Pond experts - what is it and how do I kill it?

[snowwolfe]

Starting to completely cover our lake and it needs to be gone

[Hickory]

Talk to your county extension agent for the proper and safe way to manage your pond.

[dilly]

This is the kind of posts where those who know this kind of thing might benefit from knowing at least what part of the country you are in.

Isn't there a member named fishman (approximately) who knows all about ponds?

[MarkP]

Looks like Duckweed.... not sure what to use but I know there are chemicals that will kill it.

[hoosierlogger]

Duck weed. Koi love it. About 10 8-10" fish per acre will annihilate it. You have to put them in As soon as it starts to show on the surface. If you wait till it is covered do not expect results that year. That stuff multiplies like illegal immigrants getting handouts from Obama.

[snowwolfe]

The pond is in Tennessee. From my limited online research my best guess is it is duck weed or pond weed.
The leaves are 2-3 inches long and connect to a root system that runs along the bottom of the pond

[oneokie]

Grass Carp will do the trick if you do not want to use chemicals.

[Iron Whittler]

You might give Dunn's Fish Farm a look see. They may be able to help you with your problem. Iron Whittler:castmine::swagemine:

[BrentD]

The leaves are 2-3 inches long and connect to a root system that runs along the bottom of the pond

Not duck weed.

[Hawks Feather]

Not duck weed.

Yea, Duck Weed is much smaller and floats.

[dale2242]

We have weeds that look just like that here in Southern Oregon that covering a lot of the shallow ponds.
It worse the last couple of years with the mild winters not freezing I down.
It will literally cover the entire surface...dale

[HarryT]

Looks kind of like nymphaeaceae (dwarf lily pad), are there any flowers visible? Glyphosate will kill it if you don't want to use grass carp.

[WILCO]

http://www.pondmanagement.org/

[WILCO]

http://trophypond.com/

[WILCO]

http://greenwaterfishfarm.com/aboutponds.htm

[WILCO]

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=8&ved=0CDgQFjAHahUKEwjGrtHOl_rGAhULkA0KHV4eDDA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fweeds.utk.edu%2FWeedTemplate_file s%2FWeedControlManual%2FFINAL%2520COMPLETE%2520DRA FT.pdf&ei=rYy1VYakJougNt68sIAD&usg=AFQjCNHRX2Pk61E_8euY-VMTGZ3xrKHpNw

[MaryB]

Lily pad is great cover for fish....

[Lonegun1894]

I can't identify the lily pad type plant, but see some underwater weeds in the spaces between leaves, and a big cluster of it in the lower right corner of your photo that I hope for your sake ISN"T Hydrilla. It is an invasive species we have in a lot of lakes here in Texas and it will try to choke out everything you want in that pond/lake.

[NavyVet1959]

I can't identify the lily pad type plant, but see some underwater weeds in the spaces between leaves, and a big cluster of it in the lower right corner of your photo that I hope for your sake ISN"T Hydrilla. It is an invasive species we have in a lot of lakes here in Texas and it will try to choke out everything you want in that pond/lake.

Or worse -- water hyacinth...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eichhornia_crassipes



One of the fastest growing plants known, water hyacinth reproduces primarily by way of runners or stolons (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stolon), which eventually form daughter plants. Each plant can produce thousands of seeds each year, and these seeds can remain viable for more than 28 years.[1] (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eichhornia_crassipes#cite_note-1) Some water hyacinths were found to grow up to 2 to 5 metres a day in some sites in Southeast Asia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southeast_Asia).[2] (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eichhornia_crassipes#cite_note-G-2) The common water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes) are vigorous growers known to double their population in two weeks.


One of the lakes that I spent a lot of time around in my younger days got infected with that ****. They fought it, but they never could seem to get much headway.

One interesting fact about hydrilla and water hyacinths though is that they actually absorb the contaminants in the water and make it cleaner.

[lavenatti]

When I was growing up in Northern NJ a friends pond used to get covered with the stuff. His dad would send us out in a rowboat with fine mesh nets and five gallon buckets.
We'd scoop the stuff up all day while rowing around and throwing it at each other. We never beat it, we'd clean an area up and it would be back in no time.

[Lloyd Smale]

Im in the process of trying to kill mine. I used http://www.ebay.com/itm/251776342997?_trksid=p2060353.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT It is killing it but ive had to spray it a number of times. I don't know if it would have killed it the first time or not. It didn't appear to killing it all but I only let it go 3 days. Ive now sprayed it 4 times over a 2 week period and its about 3/4s dead and most of the remaining leaves have black spots on them so they will probably die soon. I know I sprayed round up on it many times and it didn't touch it.

