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CateP · 09-09-2011, 12:54 PM

I am no fan of Canadian Geese because of the over population and the fact that my cute little Shih-Tzu doggie has this disgusting and crazy appetite for their feces...BUT with a little research we find there may be another culprit in our midst.

"...common mergansers usually harbor heavy infections compared to other species of bird hosts. For example, the average number of miracidia that hatch from a gram of feces from common mergansers is more than 300. Mallards, Canada geese and wood ducks usually have less than 25% infected and only a couple of miracidia per gram of feces."

Source

BTW-this web site has a lot of good info on swimmers itch. Such as this:

"The following are factors that may determine whether swimmer's itch may be a problem on a specific lake at a given time:

distribution and number of snails that can serve as intermediate hosts
distribution and number of bird hosts that can serve as hosts for the adult worm
wind direction
water currents
number of hours that people stay in the water
time of day
sensitivity of the individual to swimmer's itch.

All of these factors can change on an annual basis."

09-09-2011, 12:54 PM	#10
CateP Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Wolfeboro Posts: 868 Thanks: 584 Thanked 540 Times in 210 Posts	Don't Blame the Geese_it may be Mergansers I am no fan of Canadian Geese because of the over population and the fact that my cute little Shih-Tzu doggie has this disgusting and crazy appetite for their feces...BUT with a little research we find there may be another culprit in our midst. "...common mergansers usually harbor heavy infections compared to other species of bird hosts. For example, the average number of miracidia that hatch from a gram of feces from common mergansers is more than 300. Mallards, Canada geese and wood ducks usually have less than 25% infected and only a couple of miracidia per gram of feces." Source BTW-this web site has a lot of good info on swimmers itch. Such as this: "The following are factors that may determine whether swimmer's itch may be a problem on a specific lake at a given time: distribution and number of snails that can serve as intermediate hosts distribution and number of bird hosts that can serve as hosts for the adult worm wind direction water currents number of hours that people stay in the water time of day sensitivity of the individual to swimmer's itch. All of these factors can change on an annual basis."