Zebra Muscle Precautions

The Dick Hiley/St Jude Team Bass Championship is being held on Pool 4-5, which is reported as one of the areas with the highest concentration of Zebra Mussel on Mississippi River . Many waters and communities have suffered economic harm from this infestation and little is known about the long-term impacts on fish populations. Every effort should be taken to stop their spread to other waters.

Zebra mussels can be easily spread in the larval veliger state that can survive in a small amount of water for some time. The State of Minnesota ’s regulations state that you must drain all water from livewells and bilge’s, but that may not always be possible, due to the construction of modern boats. Here is a simple and inexpensive system to use.

Many hospital disinfectants use a 10% solution of chlorine bleach in water as the primary active ingredient. Concentrated bleach is toxic to many organisms, yet is used safely in many applications. When diluted, it can be disposed of with minimal impact on the environment. It takes 13 ounces bleach per gallon of water to achieve a 10% concentration. A gallon of generic bleach costs around a dollar. One gallon of bleach will generally do 4 to 5 treatments for a boat with two livewells.

In preparation to pull the boat from the water, run the bilge pump and pump out as much water as possible. Make sure there is enough water left in the livewells to run the pumps and circulate water. Each boat is different but about 2-4 inches of water is generally enough. On shore, add one or two cup of bleach to each livewell and pour one cup down the floor drain into the bilge. Turn on the livewell circulating pumps and let them run while strapping down the boat. Drain the livewells in a place where the contents can’t run back into the water or harm the environment, such as a field of vegetation. On a sunny day the water evaporates quickly on pavement. The water and bleach is left in the bilge till you get home. Then pull the drain plug and drain the content on you’re driveway. The alternative is to do this process at home with a garden hose.

The consensus is that if your rig has three days to dry, the zebra mussel veligers will not survive. If you are going to a new body of water in less than three days, a steam pressure wash is recommended. Concentrate on the trailer bunks, around the nooks and crannies of the motor mounting bracket, or any area that can hold water.

A side benefit to bleaching is that your bilge and livewells stay very clean. The bleach retards the growth of algae, which can also improve how well your livewell valves seal.

A few notes of caution:

A spill of full concentration will ruin most cloths, unless you favor the tie-dyed look.

Be sure to test the fade resistance of the carpet in your boat in an obscure area, because some bleach can spill when you pour it into the floor drain, if you aren’t super-careful.

Open and air out the bilge area of the boat while in storage, the fumes can accelerate the formation of rust.

Never pour bleach into a body of water.