Water Quality (Swimmer’s Itch) Committee
Responsibilities:
The Swimmer’s Itch Program, which is managed by the Water Quality Committee, is involved in monitoring, researching and controlling swimmers itch in the lake.
Swimmer’s Itch is an infliction generated by a parasite in the water which is part of cycle involving Merganser ducks, other water fowl, and snails. The parasite burrows into one’s skin and generates a ‘mosquito bite’ type irritation which swells into a node on the skin.
The Swimmer’s Itch Program tracks where and when anyone contracts swimmer’s itch. Please report any case of swimmer’s itch at www.swimmersitch.org. Just click on ‘Report a Case’. This site is used by the company, that the GLA uses to inoculate broods of mergansers and relocate them, to monitor and track progress and develop additional tactics. With your input the Glen Lake association will then be able to better control the factors associated with swimmer’s itch and monitor programs to curtail/eliminate it.
To Learn More About Swimmer Itch, please review this video produced by Rob Karner: Swimmer’s Itch
Possible Itch Prevention????
There is a product available called Swimmers’ Itch Guard. GLA is not endorsing it, but it has been tested and shown to be effective against swimmers’ itch. Check the local pharmacies for availability, or swimmersitchguard.com. Apply liberally before entering the water & reapply after 90 minutes of water activity.
Another product to consider using is a sunscreen lotion called Bullfrog.
Merganser Duck Control Program
The GLA has had various program over the years to control this problem, with much emphasis on ridding the lake of its Merganser duck population. From 2004 to 2009 we worked with a Hope College research team that trapped Merganser broods, inoculated them with a de-worming medicine, and relocated them to Lake Michigan where the snail part of the cycle does not exist. Thus the parasite life cycle was broken.
This picture shows a male and female Merganser pair respectively.
These ducks swim with a brood of 10-16 ducklings. They swim/scoot across the top of the water for 8-10 feet, stop, and sometimes dive for food.
Due to the retirement of members of the research team and the discontinuation of their research efforts, there is no longer a scientific permit to trap and relocate mergansers in the summer.
The Association’s only means of conducting merganser control is during spring and fall with the use of pyrotechnics. These ‘screamers and bangers’ are employed to ‘harass’ the ducks and force them off the land and prevent them from ‘loafing’ along shorelines. If you see a brood of Merganser ducklings in the lake, please call Rob Karner at 231-334-5831.
