How can the spread of zebra mussels be prevented?
The USGS documents the zebra mussel's geographic distribution and studies its behavior and biology. The resulting information is critical in helping to develop strategies aimed at containing and controlling the mussel's spread. Meanwhile, catching and transporting zebra mussels for use as bait, food, and aquarium pets is highly discouraged.
We also encourage good boat hygiene:
- Wash your boat off with warm, soapy water if possible
- Do not transport water from live wells and bait buckets from one water body to another; empty them onto land when possible and dispose of leftover bait in the trash. Most often the bait fish are not native to that water, just like the zebra mussels.
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Snakehead in your inbox? Welcome to the Nonindigenous Aquatic Species Alert System
Want to know how many new species have been found in your state in the past six months, or where the latest sighting of snakeheads occurred? You can find the answers to both these questions at the USGS Nonindigenous Aquatic Species (NAS) Alert System.
Zebra Mussels Are Spreading Rapidly, USGS Reports
Zebra mussels expanded their range in the past year, invading 11 new lakes in the Great Lakes region and dramatically increasing in Lake Champlain, according to U.S. Geological Survey biologists.
Detailed view of a Quagga Mussel (right) and a Zebra Mussel.
Detailed view of a Quagga Mussel (right) and a Zebra Mussel. Image credit: USGS.
Invasive Zebra Mussels
The zebra mussel (Dreissena polymorpha) is a small, non-native mussel originally found in Russia. In 1988, this animal was transported to North America in the ballast water of a transatlantic |
Invasive Zebra Mussels
The zebra mussel (Dreissena polymorpha) is a small, non-native mussel originally found in Russia. In 1988, this animal was transported to North America in the ballast water of a transatlantic |
Zebra Mussels on rock
Zebra Mussels on rock.
Titleist golf ball covered in zebra mussels
Titleist infested with multiple age groups of newly settled and previously settled zebra mussels. Collected by physical survey from a transect on Maple Lake near Alexandria, Minnesota
Zebra Mussels, Dreissena polymorpha
Zebra Mussels
Zebra Mussel, Lake Huron specimens.
Zebra Mussels
Zebra Mussel, Lake Huron specimens.
Zebra Mussel
Zebra mussels are small, averaging about an inch long. Two inches is approximately the maximum size.