Company claims success in zebra mussel fight
The California-based company Marrone Bio Innovations claims it has had early success with its biopesticide Zequanox in the fast-spreading war on zebra mussels.
The company says in a press release the product was "highly effective" in controlling invasive zebra mussels in a test in Deep Quarry Lake in DuPage County, Ill., the company reported last month.
Marrone says it offers the industry’s only environmentally compatible molluscicide. For the test, Zequanox was applied in three locations around the lake. In those treated sites, the chemical killed 97.1 percent of zebra mussels, compared with 11.2 percent mortality in untreated control sites, the company says.
Minnesota Department of Natural Resources officials have been battling the fast-spreading pest in recent years with little success. The zebra mussel can pose a threat to native species and create a host of problems for waterways, including interruptions in the food chain.
The DNR has set up a 15-member panel to consult with the agency as it gears up for battle this year with aquatic invasive species that include the Asian carp and zebra mussels, MRP reported.
The state has been adding to its list of infested waters.
