Cleaning Waders and Boots

[kennebec12 0]

So I recently went to fish some waters which have several invasive plants and other critters. To avoid spreading these what is the best way clean and disinfect my waders before heading back up north to the clean and pristine next weekend. I don't want to infect my favorite trout rivers with hydrilla and algae.

[artimus001 0]

i think your ok as far as the Hydrilla goes. Fragmentation is a very efficient means of reproduction that can occur from regrowth of a stem fragment with a single whorl of leaves (up to 50% of the time). Fragmentation is the main reproduction mechanism for Hydrilla.

 

for the algae, i wonder if a 5 min soak in a mild bleach solution (strong enough to kill bio-organisms, but not strong enough to wreak clothing) would work.

[Adam Saarinen 0]

Spray them with disinfectant & wait awhile, i think it's 10-15 min? Maybe a bit longer, then rinse well with cold water! Or throw them in the sauna for half an hour or more, never tried it, the misses would think i've lost my mind letting my waders & boots have a sauna!

[SilverCreek 0]

There is no single chemical or method that will kill all invasives so you need to know what to use for which invasive. Mild bleach will NOT kill all organisms. New Zealand mud snails are especially hardy and the can get into crevices that are not reached by disinfectant sprays. The equipment needs to be immersed in the liquid.

 

A study by the California Department of Fish and Game found hundreds of NZ Mud snails lodged inside the crevices of individual test boots. Over 50% of them were less than 1 mm in diameter. So the gear has to be immersed in the chemicals for 5 minutes.

"The majority of NZMS recovered were associated with wading boots. NZMS were observed on the tongue area of wading boots, associated with the laces or the area of the tongue that was tucked beneath the lacing eyelets. Large numbers of small NZMS were present inside of the boots, having worked down between the boot and the neoprene bootie of the wader. If the boots contained padded insole inserts, NZMS were also found underneath the inserts, associated with sand grains. NZMS were recovered from every treated set of wading gear. Numbers of NZMS per sample ranged from 1 to 227 with a mean of 33 (Appendix 2). Over 50% of NZMS recovered were < 1 mm in size (Table 4)."

Go to the first item on this search:

CONTROLLING THE SPREAD OF NEW ZEALAND MUD SNAILS ON WADING GEAR

"Toxicity of Cleaning Solutions

RESULTS

Benzethonium chloride (1,940 mg/L), copper sulfate (504 mg/L Cu), undiluted Formula 409® Disinfectant, undiluted household ammonia, and a 50% dilution of Pine-Sol® were effective at killing NZMS in a 5-minute exposure at a temperature of 5°C (Table 2). A 5% dilution of bleach (3,000 mg/L sodium hypochlorite), potassium permanganate (200 mg/L), undiluted isopropanol (700,000 ml/L) and grapefruit seed extract (700 ml/L) were ineffective at killing NZMS at temperatures of either 5°C or 15°C. "

The problem with the recommendations is that all of these items are either difficult to obtain OR they destroy wading gear. For example the Formula 409 is NOT the version you can buy at your local grocery store but a commercial cleaning agent that is not readily available to the general public.

Look at the damage these chemical do to wading gear:

"Corrosiveness of Cleaning Solutions

Gear were exposed on alternating days for a period of two weeks; a total of seven exposures for each set of gear. Test solutions were not renewed during the course of the testing."

Bleach

Pine Sol

Bezethonium Chloride

Kudos to Patagonia and Raspberry to Simms:

Several years ago, I wrote both Simms and Patagonia for their suggestions on decontamination. I asked the same question using their web sites and then with a direct e-mail to their customer service. I asked the question below:

"What decontamination methods for Dydimo, NZ Mud Snails, Whirling Disease, and Zebra Mussels are effective and approved by you for your Waders and Boots? Are these methods safe for your gear and are the damages from these methods covered under your warranty?"

Simms never replied to either question. Patagonia replied within 2 hours to the first and within 12 hours to the second. According to the the replies from Patagonia, there is NO Chemical Method that is approved, only complete drying or freezing of gear.

The second reply from Bill K was personalized and said it best:

"This is a very good question and one that comes up often. Our suggestion that has been agreed by all the resource folks we work with all over the West - National Parks, Forest Service, fish and game, universities, etc is to Clean, Inspect and Dry your gear after use. Remove all particulate matter, brush if you can, then rinse them and let them dry. Drying is a difficult part since anglers may be fishing for a week or so and moving to different watersheds. So do the best one can. I found that buying a brush and those flip top Rubbermaid containers cost $20. And I place boots and waders in the water (top between the flip top) and rinse as I dry to and from river. The brush I use when getting out of water to remove particulate matter. This is a great, inexpensive and handy way to reduce this threat. Think like a saltwater angler as you have to rinse all your gear well after use."

"Using chemicals can create damage to gear. And we do not know long term issues with water, insects, hatch etc. using chemicals. This was the best method. The ideal, but difficult method is to freeze your gear. I know a number of lodges that are doing this for their clients. www.cleanangling.com is a good website to review. I can provide more detailed info if you need this…"

The first Patagonia reply was automated:

"Thanks for your email. To prevent the spread of invasive species, we recommend the following measures:

- Do not transport fish or fish parts from one drainage to another. Disposing of one infected fish in a clear drainage provides enough spores to start a new infection.

- Rinse all mud and debris from waders, shoes, and all equipment.

- Completely dry all wading equipment before wading new water.

- Drain water from boats and rinse off all mud before leaving infected waters.

- Fish from the bank or a boat.

For further information and ideas on how to avoid cross-contamination, please see

http://protectyourwaters.net/prevention/prevention_generic.php#1."

