Removing pond and lake weeds
*Written by: Peter Van Smith
Aquatic plants are
beneficial for ecosystem as they are a source of food, shelter and oxygen to
the wildlife living in the pond. But they spread quickly and can restrict the
activities in the Pond. A lot of ponds gets practically ruined by aquatic
plants, these ponds literally choke the pond. Some of the common pondweeds that
are usually found in ponds are Milfoil, Hydrilla verticillata or Hyrdilla,
Vallisneria spiralis or Eel grass, Potamogeton crispus or Curly leaf pondweed,
Typha anqustata or Cat-tails. These weeds ruin the aesthetics of the shoreline
and make the pond or lake virtually unusable. Therefore, below find some
prominent methods of removing pond weeds.
Manual removal of weeds:
The first step in this direction is to manually remove the weeds. Though it's
very much possible that all the weeds are not removed and some of the weeds are
left inside the pond attached to the debris.
Use chemicals:
The second
step is to use chemicals and aeration techniques as the plants that grow in
nutrient rich soil at the bottom of the pond that helps in killing the weeds
that stick at the bottom of the lake. It's advised to use both aeration
techniques and insertion of natural bacteria which will ensure that the growth
of plants is limited.
Weed Rakes &
Harvesters:
In extreme scenarios and to rid of the weeds fort a longer duration
of time is to use proper weed cutter and rake as a harvester will take the work
out of the job. Specific tool like Weed
Razer weed cutter and used to eradicate
tough weeds like milfoil and hydrilla. This tool has a thicker serrated blade
on both edges which allow for a push/pull sawing action to be used for weed
invasions in ponds.
Other Weed Control Products
and Strategies
Other methods like
AquaScreen, is yet another effective way of controlling the growth of weeds. It
is a screen that is placed on aquatic plants and stops them from growing, that
is often thought of as a good way to get rid of aquatic plants.
Another way is to use a
screen of landscaping fabric or canvas. It's easy and can be done at home. UV
strengthened AquaScreen is also available in case you want to use this as a
barrier to control sunlight.
Conclusion:
In the above
scenario, manual removal is ideal and if a mechanical excavation by shovel or
bulldozer isn't feasible then using an aquatic tool like the cutter and rake is
most cost effective and environmentally safe procedure.
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