Quote:
Originally Posted by CateP
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." |
Mergansers are native. As are loons. These damn Canada geese are a VERY new arrival on the Lake. Like within the past 3-5 years. They should be universally loathed, and unwelcome. Like everywhere else, they are reproducing rapidly while the politically correct and sensitive among us fret and moan about humane and passive ways to dissuade them from staying around.
Trust me. They are here and will stay and will DESTROY the water quality very, very quickly. Mergansers cannot compete with the reproductive prowess and poop-producing volume of these pests. Not even close.