Now that we received a good lake report from PLM this week, it’s time to remind you of actions you can take to help keep it that way.
1) RAKE THE LAKE – The single best way you can keep the water clear and healthy is to rake your lake property! This does several things:
– eliminates or greatly reduces the amount of weeds ( the fish find better hiding places)
– stirs up the organic material under the layer of sand. This prevents weeds from starting or being fertilized and provides a firmer sand base (not mushy)
– greatly reduces the number of snails and zebra mussels (we’ve found up to 6 zebra mussels on a single snail)
– eliminates or greatly reduces the fine layer of algae laying on top of the sand (algae makes the water look turquoise – it isn’t)
I recommend pushing the rake instead of pulling – it’s easier and just as effective.
2) REDUCE ZEBRA MUSSELS – Remove all hard unnecessary objects from your water. This is obviously impossible for those of you with stony shores but zebra mussels attach themselves to hard objects – snails (see above), clams, blocks, buoys, motors, branches and twigs, etc. The more you remove, the less mussels you will attract. Did you know that one female zebra mussel can reproduce up to one million offspring per year? They can also cut your feet. For more information, see the November 4, 2012 post.
Now you know what to tell your neighbors when they ask Is there anything I can do?