Pond leaches

Question
We have a back yard pond (S.W. Florida) with goldfish, plecos and 2 turtles.  We have discovered a problem with leaches on our turtles!  We have been picking them off my hand using a little salt and tweezers, but the turtles aren't thrilled with this method.  What is causing this and how can we keep them out?!  We have had a very wet summer which causes constant infiltration of rain water in the pond.  We have done water changes, but that does not seem to help.  They only seem to attach to the turtles.  Is there a chemical we can add that won't harm the fish our turtles?

Answer
Leeches are fairly common in ponds.  Most ponds have leeches that feed on debris.  I have them in my filters mostly.  In your case, you have the less common parasitic leeches that are feeding on the blood of your turtles.  Many parasite medications kill leeches, just look at the labels to see if leeches are listed.  Some of those "medications" can do harm to fish if they aren't dosed just right or if the fish are sick or sensitive.  I'm not sure how they all affect turtles.  I tried to look up information but didn't find much (my own pages kept coming up too even though they barely discuss leeches).  One site said to dip fish (and presumably turtles) in a 3% salt solution.  That stings though, especially on open wounds.  Sorry I couldn't find more.   

Good luck!
Robyn
fishpondinfo.com