SWIMMER’S ITCH CONTROL PROGRAM

Please explore our SWIMMER’S ITCH 101 tab on the top of the page to learn more about swimmer’s itch. If you can’t find this tab, use these two links: Swimmer’s Itch Life Cycle and Swimmer’s Itch Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Many of you have recently reported seeing large groups of common mergansers showing up in open water areas on Douglas Lake. Please don’t panic. These particular birds do NOT contribute to spreading swimmer’s itch for the following 2 reasons:

1. Most of the individuals in these groups are spring migrants, meaning they only stay around Douglas Lake for a few days before continuing their journey northward to breed on lakes at a higher latitude.
2. The cold water makes it extremely unlikely that any parasites passed by these common mergansers will find and successfully infect a snail.

TWO specific ways you can continue to help…..

1.Report A Common Merganser BROOD on Douglas Lake (CLICK HERE)

From June 1 – July 15 the single most important thing you can do to help us control swimmer’s itch is to report any common merganser broods you see on Douglas Lake (click the appropriate link above).

If you aren’t sure that the brood you saw are common mergansers, click on the link anyway and you’ll be shown pictures to help you determine their identity.

2. Report A CASE OF SWIMMER’S ITCH on Douglas Lake (CLICK HERE)

Please use the link above to report any and all swimmer’s itch cases on Douglas Lake in 2022. Thank you.