Bleach and water does not work.

[Scruffy_Fly]

I have been asked a number of times whether it is okay to use a solution of bleach and water to kill New Zealand Mudsnails on your wading equipment and boat. (This has been a recommendation for a long time.)

It is [#ff0000]NO [/#ff0000]longer recommended for killing the snails.

Testing by the California Department of Fish and Game, The US Fish and Wildlife, and the Northern California Council of the Federation of Fly fishers discovered that a large percentage of the snails will survive exposure to bleach. Plus it was discovered that the bleach solution can attack the glues used to seal seams and can attack the materials of some waders.

Another result of the test is that Formula 409 which is labeled to contain Antibacterial or disinfectant will kill the snails and not damage wading equipment. It can [#ff0000]NOT[/#ff0000] be one of the other 20+ Formula 409 products which do not contain the disinfectant.

For details of methods and products to use to sanitize your wading equipment and why you need to do it see the following website.

[url "http://www.westdenvertu.org/snails.htm"]http://www.westdenvertu.org/snails.htm[/url]
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[Dryrod]

[font "Poor Richard"][green][size 3]Here is a repeat of a post I made a while back:
Study:
Vinegar and bleach are a killer combo The cleaning solution can wipe out almost any microbe, including anthrax

· Household cleaner and disinfectant
Dilute one cup of household bleach in one gallon of water
· Add one cup of white vinegar

Also Fantastic is a great killer too. I use it in the kichen and elsewhere to kill ants and other undesireable characters. Works on getting rid of mold in lawns.
Likewise I wouldn't use a bleach solution to clean my waders. When it doubt it is best to contact the manufacturer of the product that you want to disinfect. In fact I will contact Simms and get their recommendation on this subject. Thanks for your post Scuffy_Fly. Neat handle.

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[Scruffy_Fly]

Dryrod,
Thanks for the info. I will have to keep that info on using vinegar and bleach or fantastic. Whether that would kill the snails or not has not been tested. The snail has a "trap door" that it closes which is why it survives the bleach. I am trying to convince Colorado Trout Unlimited and the DOW in doing further testing to find additional chemical methods for killing the snails. These invasive animals were found in late 2004 and early 2005 in Colorado for the first time.

Part of the purpose of the testing that was done in California was to determine chemicals that would not only kill the New Zealand Mudsnail but also be safe for waders and boots. A good number of chemicals were tried but there were only 3 chemicals that successfully did both. These are a copper sulfate solution, diluted "Commercial Solutions Formula 409 Cleaner Degreaser Disinfectant", and a Benzethonium Chloride Solution. The degreaser in the Formula 409 product apparently causes the snail to relax the snail so that the "trap door" partially opens which allows the disinfectant to kill the animal. But you do have to use the correct Formula 409 product - the one with a disinfectant in it. Otherwise it will not kill the snails either.

A number of wader manufacturer's equipment was used to evaluate the chemicals. Simms and Patagonia were two of the major providers of equipment for the testing. Contacting the manufacturer certainly is a reasonable option for determining what might be acceptable but I suspect none of the manufacturers would say anything about the chemicals that the testing program came up with because the manufacturer has never done a test with them.

Besides the scientific test done in California the Colorado Depart of Wildlife has done some laboratory testing of "Formula 409 All Purpose Cleaner Anitibacterial Kitchen Lemon Fresh" (it has the same disinfectant as the other 409 product). The CO DOW also tested Sparquat 256 which is a commercial biocide they have used for years to kill Whirling Desease spores. Both are recommendations put forth by the DOW for killing New Zealand Mudsnails

If you are interested in learning more, the website listed in my post has a links to the State of California testing report and lots of other links to info about New Zealand mudsnails. (see the bottom of the page)

I should also say that a solution of bleach and water does kill many other invasive animals and plants and thus will still be recommended by various States and US Government organizations for control of invasive species. It is unfortunate it does not work for these snails.
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[Scruffy_Fly]

Dryrod,

I see that you live in California. Do you fly fish on streams and lakes there? Assuming you do, do you sanitize your wading equipment after fishing? I was reading somewhere that New Zealand mudsnails were just found to be infesting a tributary in Southern California.
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[Dryrod]

[cool][green][size 3][green][b]Hi there Scuffy_Fly and thanks again for your informative follow up. Essentially I have been fishing local reservoirs. Wading is not permitted but I do us my waders when tubing. I generally haven’t been sanitizing my waders after tubing in these reservoirs. Perhaps I should reconsider my thought process.[/green][/size]
[size 3][green]Since this subject is important to all fisher people, I am going to move your posts & replies to the Fishing Preservation & Conservation board. The link will be on the Fly_Fishing board.[/green][/size]
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[flygoddess]

I have heard that Iodine is the stuff. Anything with iodine in it.
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