Zebra mussels aren’t souvenirs, and firewood isn’t a travel buddy

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A quiet invasion is reshaping Ontario’s lakes, forests, and wetlands—and most of the spread is accidental. We break down the top invasive species threatening biodiversity and outdoor recreation, then share smart, simple steps every camper, paddler, angler, and hiker can take to stop the damage. From zebra mussels and round goby to emerald ash borer, Asian longhorned beetle, garlic mustard, buckthorn, purple loosestrife, and dog‑strangling vine, we explain how each species changes habitat, why it matters for fish nurseries and forest health, and what early warning signs to look for on the water and along the trail.

You’ll hear practical field tips you can use right away: clean, drain, and dry boats and gear; never move live bait between waterbodies; don’t transport firewood; and learn to spot D‑shaped exit holes in ash or dense reed stands of invasive phragmites. We also talk reporting tools like EDDMapS Ontario, working with certified arborists, and joining local stewardship days to pull invasive plants and restore native groundcover. Along the way, we share personal stories of tree loss, park closures, and shoreline changes that show how fast an infestation can turn a favourite campsite or launch into a very different place.

If you love paddling clear bays, fishing healthy lakes, and hiking under diverse canopies, this is your action plan. Let’s protect our shared backyard with consistent habits and early reporting so conservation teams can act fast. Enjoyed the conversation and want more practical outdoor tips? Follow, rate, and share the show with a friend who camps Ontario—then tell us your invasive‑species sightings and wins.

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Episode Transcript

SPEAKER_01 (00:00):
Hello and good day.
A welcome to the Super GoodCamping Podcast.
My name is Pamela.

SPEAKER_00 (00:04):
I'm Tim.

SPEAKER_01 (00:04):
We are from Supergoodcamping.com.
We're here because we want amission to inspire other people
to get outside and enjoy campingadventures such as we have.
Today we want to talk aboutOntario's top ten invasive
species and what you can do asoutdoors people to try to help
prevent or repair the damage.
First off, we've got someaquatic species.
So zebra mussels are number oneon the list.

(00:26):
They're small freshwatermollusks, which are not the
yummy kind of mollusks.
They're just the destructivekind of mollusks that attach to
hard surfaces and they filterlarge amounts of water
disrupting food supplies forother other species.

SPEAKER_00 (00:41):
Next is the round goby.
It's an aggressive bottomdwelling fish that competes with
native species and consumes fisheggs.

SPEAKER_01 (00:50):
Not the caviar kind.

SPEAKER_00 (00:51):
Probably not.
I don't think we have caviar inthe Great Lakes.

SPEAKER_01 (00:55):
Invasive fragmites, which is the common reed.
It's a tall wetland grass thatforms dense colonies and crowds
out native wetland plants.

SPEAKER_00 (01:04):
Eurasian water milfoil.
Am I doing that right?
I think so.
All right.
Submerged aquatic plant thatforms dense mats.
Oh, yeah, I know what we'retalking about.
It impedes water recreation andfish habitat.

SPEAKER_01 (01:16):
Yeah.
And then we've got some forestor terrestrial species.
Not extraterrestrial, butterrestrial.
Emerald Emerald Emerald Ashboris an invasive beetle from Asia,
first discovered in Ontario in2002, that has killed millions
of ash trees by tunnelingthrough their vascular systems.
From what I recall about ashtrees, is they are very

(01:40):
connected and underneath theground.
Like what you see as a bigforest or stand of ash trees
might actually be all oneorganism.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 (01:50):
And the other the other bad one with so we had an
ash tree out front, had pasttents.
Yeah, the systems have to be cutjust so that they don't so we
could uh limit the spreadbecause that's terrible now.

SPEAKER_01 (02:05):
Yeah, my brother had too, and they had to cut down a
big beautiful one in theirbackyard.

SPEAKER_00 (02:10):
Yeah.
It makes for less ashwood forCorey and Maria to uh to make
paddles of, I'd just say.
Uh Asian longhorn beetle attackshardwood trees, including
maples, poplars, birches, andwillows.
I think that's what they had tocut a bunch down at Kilbear for.
Don't hold me to it.

SPEAKER_01 (02:30):
Um we'd been there before that, and then shortly
after we were there.

SPEAKER_00 (02:34):
We saw, yeah, we saw saw pictures of of like entire
parking lots stacked to the tothe to the roof, but but huge,
huge stacks of just uh uh Ihundreds and hundreds of trees,
maybe even thousands of trees.
I don't know.
Just crazy.
Uh actually Thomas and I saw oh,we're going back maybe half a
dozen years uh on a trip toAlgonquin.

(02:56):
We saw Asian longhorns.
Oh, we also saw some in uh inKillarney, which is just
terrible.

SPEAKER_01 (03:03):
Uh garlic mustard, which sounds delicious, but I
think it's not such a goodplant.
Um herbaceous plant thatthreatens hardwood forests and
impacts native wildflowers likewhite trillium, which is our
beautiful provincial flower inOntario.

SPEAKER_00 (03:16):
Uh number eight, per purple loose strife.
It's a wetland plant thatdisplaces native vegetation in
marches, mark marches, inmarshes and wetlands.

