Before their arrival, the zebra mussels were unknown in Quebec. But they rapidly made themselves known and became the object of a real psychosis. Just as if aliens had landed in Quebec, filling us with fear of the unknown, the terror of not being able to find a way to control their influence. The panic is natural. Fear of the unknown triggers the imagination and very often leads us to invent catastrophic scenarios.
Nobody can tell.
Lets look at this more closely. Zebra mussels invaded the Saint Lawrence river that fast, most probably because they found excellent living conditions in its waters. But nothing suggests they could invade our lakes as easily. As a matter of fact, an encouraging study has just been published on the subject. It is a sizeable obstacle in Quebec, where most lakes have low pH waters.