Our Control Program tab)… our control program reduced the lake-wide snail infection levels on Higgins Lake by 98%!! We examined over 8000 snails in 2017 and found only 4 to be infected with the swimmer’s itch parasite. In fact, numerous people who used Higgins Lake in 2016 commented on how nice it was not to have to worry about getting hammered with swimmer’s itch. As expected, swimmer’s itch case reports were also significantly lower than in 2015. If you click on the 2016 data (AFTER Year 1 of Our Control Program tab), you will see that we were able to significantly and dramatically decrease the lake-wide snail infection levels to 0.28%. Not surprisingly, the number and severity of swimmer’s itch reports we received that year were at an epidemic level. If you combine all the data from 2015 (BEFORE Our Control Program tab), the lake-wide snail infection rate on Higgins Lake in 2015 was 3.0%.

#GLEN LAKE SWIMMERS ITCH PROFESSIONAL#

Based on decades of professional experience working on swimmer’s itch on numerous lakes in the USA we’ve determined that any snail infection level greater than 2% corresponds to swimmer’s itch being at an epidemic level. One of the first thing we did was assess the level of swimmer’s itch on the lake by examining the lake-wide snail infection levels. In 2014 the Higgins Lake Swimmer’s Itch Organization (HLSIO) asked us to design and implement a comprehensive swimmer’s itch control program for Higgins Lake.

After treatment the ducks are released unharmed near the point of capture, but on a lake where the snail intermediate hosts are not present. Our control programs involve capturing and treating infected ducks with the same drug that veterinarians use to kill dog and cat parasites. Until recently the only option available to lake associations and government agencies was to treat lakes with large quantities of copper sulfate, a chemical that indiscriminately kills a wide variety of plant and animal species, including the snails which harbor the itch-causing parasites.Ĭoncerned with the potential negative long-term environmental effects of using copper sulfate, the Swimmer’s Itch Solutions, LLC Team developed an alternative control program which has been used successfully on several lakes in Michigan and Maine since 1991 ( Journal of Parasitology 87(2): 424-426).

The treatment for the itching and redness are antihistamines and corticosteroid cream.We offer ecological and environmentally-friendly SOLUTIONS

#GLEN LAKE SWIMMERS ITCH SKIN#

tingling, burning, or itching of the skin.

Here are some symptoms of swimmers itch, according to the CDC: The swimmers itch is not contagious, and they aren’t harmful as long as the bumps don’t become infected, but the itching can be miserable for a couple of days.

It’s important to note that humans aren’t the target - birds are - but the microscopic larvae can get into the swimmer’s skin and can cause an allergic reaction. The eggs then hatch and invade snails where they multiply into the form that can burrow into a person’s skin. It produces and egg that can be passed on in the feces of those infected animals. The parasite lives in the blood of infected animals like ducks, geese, swans and mammals like muskrats and raccoons. (NEWS10) - If you plan on taking a dip in a lake or a beach this summer, beware of the “Swimmer’s Itch.”

Glen lake swimmers itch