This behavior makes it easy for them to be moved around the lake, and tends to concentrate their numbers along the shoreline. The cercaria only lives for a day or so and typically inhabits the upper few inches of water which increases its chances of coming into contact with a duck (its definitive host). The life stage that causes swimmer's itch is called a "cercaria" which is an immature stage of a blood fluke common in waterfowl. If ducks do not congregate around your dock the swimmer's itch organism may originate somewhere else in the lake and is being brought to your shoreline wave action or currents. If ducks don't hang out around your property then the source of the problem may be elsewhere in the lake and this strategy won't help much. Place the wind sock or statue on your dock and move it around every other day or so, so the ducks do not become accustom to it. If ducks like to loaf on your dock do what you can to discourage them. So if you, or maybe your neighbors, are currently feeding waterfowl (ducks and geese) from your dock, stop. However, an important fact to consider is that the critter starts out in the intestinal lining of waterfowl, mostly ducks. The organism which causes swimmer's itch has a complicated life history. To understand which actions make sense it is important to look at the organism's biology. There are actions you can take to help reduce the odds of getting swimmer's itch. REPRINTED WITH PERMISSION FROM MINNESOTA DNR ECOLOGICAL SERVICES, ST.
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