Zebra Mussels have been found recently in Prior Lake and Lake Marion. Other area metro lakes have found them as well in the past.  Please carefully inspect your watercraft, docks and boat lifts when removing them from the water. If you find anything that looks like ZM, please send a photo and report your findings to the DNR as well as the CLIA as soon as possible.

How to use the ZM Sample Device

Hang the sample device under a shady spot of your dock (zebra mussels tend to avoid direct sunlight) in the summer to monitor for zebra mussels. Suspend the device as deep as possible at the end of your dock, keeping it at least one foot above the bottom. Examine the monitoring device, and add report back to [email protected] with your findings. Including a picture is helpful in identifying between different species of mussels.

Request a Sample Device Inspection from the CLIA

(Please provide your Name, Address, and a Phone Number and/or Email Address and we will contact you to schedule an inspection of your sample device)

Please also submit your photo and findings directly to the MN DNR:
http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/volunteering/zebramussel_monitoring/report.html

More about Zebra Mussels

Zebra mussels are small, fingernail-sized animals that attach to solid surfaces in water.

Adults are 1/4 to 1-1/2 inches long and have D-shaped shells, often with alternating yellow and brownish colored stripes. Female zebra mussels can produce 100,000 to 500,000 eggs per year.

Zebra mussels can be a costly problem for cities and power plants when they clog water intakes. Zebra mussels also cause problems for lakeshore residents and recreationists; for example, they can:

  • attach to boat motors and boat hulls, reducing performance and efficiency,
  • attach to rocks, swim rafts and ladders where swimmers can cut their feet on the mussel shells, and
  • clog irrigation intakes and other pipes.

Report Zebra Mussels to the DNR Learn More at the MN DNR Website