SPEAKER_01 (03:26):
And I have to I have to recall my father being very
concerned about purple loosestrife, and it's got to be 40
years ago now.
Yeah.
Uh buckthorn is a shrub thatforms dense thickets and forests
and displace displaces nativeundersury plants.
So anything that's underneaththe canopy.

SPEAKER_00 (03:44):
Here's a nasty sounding one.
Dog strangling vine.

SPEAKER_01 (03:46):
Yeah, keep your dog safe.

SPEAKER_00 (03:48):
Climbing vine that threatens monarch butterfly
habitat and native plantcommunities.

SPEAKER_01 (03:52):
So, in general, as far as trying to prevent this
happening, prevention, I guess,anatropathic doctor prevention
is always the goal.
Um, so general prevention iskeep things clean and drain and
dry.
So if you're using a boat uh ora trailer or fishing equipment,
when you're moving betweenbodies of water, make sure that
there's nothing attached, likeespecially the zebra mussels

(04:13):
attached to the bottom of yourboat and drain it if there's
liquid in there and um makingsure that your fishing equipment
is also not transporting eithervegetation or zebra mussels or
something from one body of waterto another.

SPEAKER_00 (04:26):
Yeah, I just I I'm sure I saw a story either
earlier this week or or maybemaybe the week before, where
just a just a standard, youknow, pull them over, check
them, check them out.
Somebody was taking a boat fromone province to another, uh, a
little farther out west, and uhwhen they checked the bridge,
they found zebra mussels.
Ah so that would have been I'msure that that happens,

(04:48):
unfortunately, but get rid ofthe stowaways.
Yep.
Uh so oh, so don't movefirewood.
Uh that there's your emerald ashborer and the uh Asian Longhorn
Beetle.
Uh the Canadian Food InspectionAgency prohibits movement of
firewood and and ash materialsoutside designated areas due to
emerald ash borer.

SPEAKER_01 (05:08):
And report sightings.
So if you happen to spotsomething that looks like it
might be an invasive species,use apps like EDDMAPS, EdMaps,
Ontario, or contact localconservation authorities to
report new invasive species.

SPEAKER_00 (05:24):
I'm pretty sure I can't think of what the app is,
but I'm pretty sure I've got onethat will identify uh native
Ontario species.
Um it also identifies invasiveones.

SPEAKER_01 (05:35):
If you happen to have Google Ends, that'll
that'll do the trick too.

SPEAKER_00 (05:38):
Yeah, assume well I'm also assuming you have
connection because a lot oftimes we go places that don't
for that reason entirely.
Uh aquatic species.
Inspect and remove visible plantmaterials and animals from
boats, trailers, and equipment.
Never transport live fish or usethem as bait in different water
bodies.
Which, yes, I I seem to haverecall reading that somewhere

(06:02):
because I we used to useminerals when we were kids.
I tend to use worms now ortwinkly uh tackle, but uh yeah,
don't don't uh no more minerals.
Avoid disturbing sediment ininfested areas and clean
anchors.
Oh, good one, and fishing linesthoroughly.

SPEAKER_01 (06:17):
Terrestrial plants, so learn to identify invasive
plants and avoid purchasing themfor your garden.
Uh clean your hiking boots,vehicles, and equipment when
moving between natural layersbecause seeds might be stuck in
the mud on your bottom of yourboots and then you're moving the
seeds around.
Participate in organized removalevents for species like garlic
mustard and buckthorn, andchoose native plant alternatives

(06:38):
for your landscaping.

SPEAKER_00 (06:39):
Forest pests.
So follow quarantine regulationsfor moving wood materials.
Uh support biological controlprograms were available, which
would be probably not terriblydissimilar to don't move plants
from here, you know, try try tokeep your boots clean, don't
take seeds with you even.
Monitor tree trees for earlysigns of infestation and work

(07:01):
with certified arborists forproper tree management.

SPEAKER_01 (07:04):
And then take community action.
So uh join local stewardshipprograms and invasive species
removal programs.
Here, like we've got a friendsof group in the in the
neighboring ravine.
So they will do they'll do uhwalks, nature walks, and just
point out what different plantsare, but they also will do um

(07:25):
cleanup events like um Earth Daykind of cleaning up literature.
But they also will do uh wherethey'll go through and try to
help remove some of the invasivespecies, um, or friends of
groups like Friends ofAlgonquin, those I'm sure that's
probably there's a lot of uhconservation areas that have
friends of groups as well.
Uh educate others aboutidentification and prevention,

(07:47):
support municipal and provincialinvasive species management
initiatives, and follow actionplans developed by Ontario's
invasive species programs.
So the key is is earlydetection, rapid response, and
ideally prevention in the firstplace, um, by everybody that
uses outdoors because that's allit's our playground.
We like to keep it safe.

SPEAKER_00 (08:08):
We do darned invasive poopy heads.
Go back where you came from.

SPEAKER_01 (08:13):
Uh that's it for us for today.
Thank you so much for listening,as always.
If you would like to connectwith us, we're on all the social
media, and you can always emailus.
We are at high atsupergoodcamping.com.
That's hi atsupergoodcamping.com.
If you have any questions,feedback, concerns, and or if
you have some ideas of thingsyou'd like us to talk about.
We'll talk to you again soon.
Bye.
Bye.