In fall and winter, cooler temperatures mean marinas and boaters must be especially vigilant to protect our lakes. Invasive mussels like zebra mussels and quagga mussels transported on boats can survive much longer out of the water when weather conditions are cold and humid versus hot and dry.

Boats stored in the water on lakes known to have invasive mussels must be decontaminated and inspected, and they also need to dry completely before they are launched in another lake. During mid-summer, at temperatures above 80F, a boat may take only 5 days to dry after decontamination, but when temperatures start to cool down, dry times need to be extended. At 40F or cooler, a 30 day dry time is recommended. See the ‘Dry Time Estimator’ on the Aquatic Invasive Species Network website for estimates.

Always err on the side of caution and call TPWD for guidance at our 24/7 hotline at 512-389-4848, or email us at aquaticinvasives@tpwd.texas.gov.  

A: Zebra mussels do filter the water, increasing water clarity. However, this isn’t good for lakes because zebra mussels create dense colonies, filtering all of the plankton from large volumes of water. This can disrupt the lake’s food web as zebra mussels out-compete baitfish like shad for food, which can then affect sport fish and recreation as well as threatened or endangered fishes.