Duck Itch at Newfound 2018
 

Duck Itch is here again at Newfound in July. One granddaughter has 150 bites and the other only 85. We are on the east side of Newfound and the water is clear and clean. However, we have a small area of desirable 2' deep clear water on Whittemore Point that the kids love to hang in. Last weekend, the same kids had zero bites. This past weekend July 7 and 8 resulted in a bloom of the duck itch buggers. The NH DES has a number of publications about how to deal with this so please look at them if you are swimming in an area with water that is in an area that does not readily exchange with the surrounding waters.

Hard to believe with Newfound’s crystal clear water!
Hope the kids get rid of it quickly!

Itchy Subject
 

There are several threads in this forum pertaining to that summer monster, duck itch. Our guest from Ohio asked about duck itch before he swam this morning. Several years ago, when his family was last here at our cottage on East Bear Island, his youngest daughter had a severe case of this bad news affliction. I advised that he is the first person this season headed into the water. I suggested that after he swims, to take a shower. This has always helped guests in the past to wash "trouble" away.

It seems that spending a lot of time in the very shallow water close to the shoreline, when stirred up by wind or boat wakes, is a recipe for exposed skin to get hit with the duck itch. The waves stir up whats sitting on the lake bottom, close to shore, with all the wave action, and exposed skin gets invaded by the duck itch carrier.

Have seen an adult woman with both arms, from wrist up to above elbows, react to the duck itch with serious swollen arms, that required a couple visits to a medical doctor, and rx remedies. It was a painful, and lengthy ordeal for maybe one month.

Can be similar to receiving a bad case of poison ivy.

People who work in the water to remove the invasive milfoil plant can probably wear a full wet suit, or a full rash suit with rubber socks and water shoes, to avoid the duck itch while the lake bottom gets all stirred up.

Is similar to protection for removing poison ivy by keeping the skin covered, or just avoiding the problem?

This is the exact reason why I prefer to swim off the back of the boat in deeper water.



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Could be that a smooth sandy bottom, immediately close to the shoreline, is much less likely to collect the duck itch carrier than a sandy bottom with many small rocks. Maybe the duck itch carrier settles in and under the small rocks, and get flushed upward with the very splishy-splashy, weekend motorboat wave action.

Seems plausible in my situation?

For about 40-bucks, you can get a very nice, made in China, 'total body rash suit' from Amazon, that's good for extended working the shoreline waterfront area...... sort of like a haz-mat suit in the color black ...... to protect from the dreaded Winnipesaukee duck itch ..... once you get it bad, you'll never forget it.

Actually, kind of the opposite. The smooth sandy beach, wide open expanse to the water that so many homes have is much more attractive to ducks than a more natural shore with lots of plantings and a few steps into the water. Next time you see a group of ducks on shore, or a piece of shoreline with clear "evidence" that many ducks and/or geese have been there, you're likely to notice that it's a clear-cut property.

Duck itch - prevention
 

What works for us is slathering on our sunscreen, letting it dry and then generously slathering on suntan oil - you can use just a high SPF oil if you prefer. . Critters have harder time attaching. Haven't had duck itch in years. Hopefully it works for your kiddos!