How Do I Get Rid Of Aquatic Weeds In My Pond?

To find out the best ways to get rid of aquatic weeds in your pond, you should look at the nuisance species that are existing here, the pond size, the overall ecosystem, and your area's climate.

Want to learn more about this, keep reading!

Onsight Evaluation

This is the very first step that anyone should carry out to properly identify the types of aquatic weeds existing in your pond as well as find out essential physical factors within the waterbody leading to such existence.

An onsite evaluation reduces the risk of choosing the wrong control method, therefore, you will save lots of time and resources.

Aquatic weeds are divided into four main types.

• Emergent plants

• Floating plants

• Submerged plants

• Algae

How To Identify Types Of Aquatic Weeds And The Right Treatment

Submerged Plants

Identifying characteristics

Include watermilfoil, hydrilla, bladderwort, pondweed species (leafy, curly leaf, sago), and coontail.

Submerged plants are easily found underneath the surface of your pond water. They’re generally weak, have soft stems and limply floating upper portions, which can be easily vacuumed, raked, or cut.

Treatments

Submerged weed herbicides

Best suit for well-established submerged weeds that have a special persistent threat.

But you should know that these chemicals will exist in your pond for a long time, which might become a potential danger for living creatures here.

Pond dyes

This method eliminates submerged plants off your pond by covering the water’s surface for a certain amount of time to disturb their photosynthesis.

If your pond is invalided by Eurasian milfoil, take note that they can regrow from any portion of the plant that has broken off. So, remove them thoroughly!

Remove them manually

As stated, this type of aquatic weeds is weak enough to be pulled up easily.

If they have just become established, this is the most appropriate method, also the cheapest. Remove them with hands, rakes, or scissors. Or, try growing other pond plants to create extra shade, which will limit their photosynthesis.

Remember that only cover 60% of the pond as maximum to still encourage the growth of other native plants.

Floating Plants

Identifying characteristics

Include water weeds, spatterdock, water hyacinth, water lettuce, water lilies, and duckweed.

They are commonly found in shallow water ponds (no deeper than 0.5 meters). Their leaves or flowers commonly spread across the water’s surface. If well-established, they might cover a whole pond’s surface, which potentially kills those aquatic plants grown at the bottom.

The good news is floating plants can be easily removed because of their shallow rhizomes and they’re sensitive to aquatic herbicides.

Treatments

• Herbicides - best suit for dense, well-established floating aquatic weeds
• Manual removals by raking, vacuuming, skimming, cutting, or pulling them off from the water’s surface

Combining these treatments with frequent aeration to promote more water movement, hence, floating aquatic weeds can’t reproduce.

Emergent Plants

Identifying characteristics

Include alligator weeds, bulrush, purple and phragmites loosestrife, and some cattail species.

Commonly found along pond embankments or shorelines. A few inches of their body are terrestrial while the rest is aquatic. If not properly controlled, they will spread insanely fast across large distances, which not only impact other aquatic plants but also humans.

Treatments

Emergent weed herbicides

Apply a systemic herbicide directly on bulrush, phragmites, and cattails. Also, set up a couple of inches of gravel at the bottom of your pond or use a thick pond liner to completely prevent the rhizome establishment of these aquatic weeds.

Manual removals

Since emergent aquatic weeds can sprout and grow via any portion of an old plant, cutting them isn’t enough. You should combine with pulling these weeds up from your pond to remove their root system, stem, leaves, and even flowers completely.

The best time to use this method is during August and September and repeat every year until they don’t exist in your pond anymore.

Algae

Identifying characteristics

While many varieties of algae are essential for proper ecosystem functioning, some are not, such as:

• Red algae

• Termed brown algae

• Dinoflagellate

• Euglenophyta
• Golden algae

• Green algae

• Diatoms

• Cyanobacteria

They are divided into two groups: string, or filamentous, and planktonic.

Treatments

When detecting the existence of algae in your pond, don’t be afraid of the quality of your pond water is still good. Test it frequently to make sure everything is in your control. Once you find it spread overly, try one of these treatments:

Naturally occurring microbes

This is an eco-friendly way to break down the algae in your pond without harming other creatures or impacting the water quality.

It might take time to get rid of them thoroughly.

Algae herbicides

The best substances to kill algae in your pond are citrine plus or copper sulfate. Just apply ½ of your pond simultaneously and remove dead algae as soon as possible.

Drain your pond water

This method helps remove a significant amount of algae particles and you can combine it with other treatments. Drain completely your pond, clean it, then refill it with clean water.

Manual removals

Best suit for removing string algae since they are lightweight and can be easily pulled up by hands or a rake.

Pond dyes or shading

Only try this treatment on your pond if it doesn’t have other aquatic plants that grow based on sunlight.

UV clarifiers

Best suit for free-swimming algae in small ponds. This treatment is popularly used because it’s safe for microorganisms, wildlife, and fish.

Conclusion

After removing aquatic weeds completely from your pond, it’s also essential to prevent their reproduction by:

• Not permit runoff from feedlots or chicken coops
• Check if your septic tanks are leaked and seeped into your pond
• Not allow any animals to access the pond
• Remain a nice grass and sod cover around this area
• Not fertilizer it

That’s all for this article. We hope that now, you have known the best ways to get rid of aquatic weeds in your pond. Thanks for reading!