These worms lay eggs inside the bird, which the bird then poops out into the lake. The parasite starts out as a small worm-like critter in the intestines of waterfowl, such as geese and ducks. It has a complicated life history, but there must be snails and some water fowl present for it to complete its life cycle. Like poison ivy, not everyone is sensitive to it, but you will likely be increasingly sensitive the more times you are exposed. Here is what Swimmer’s itch is, and a few tips to help your lake not have it in the first place, and a couple things to do if you want to swim in a lake currently experiencing the problem.įirst off, the itch is caused by a flatworm or schistosome, a little parasite that really doesn’t harm you, but your body has an allergic reaction to it, and hence the itch. The Wisconsin DNR has a great website about swimmer’s itch, but spoiler alert – there isn’t a heck of a lot you can do about it. But it certainly can be a real summer fun killer, when swimming leads to itchy agony. Swimmers Itch! I haven’t had this too often, and since only my hands and arms were affected, it was a minor annoyance. Later than night, my hands started to itch, and I could see little welts all over my hands and arms. Last September, I was on one of my favorite lakes collecting aquatic plants for plant identification workshops I present over the winter. In this month's episode of Field Notes, Susan Knight of UW-Madison’s Trout Lake Station talks about that annoying summer problem, “Swimmer’s Itch” and how we can avoid it.
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