I'm disappointed that Simms, the largest manufacturer and seller of wading gear did not reply to my initial and followup contacts.

I think it Patagonia has it right. Anglers are not going to use destructive chemicals on their gear nor are they going to use chemicals like bleach that can accidentally destroy the inside of their vehicles should containers leak. The brush and dry method that Bill suggests seems to be the best compromise. I already have a Rubbermaid container that I put my boots in so the don't get the inside of my vehicle dirty.

Personally, I have a separate set of wading gear for travel and home use. I figure the boots and waders will last twice as long. Between trips the travel set has weeks to dry out.

[mikechell 0]

I am in California right now, as it so happens. The law here is very clear. You must scrape and disinfect your equipment if you move from one body of water to another ... or have verifiable proof that the equipment has been dry for more than 5 days. (this is usually accomplished with the inspection notices you get when you fish a body of water. Most lakes have inspection stations at the ramp.)

If you properly dry your waders, and you don't use them in another body of water for more than a week, you are not going to transport any invasives.

[FlaFly 0]

I was going to suggest you wade in the shallow end of your swimming pool, but then I remembered you're from Maine :-)

[phg 0]

...make it a point to wade in salt water between each fresh water outing?

 

I have 2 sets of waders and boots. I switch gear between watersheds, if my gear hasn't completely dried from my last outing. Normally, it's at least 5 days between outings, so it's a rare problem.

[SilverCreek 0]

I am in California right now, as it so happens. The law here is very clear. You must scrape and disinfect your equipment if you move from one body of water to another ... or have verifiable proof that the equipment has been dry for more than 5 days. (this is usually accomplished with the inspection notices you get when you fish a body of water. Most lakes have inspection stations at the ramp.)

If you properly dry your waders, and you don't use them in another body of water for more than a week, you are not going to transport any invasives.

 

Not at all true:

 

http://wildlife.utah.gov/fes/pdf_pubs/2002_06.pdf

 

A study published by the American Fisheries Symposium has noted that: "The (Whirling Disease) myxospores can tolerate freezing at -20 centigrade for at least 3 months and are still viable after the passage through the guts of predators.... There have been reports from Europe of myxospores remaining viable in dry pond beds for 12 years(Bauer 1962)."

 

 

 

http://www.protectyourwaters.net/hitchhikers/mollusks_zebra_mussel.php

 

• Adult mussels are very hardy and can survive out of water for extended periods depending upon temperature, humidity, wind, and sunlight. Maximum out-of-water survival time in ideal conditions is about 10 days for adults and 3 days for newly-settled juveniles.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[kennebec12 0]

They have thoroughly dried by now, I used them on the Fourth. I guess I should give them a good scrubbing and let them dry again. It was very difficult to find but the Maine IF&W website does say to rinse and and let dry in the sun, soak in bleach after fishing in waters with didymo algae. Luckily we have avoided whirling disease in all Maine waters presently.

[heavynets 0]

For what it's worth.

 

http://www.fondriest.com/news/didymo-study-disputes-assumptions-spread-control-rock-snot-algae.htm

[Hatchet Jack 0]

Would my UV torch I use on the UV glue have a sterilizing/killing effect on any of these critters?

[artimus001 0]

For what it's worth.

 

http://www.fondriest.com/news/didymo-study-disputes-assumptions-spread-control-rock-snot-algae.htm

i had a great set of felt soled boots come my way because of the rock snot scare.

[SilverCreek 0]

For what it's worth.

 

http://www.fondriest.com/news/didymo-study-disputes-assumptions-spread-control-rock-snot-algae.htm

 

Dydimo has been in North America as early as 1218 AD from core drilling that found dydimo with the same DNA as current dydimo, dated to 1218 by a layer of volcanic ash from an eruption. Dydimo has had at least 800 years to spread before the hysteria about felt soled boots.

 

Furthermore it has been established that the reason Dydimo blooms is due to low Phosporus in the water. It is an adapdation to concentrate Phospurus in bacteria that are on the mats.

 

Max Bothwell, a research scientist for Environment Canada, who wrote an influential article that linked angler's felt soled boots to dydimo spread has now reversed himself and said that anglers are not responsible.

Here is his original article, On the Boots of Fishermen:

http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/wat/wq/studies/didymo-blooms.pdf

He now believes that dydimo has been in North American waters and that it is a change in water chemistry, specifically lower phosphorus levels that has caused dydimo blooms.

Why is phosphorus lower - The clean water act decreased the usage of phosphorus in fertilizers and mandated the removal of phosphorus during waste water treatment. Less phosphorus in rivers ===> Dydimo Blooms.

Read the article in American Angler, July-August, 2013, pp 8-9.

"'I no longer believe the problem is North American streams is the result of it (dydimo) being moved around.' …. Scientists are now convinced that dydimo lives in many streams, but blooms only when the water has far less than the normal amount of phosphorus…… The most damaging dydimo episode in the US seems to have been on Rapid Creek in South Dakota, where a six-mile bloom dramatically impacted a blue ribbon brown trout fishery. In 2007 and 2008, Bothwell and other scientists added phosphorus to sections of Rapid Creek. Sure enough, the dydimo mats shrank"

[artimus001 0]

i wonder how many states and provinces in N.A.

1) banned felt

2) reversed the laws banning felt soles

[PJ2 0]

I too have multiple pairs of waders. and if i know I'm gonna " pond jump " then i take them with me. I work for a chemical company and i wash my stuff with crap that will destroy anything living. It hasn't hurt my waders or discolored them either. But now i'm growing a twin out of my ass. so i guess there's always a price.