Unwanted visitors for the holiday week-end

Space Coast lifeguards, gearing up for one of the biggest beach-going week-ends of the year,  are warning beachgoers to watch out for stinging jellyfish that are washing ashore. Yikes !! Already, authorities report maroon-streaked cannonball jellyfish have turned up by the hundreds along the beach, mainly in the Cocoa Beach, CapeCanaveral areas. Several hundred people have reported being stung.

Yellow and purple flags were flown along county’s 26 towers and lifeguard stations to warn residents about the creatures. The cannonball jellyfish secrete a sticky mucus-like toxin that can cause minor irritation and even irregular heartbeats in some people, experts say. Lifeguards have purchased several gallons of vinegar, a common remedy used to soothe the pain from minor jellyfish stings.