Salvinia In Louisiana Lakes Reduced By Freeze

Old Man Winter has certainly made his presence known throughout the Shreveport and Bossier City area.

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The National Weather Service in Shreveport issued a number of "cold weather" bulletins in a recent advisory:

• Temperatures stay well below normal through Friday.
• Northern locations could stay near or below freezing from through midday Friday.
• Single digit wind chill values possible in many areas north of I-20 Thursday morning.

Just take a quick walk outside and you'll see (and feel) they were right on target with their low temperature predictions.

And though many will deal with frozen water pipes and the loss of exposed landscaping, there is actually a direct benefit from this Arctic front for our area lakes including Caddo, Lake Bistineau, Wallace Lake, Cross Lake, Black Bayou Hosston and Black Lake Campti, that have been terribly ravaged by the invasive aquatic plant "Giant Salvinia."

LDWF Says The Hard Freeze Can Certainly Reduce Salvinia In Louisiana Lakes

In an article posted by the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries back in January of 2018 we learn:

Biologists with LDWF hope the freeze will result in a reduction of salvinia this spring and summer, as it did in 2010 when salvinia coverage was drastically reduced following a winter freeze.

However, significant visible reduction in coverage will not likely occur for a few months due to the amount of time it takes the plant to decompose. The department also notes that although the freezing temperatures may cause some level of die-off, it will not completely eradicate it.

Though Freezing Weather Does Help, It Won't Completely Solve Salvinia Issue

From what we see in this article, we know that the freezing weather can certain kill a lot of the salvinia, however, "it will not completely eradicate it."

Hopefully, the LDWF will take advantage of the time this stuff is knocked in the head and really focus their spraying efforts to hit as much of the remaining weed to possibly rid us of this "devil weed."  Only time will tell.