[snowwolfe]

The stuff in the lower right corner is just rotten stuff that tends to collect on the edge of the pond. Mostly old grass.
Thanks for the tips and keep them coming

[bearcove]

Grass carp are the only long term solution. No chems to buy over and over. They will eat it all. Ours eat the grass clippings when we mow around the pond.

[snowwolfe]

I am new to the pond stuff. Any suggestions on where to pick up a couple grass carp?
Or will poi do as good of a job?

[bearcove]

Grass carp. Find a place that sells bait. They will have them or can tell you who they get bait from.

[Alvarez Kelly]

Grass carp will certainly do the job, but make sure get the sterile "triploid" variety. Grass carp get real big. Once vegetation is picked over, they will eat anything. I have caught a 32" grass carp on a worm. I have seen them over 4 feet long. These fish can reduce your ponds holding capacity for your preferred sport fish.

Something to consider...

[Fishman]

There are many species of pondweed and that appears to be one of them. Tripod grass carp at 5 per acre will certainly help long term.

If you want to kill it, 2% glyphosate with a good surfactant like Inergy will work. If you add 0.5% Imazapyr it is a death ray on every emergent aquatic plant but water primrose. Killing any weeds this time of year poses risks due to oxygen depletion. It is best to treat only a portion of your pond.

That is definitely not hydrilla or some other invasive species. It's actually good habitat as long as it doesn't pevent fishing.

Anyone feel free to pm me with questions.

[dkf]

I'd do it old school. A piece of chain link fence and some angle iron welded together. Strap fast a cinder block or two for weight. Get several hundred feet of strong rope and attach it to the device.

Put it on the shore on one side of the pond (sunk to the bottom) and take the rope to other side of the pond. Use a truck, tractor or winch to pull the drag you made across the bottom of the pond. Repeat until you removed what you want. No chemicals to buy and the drag is reuseable for decades. This is what the rod and gun club I belong to does to keep their big pond clear. You could even compost the weeds and spread it on the garden.

[bearcove]

And they are good eating, not as bony like native carp

[SharpsShooter]

I am completely appalled that one our more intelligent members here have not suggested the obvious solution…

First, you put a snorkel on your John Deere riding mower…[smilie=1:


SS

[NavyVet1959]

I am completely appalled that one our more intelligent members here have not suggested the obvious solution…

First, you put a snorkel on your John Deere riding mower…[smilie=1:


Up until all the rain that Texas had recently, the ponds in my neighborhood had been dry for so long that we were having to *mow* the bottom of them. They *used* to have fish in them, but well before the ponds completely dried out, the fish died (overheated or lack of oxygen in the water probably) and really created a "special" aroma for the neighborhood.

[bearcove]

Its called the desert SW means it gets dry. sometimes.

[Fishman]

Up until all the rain that Texas had recently, the ponds in my neighborhood had been dry for so long that we were having to *mow* the bottom of them. They *used* to have fish in them, but well before the ponds completely dried out, the fish died (overheated or lack of oxygen in the water probably) and really created a "special" aroma for the neighborhood.

Yep, my deer food plot got flooded, so I stocked it with some fish. It's a pond now (tank if you are in Texas), but for how long? Was also using it for a 4 wheeler fun zone.

[Piedmont]

I believe that is a type of pennywort though it is hard to determine size from your photo. We have a type growing in the lawn. They are edible. I put a few of the lawn variety in my salad occasionally. The water variety has a longer stem. There is a video on youtube by a poster EatTheWeeds on pennyworts and it covers the water variety as well. That man goes by Green Deane and he also has a website www.eattheweeds.com (http://www.eattheweeds.com). Search pennywort. As mentioned there are three types. If it isn't one of those this eat the weeds fellow probably has it on his site or in a video anyway and you will know what it is.

[Old Ironsights]

Stock answer:

"There is no problem sufficiently complex that it cannot be resolved with the judicious application of High Explosives...."

In your case... your pond becomes weed free... and bigger. :twisted:

[BrentD]

And dry...

[Old Ironsights]

Ponds re-fill...

And you get a bunch of fish too... you just need to pick them up off the ground.

Win Win...

[NavyVet1959]

Stock answer:

"There is no problem sufficiently complex that it cannot be resolved with the judicious application of High Explosives...."


I like the other version of that saying:

"Most problems in live can be solved by the proper application of either high explosives or penicillin."

:)

[BrentD]

Or alcohol. :)

[Old Ironsights]

Or alcohol. :)

Preferably 99%+ mixed with nitromethane and ammonium-nitrate prill and aluminum lake...

Makes a nice Lake at that...