Michigan’s Latest Invasive Species Can Survive Being Eaten

In the Mitten State, we like to welcome all comers. But Michigan's invasive species don't deserve a welcome basket. They need to stop treating our rivers like an all-inclusive resort.

RELATED: Michigan's New Firewood Ban Starts January 1

The latest squatter making headlines is the New Zealand mudsnail, now confirmed in Kent County's Bear Creek, a Thornapple River tributary, according to Michigan's Invasive Species Program.

A First for Southern Lower Michigan

They've been in Michigan since 2015, but this is their first detection in the southern Lower Peninsula, about 75 miles south of the closest known infestation.

At roughly one-eighth of an inch, they're easy to miss. They reproduce by cloning, and one can produce more than 200 annually.

No dating apps. No awkward dinner. Just 200 kids and nobody to split the grocery bill.

Why Michigan Trout Have a Problem

a large brown fish swimming in a body of water

Huge mudsnail populations compete with native stream creatures for food, shrinking the buffet for fish such as trout.

Worse, fish get little nutrition from eating them because, get this, the snails can pass through a fish and come out alive.

Nature invented a snack with a return policy.

Keep Michigan's Mudsnails Off Your Gear

Photo Credit: Emily Burke, Grass River Natural Area, Inc.

There's currently no effective treatment to control or eliminate established New Zealand mudsnail populations. Biologists plan more sampling in Barry, Kent, and Ionia counties.

RELATED: Invasive Box Tree Moth Reaches Michigan’s Genesee County

Before changing waterways, clean, drain, and dry boats and gear. Check boots, waders, nets, and kayaks, and follow Michigan's cleaning instructions.

Your waders are fishing equipment. They shouldn't double as a snail shuttle.