How to weed a pond?

Andy Hamilton · Wed Jun 11, 2008 8:18 pm

My pond is getting really out of control as far as the plants are concerned. I don't really know what I am doing when it comes to dealing with a pond, should I leave it all to grow??

There are loads of frogs living in there, I have counted 5 I think common frogs, one thats about 3cm (one inch) long and one that is even smaller. Also pond snails, skaters and all sorts of other life. So I really don't want to disturb anything; but it almost seems that the frogs wont have anywhere left to live if it carries on growing.

contadino · Wed Jun 11, 2008 8:45 pm

When I was a kid our next door neighbour put some koi carp in our pond and they cleared it of weed. I remember it didn't happen the year they went in, but the next it was all sorted. The pond was 1/3rd of an acre and he only put 4 fish in. They were a special sort of koi that had voracious appetites for the particular type of weed, so if you go down this route, you'll need to source the right fish carefully.

ocailleagh · Wed Jun 11, 2008 9:20 pm

Yup, fish will totally eat the weeds..as well as anything else! That includes frogspawn and tadpoles. I found this out after I had moved out of my parents' place, when the year after they stocked my little frog pond with koi. The few times that frogs have spawned in there since, the spawn hasn't even lasted til the hatching stage. Although it might seem drastic, your best bet is probably to just remove a large chunk of the weed. If also removing some of the pond snails etc worries you, maybe you could transfer it (quickly) to a local public pond or something?

Post: # 108673Post **MKG** » Wed Jun 11, 2008 9:33 pm

Put some of the pond water in a bucket, drag out a lump of weed and dump it in the bucket for a while - it gives all of the inhabitants a chance to get out of the weed so you can put 'em back in the pond. Oh, and wear some kind of gloves, because I will absolutely guarantee that one of the other things you have in your pond is leeches.

Flo · Post: # 108852Post **Flo** » Thu Jun 12, 2008 5:22 pm

Find out if your weeds are pond friendly weeds or not. If so - pop in some hungry fish. Otherwise get a very long handled rake and gently pull offending items to shore, take suggested action to allow wildlife to be returned to pond and then dispose.

If pond friendly you might be able to donate or sell to other pond holders.

You could have a look at http://www.hintsandthings.co.uk/kennel/fishpond.htm or http://uktv.co.uk/gardens/item/aid/52 or http://www.pondexpert.co.uk/LookingfAfterYourFish.html for a bit more background information

tussilago · Fri Jun 13, 2008 6:41 pm

Maybe if you pulled alot of it up by hand and then left it by the side of the pond, all the 'tenants' of the weed have a chance to work their way out of it and (hopefully) back into the pond.

If you did this late in the day the pond life would have more of a chance to get back during the cool of the night (plus no hungry birds to pick them off).

Just an idea!

Millymollymandy · Sat Jun 14, 2008 6:11 am

I could lend you one of my ducks and they'd clear your pond in no time!

Thomzo · Post: # 109439Post **Thomzo** » Sat Jun 14, 2008 7:49 pm

tussilago wrote:Maybe if you pulled alot of it up by hand and then left it by the side of the pond, all the 'tenants' of the weed have a chance to work their way out of it and (hopefully) back into the pond.

If you did this late in the day the pond life would have more of a chance to get back during the cool of the night (plus no hungry birds to pick them off).

Just an idea!

Yup - this is what I do. I use a kids fishing net to scoop blanket and duck weed out of the pond. Then leave it on the side for a day or two for any inhabitants to find their way back into the pond. Once a year pull up and reeds, irises and other tall weeds. Divide them off and put the best bits back. I never need to feed my fish. They feed themselves in my pond and seem to thrive.

Zoe

Michelle · Sat Jun 14, 2008 10:46 pm

The best time to clear a pond is autumn when there are far fewer beasties that you may disturb/kill. Don't do it in winter - you may disturb hibernating creatures. I have heard conflicting advice on leaving the weed by the side of the pond - some wildlife experts say that anything trapped is actually unlikely to make it back into the pond and will die.

Frogs, water beetles, larvae etc don't mind very weedy water at all - they are actually more likely to survive (better hiding places, more oxygen) than in an open pond. Suddenly clearing the surface in the summer may lead to algal blooms - you want to aim for half to two thrids surface coverage to prevent too much light entering the water. Weedy ponds are only a problem if you have fish and because people may fall in, not realising it was a pond.

So your safest bet is to wait it out and give it a clean up in autumn. You can get blanket weed out by winding it round a stick, the rest you can just pull up

Edited to add - Having said that, i got sick of grass smothering my native pond plants and yoinked it all out recently. But I couldn't see how things could get trapped in long stalks of grass! Will be doing it properly in autumn!

Andy Hamilton · Sun Jun 15, 2008 12:39 pm

After looking at all the advice I think I will go with the last bit of advice from Michelle that is do nothing! Well do nothing until the autumn. It is thriving with life and I certainly don't want to harm the frogs. I think that the little frogs might just be youngsters and I want them to stay.

Cheers for the advice folks.