Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Cleaning up a farm pond

So, we have a small, spring fed pond on the ranch. It has pretty decent numbers of bluegill and large mouth bass. Problem is that we are only out there every couple of weeks and in the last few years we have been getting more and more overgrowth around the pond and moss in the pond itself. Any suggestions for controlling unwanted overgrowth in and around farm ponds?

Glyphosate.

Spray and watch it die.

Do you spray it on both the reeds along shore and on the moss in the water?

I don't want to harm the fish population if I can help it.

Have you set up ant Wood duck nesting boxes. That looks like prime real estate.

when we had ours, i just kept it mowed.

We do have some nesting wood ducks in the area every year. I have not set up actual boxes for them, but that is a great idea. Especially if I can get it cleaned up a bit.

There is a bit of a steep bank around it except for the far end, too steep to get a mower down in there. Maybe could reach some of it with a sickle mower.

That photo looks exactly like our farm pond and trees, including the same problem you have with cattails and moss. We had several nesting boxes put in and several pairs of ducks.

A grasscarp or two will clean out the moss.

Spray the reeds. It won't do anything to the moss in the water. It's more effective if they're actively growing. Also consider that all that dead vegetation will be a mess.

Looks like taking a dragline to it would be the best long term option. Rid the unwanted vegitation and add more overall depth to the pond. Maybe not the cheapest option tho.

Yes, be sure to get White Amur's. They will not breed and you will only have what you put in, less any that dies. They will get quite large too. Good eating if the water is good, but they do have "broomtail" bones like a carp and buffalofish. miles

Spray the entire plant above water. Use an 80/20 surfactant because cattails have waxy leaves, and spray half the pond, leaving the other half until the first area starts dying. Then spray the other half. This allows the pond to adjust oxygen wise and toxicity wise. It shouldn't kill the fish if done that way.

One of my ponds was that way until I sprayed it 3 years ago. Got good coverage and 3 years later... NO cattails. Nothing died either. Not even the frogs. It may kill some moss too.

You can kill back the moss in the water too with appropriate herbicide. The trick is to spray a little at a time.If you spray it all the dead rotting vegetation will kill your fish

I'd never thought about using RoundUp on cat-tails. Never researched it because I just assumed it wouldn't work. Learn something new here everyday. I know it has replaced my weedeater for the most part, much to the griping of my wife who doesn't like my band of dirt around every obstacle in the yard....

Use an aquatic approved glyphosphate with a recommended surfactant, the amphibians in your pond will thank you and you won't get in trouble for an improper herbicide application.

http://www.domyownpestcontrol.com/rodeo-herbicide-p-1354.html

http://www.domyownpestcontrol.com/aqua-star-herbicide-p-1820.html

I guess wildcats think alike. I trim once a year with round up, around many things in my yard. My neighbors are mixing gas and oil, trying to get their string trimmers started. I don't need that,

Bet there's a lot of snakes in that tall grass!

.I also spray around trees. However, we have a couple highly visible ones in the front yard. With those, I put down a little weed fabric covered with bark and add a couple decorative rocks. It keeps certain people happy.

I used to have a problem with cattails plugging up an irrigation ditch. It took several applications but Roundup got rid of them.