Collecting stuff from the beach?

Da_Stos208 · Post by **Da_Stos208** » Sat May 27, 2017 3:34 pm

Hi!
I am up in Michigan for the weekend, a short walk away from a beach. This isn't a "regulated" beach, as in there is no parking lot and lifeguard or anything, just a fence and a staircase.

While down there I noticed a lot of muscle shells, seaweed/algae-clump-looking-things, and bits of what I assume are aquatic plants. Ive heard the water here has some bacterial problems, but it otherwise looks pretty clear.

Is it safe to use stuff i find here like driftwood and other lake debris in the crabitat? I was also thinking of using sand from here in their substrate. Everything would be boiled/baked of course.

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Da_Stos208 · Post by **Da_Stos208** » Sat May 27, 2017 3:36 pm

Just to clarify, the beach is on Lake Michigan, so its freshwater. Also it's used as drinking water for millions of people, so i assume it's at least reasonably clean lol.

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Post by **wodesorel** » Sat May 27, 2017 8:57 pm

Check your local beach reports first. I'm near Erie and I would never use anything collected there for my own hermits. There is a long history of chemical pollutants in the water, and they constantly have E. Coli warnings at the beaches due to sewage comination. Depending on where you are at on Michigan it'll be a lot worse.

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YouTube · Post by **GotButterflies** » Sun May 28, 2017 10:45 am

I agree, I would not use it either. Think of boat and other watercraft pollution too.

Being from Florida...lake sand is not beach sand

PS- my inlaws lived on Lake Erie- I never brought home anything from there for my hermits. They had driftwood and stuff all of the time.

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Hollym2247 · Post by **Hollym2247** » Mon Jun 19, 2017 6:37 pm

If you boil shells and driftwood long enough, it would probably kill any germs, but chemical contaminants may remain. I wouldn't trust lake water.

soilentgringa · Post by **soilentgringa** » Mon Jun 19, 2017 9:40 pm

Hollym2247 wrote:If you boil shells and driftwood long enough, it would probably kill any germs, but chemical contaminants may remain. I wouldn't trust lake water.

Please do not remove usable shells from the beach. There is already a shortage for hermits in the wild.

Also beachcombing is against the law in many areas. It is really important to think about shoreline conservation and preserving ecosystems. I've had an MPA monitor from Monterrey (sp?)

Bay tell me that removing anything from a beach that is part of the habitat, when done in the amounts that tourists do it (so thousands and thousands of people), really has a negative impact on the animals that live in those areas.

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HCA: Hermit Crab Association