Aquacide Blog — clean lake

Once a clean lake in the 1980s, Squaw Lake in Oxford Township is slowly being taken over by Eurasian Milfoil.  Thick beds of Eurasian Milfoil now blanket most of the lake bottom. The lake is shrinking because the shore is thick with weed growth.  Squaw Lake was once used for water skiing and swimming, kids don’t swim there anymore. Eurasian Milfoil spread from boat propellers chopping fragments and raking it free and dumping fragments back into the water.  Eurasian Milfoil has the ability to root from fragmentation so new  colonies developed from just one small stem. Mechanical harvesting does not...

What could squeaky clean dishes and shockingly green lakes have in common? Phosphorus!  Phosphorus has noteworthy connections to both dishwasher detergents and excessive algae growth.  In detergents, it binds with minerals, allowing for more effective washing.  Headlines in the 1960’s suggesting that Lake Erie was “dying” from choking on algae lead to studies that linked excess use of phosphorus by humans to greening lakes.  Many states banned phosphate laundry detergent.  Manufacturers voluntarily stopped adding phosphates to washer suds by the mid-1990’s.  But then, there’s dishwasher detergent.  Echoing the history of phosphate-free laundry detergent, states and communities are now starting to limit...

What is Swimmers Itch? Swimmers Itch (also known as Cercarial dermatitis, Lake Itch and Duck Itch) is an itchy rash that is caused by a certain type of parasite (shistosomes) that live in freshwater snails and waterfowl that gather among lake weeds. As part of their life-cycle, these parasites are released on warm sunny days and migrate through the water.  They then reattach to swimmers by burrowing into the skin.  Humans are not good hosts so the parasites soon die while still under the skin, which may cause an allergic reaction. Who gets Swimmers Itch? All age groups and both sexes can...