Something is Staining the Feet of Southern Maine Beachgoers

Editor's Note: This article was written by a Townsquare Media Northern New England radio personality and may contain the individual's views, opinions or personal experiences.

This past weekend my husband's siblings came to the Seacoast for a visit. It was so nice on Saturday we spent the entire day at Long Sands in York, Maine.

I noticed today (which at the time of writing this is Tuesday) that Steven's tootsies were looking FILTHY on the bottom. They almost looked like he had been walking on asphalt.

I judged him for a good ten minutes and then he pointed out that mine were pretty dirty as well. Color me embarrassed! We retraced our steps and started wondering if maybe it was from our trip to the beach.

Sure enough, after a quick Facebook search, I found The Town of York Maine Parks and Recreation Department posted that someone noticed black residue on the sand and it is currently being investigated.

They don't believe it is oil or a petroleum-based product according to Maine's DEP Communications Director, David Madore.

According to some Facebook users, people who went to Newcastle beach over the weekend are also dealing with a case of stained feet. It doesn't come off with soap and water no matter how hard you scrub!

I then went down a Reddit rabbit hole where of course other people lamenting about their stained feet. Someone said they had the same problem in Maine last year and it was caused by these very small bugs that wash up on the sand.