Cornell Cooperative Extension

Tompkins County
Steamboat Landing at the Ithaca Farmers Market
Image by Sandy Repp

Boats near Cascadilla creek.

Boaters & Marina Owners

All types of watercraft have the potential to spread hydrilla including canoes, kayaks, paddle boats, personal watercraft and sail boats in and out of the water. Help stop the spread of this highly invasive aquatic plant species. Inspect all watercrafts and remove and destroy plant materials.

Boaters and marina owners are a key link in stopping the spread of hydrilla from infested areas to uninfested areas. It is essential that marina staff inform boaters of the precautions to be taken while boating. It is more important than ever to follow clean boating practices to ensure the protection of all waterbodies. Marina owners are encouraged to consider building a simple plant disposal station for any vegetation removed during the cleaning process. View the letter sent to marina owners  by New York State Department of Environmental Conversation (NYSDEC) Division of Water.

Precautions to stop the spread of hydrilla:

  • Boats should be cleaned before they go in the water and immediately after they are taken out. Remove all weeds, mud and other material by hand.
  • Boat trailers need to be carefully inspected, looking especially for material trapped between the boat and trailer, inside any open tubing on the trailers, around taillights and license plates.
  • Remove and dispose of all vegetation in a trash can, plant disposal station or above high water
  • Allow boats and trailers to fully air dry (5 days or more) so any hidden plants will completely dry out between boating in different bodies of water OR take boats to the nearest car wash for a good cleaning
  • Bilges, drop keels, live wells and anything else on the boats that can retain water should be drained, dried, and cleaned before moving to another water body.

For Marina Owners

  • Make sure all boaters understand the importance of clean boating practices.
  • Boat yards should set up silt curtains or hay bales, or something similar to let the water filter off while capturing any plant material, and to avoid draining directly back into water bodies.
  • If the boat yard is doing repairs and has to repeatedly put the boat in and out of the water, lifts and trailer equipment should be checked and cleaned each time it is used.
  • Consider building plant disposal stations and make sure your boaters know where they are and how to use them correctly.
  • Marina staff should participate in invasive species identification training sessions and make sure that all of their boaters are informed about the current hydrilla status.

Last updated July 26, 2019

Boaters & Marina Owners

Report a Suspect!

If you think you find hydrilla in the lake, take a picture of the plant, bag the plant, GPS or write down the location where it was pulled it up noting on-shore landmarks, and report it.

Places Plants Hide

Places plants can hide on a boat trailer are shown on this YouTube video about preventing the spread of zebra mussels. Why is this relevant? Because the way to stop zebra mussels is to clean off all plant matter! Plus, just like we don't want to spread hydrilla, we don't want to spread zebra mussels.

Spread the Word!

These printable documents are great ways to inform boaters and everyone around the marina how to stop hydrilla.

Two-sided, color flyer specifically for boaters .

What Marinas Need to Know, a two-sided information sheet for working with customers

Stop Hydrilla , a tri-fold brochure on why hydrilla must be stopped, what is being done to eradicate it and what boaters can do to help.Of interest to non-boaters as well.

Recommendations for Cayuga Residents

It is OK to launch boats in Cayuga Inlet, but because hydrilla spreads through fragmentation, Cayuga Lake boaters and marina owners are a key link in stopping the spread of hydrilla from infested areas to uninfested areas of the Inlet, Cayuga Lake, and other waterbodies. It is essential that marina staff inform boaters of the new precautions to be taken while boating on Cayuga Lake.

  • Avoid passing through ANY dense patches of vegetation in the Cayuga Inlet or the shallow areas at the south end of Cayuga Lake.
  • Stay in the NAVIGATION CHANNEL in the Cayuga Inlet when exiting to Cayuga Lake or traveling to destinations south on the inlet.
  • Stock your boat with plastic trash bags. If you bring ANY vegetation up from the Inlet or Lake on the anchor, lines, fishing gear, prop, paddles etc., DO NOT RETURN it to the water. Place it in a trash bag and dispose of it back on shore at a plant disposal station or trash receptacle. Check for, remove and dispose of ALL vegetation in or on your boat after each use. The cooperation and support of boaters and marina owners is essential to the Hydrilla Task Force of the Cayuga Lake Watershed's containment and eradication strategy. It is also needed to prevent the spread of hydrilla into the other Finger Lakes, the Great Lakes and all other water bodies.