People who enjoy the many waters throughout the United States can help with stopping the spread of harmful aquatic hitchhikers. These aquatic hitchhikers can range from those that can be seen such as plants to those that cannot be seen such as pathogens. If everyone who leaves a body of water takes a few extra minutes to clean up their equipment, anything that has touched the water or the area surrounding a body of water, then these aquatic hitchhikers would have a harder time moving on to a new body of water. So aside from using commercial water treatment that is helpful in removing toxins from the water supply as commercial water treatment solutions are performance engineered, here are some few steps on how you can get rid of aquatic hitchhikers.
The first step to removing aquatic hitchhikers is to carefully examine the boat, trailer, buckets, clothes, boots and any other item that may have come in contact with an aquatic hitchhiker and remove all fish, animals and plants as well as any mud or dirt. It is even important to remove any plant fragments irregardless of their size as an aquatic hitchhiker may be lurking in them as well.
The next step involved in removing aquatic hitchhikers is to remove any water that may be contained in the equipment that has been used. Aquatic hitchhikers will lurk in the tiniest places and in the tiniest amount of water, making it important to remove any remaining water from live wells, motors, boat hulls, jet drives, scuba tanks and regulators, waders, boots, bait buckets and any floating devices.
After carefully removing the water from any equipment used, the next step is to clean and dry anything that has come in contact with the water, this includes boats, trailers, boots, dogs, clothes and waders. This step is best done back at home where there is access to hot water. Carefully wash all the equipment in hot water or salt water to be sure that all aquatic hitchhikers are taken care of. Give the dog a bath in very warm water, but be careful not to burn it. Equipment that is hard to clean or that can not be exposed to hot water can be dipped in vinegar for about 20 minutes or can be put into a 1% table salt solution and left for 24 hours which is 2/3 cup salt to 5 gallons water, 1 1/4 cup salt to 10 gallons water, 3 cups salt to 25 gallons water, 6 1/4 cups salt to 50 gallons water and 12 2/3 cups salt to 100 gallons water. If hot water is not an option to clean with, spray the equipment with a high-pressure washer. And finally, if possible, it is best to let all the equipment dry for at least 5 days before putting it into any new body of water.
If everyone who enjoys the bodies of water located throughout the United States diligently cleaned their equipment each time they finished using it, these aquatic hitchhikers would be forced to stay in their own body of water and quit wreaking havoc on other plants and animals.
