WEED MANAGEMENT FOR PONDS
Weed management in a pond begins with proper maintenance of the body of water in question.
Recent advances in data collection, chemical and non-chemical treatments, equipment and education have given us more tools to manage bodies of water.
Beyond proper maintenance of a pond, consider these steps of weed control:
- IDENTIFY THE WEEDS SPECIES. This is important in choosing the right herbicide or algaecide.
- TAKE OXYGEN READINGS prior to any application to determine if levels of oxygen are high enough to prevent adverse effects to wildlife and plants from the chemical application. Applications should be postponed if the oxygen level is 5.8 ppm or lower.
- CHOOSE THE PROPER HERBICIDE/ALGECIDE based on the mandates of the label, including extent of vegetation, weed species controlled, current of proposed water usage, oxygen levels present, and other environmental conditions.
- KEEP THE BODY OF WATER in question free of organic matter. Lawn clippings and other organic matter that inadvertently enters ponds are frequently overlooked by both lawn specialists and homeowners. The simple act of mowing too close to a pond and allowing clippings to get into a pond encourages algae growth
