LAKE TRAVIS - There is a newcomer at the lake, but this one isn't welcome.
"They can attach to themselves and clog a pipe up to 18 inches in diameter," said Monica McGarrity of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.
Zebra mussels are an invasive species, posing an environmental and economic threat. Stopping them is a tall order.
"Each female can produce up to a million larvae and if those survive they can spread downstream," said McGarrity.
Those larva are microscopic, and can survive in water deposits on, and in, boats.
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"Unlike our native mussels that require a fish host to move around they spread with water currents and wind," said McGarrity.
There is no silver bullet to control their spread but experts say nature has its own way of dealing with them.
"Here in Texas it’s the heat that gets them," said McGarrity.
Fluctuating lake levels also means fluctuating levels of oxygen for these pests.
"There is no readily available means of controlling them. There’s no special chemical or anything like that that’s commercially available that could be used without having effects on other wildlife," said John Hofmann of the Lower Colorado River Authority.
But the best way to slow their spread is to clean, drain and dry watercraft before moving from lake to lake.
To learn more about zebra mussels, visit texasinvasives.org/zebramussels.
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