# DUCKWEED!



## c. j. stone (Sep 24, 2006)

Had it bad exactly three summers ago. Had to use "Sonar"(duckweed killer) to handle it. Extremely expensive product said to last two summers. It worked but I've been seeing some small patches near shoreline. Scooped out what I could with a pool leaf dipper tool. Anyone have/got this problem? Is there any organic, non hazardous concoctions available available that won't break the bank?


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## Lawman60 (May 17, 2010)

I youngster who's not afraid to do a little work, and a pool skimmer 
Yes, CJ, I'm still alive.


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## beaver (Sep 28, 2010)

Get some ducks...


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## flyman01 (Jan 23, 2013)

Could introduce a grass carp to your pond and I am sure that will eliminate the need for any costly herbicide to control it. Years ago while I was visiting a friend who has a 7 acre pond and noticed that it was covered over with Duckweed, I asked him if he was doing anything to control it. He informed me that he harvests it and sells it to local farmers as feed for his cattle, pigs, chickens and other animals. Said it actually was rather lucrative if I remember his response correctly; I would look into that as an alternative as well.


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## c. j. stone (Sep 24, 2006)

Lawman60 said:


> I youngster who's not afraid to do a little work, and a pool skimmer
> Yes, CJ, I'm still alive.


John, I am happy to see your post-and very glad you're still kicking!! Best of health to you, my friend! I know you've had your problems and Praying for you.
Also, I had amurs in the pond but had to replace most of them after a bad experience with a crystallized copper sulfate treatment four years ago. They really can't do much against duckweed since it's so prolific and grows on top of the water. Beginning to wish I didn't have a pond-or ducks/geese flying in bringing crap from other area ponds that I have to deal with.


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## beaver (Sep 28, 2010)

What is the purpose of your pond and how big is it? Is it a fishing pond, or decoration?


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## Lundy (Apr 5, 2004)

beaver, do you own a pond?


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## beaver (Sep 28, 2010)

Several. One is in the background of my profile pic. 

Sometimes I wonder if the more we try to manage our ponds with chemicals, the worse they get. I always hear people fighting with these weeds , and our ponds are doing great with no interaction at all. Sure we have some native weeds here and there, but nothing that's a problem. In fact the fish and wildlife love them. I figure maybe it's because our ponds are all at least an acre or larger in size. I would imagine a smaller pond would have more issues taking care of itself so to speak. I would also imagine that a decorative pond would require more maintenance because some might consider a few cattails or duckweed unsightly.


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## n-strut (Apr 14, 2010)

Diquat will control it, much cheaper than sonar.


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## c. j. stone (Sep 24, 2006)

beaver said:


> Get some ducks...


Ducks don't seem to eat it!!(if they do, I haven't noticed any difference-and I do have a resident flock of 25-100 mallards that live here abt. 8 months out of the year.) The Pond is around an acre and was originally for fish(ing). Now, just a headache! I aerate 24/7/12. Farm runoff from a nearby field is my biggest problem! Have a half dozen(younger) amurs who are years away from making a dent!
Well, now(summer 2018!) I have an full coverage infestation "bigger" than when I used the "Sonar" product a few years ago! I can't really afford the cost for it presently, plus, even though Jones Fish where I bought it said it "shouldn't hurt" my established trees, it has all but completely killed my beautuful, elegant, weeping willow trees!! Killed my pink(store-bought/planted) water lilies as well! Tried skimmng(by hand!) it earlier when just starting near shore. Total waste of time! Still wondering if ANYONE has used(successfully) any other water weed killer(that Won't kill my remaining surrounding trees!) that dealt with Duckweed successfully!??(I do plan to look at Diquat but know nothing about it!) Also, saw some interesting videos on utube for homemade skimmers that the users seemed happy with.


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## Lawman60 (May 17, 2010)

c. j. stone said:


> Had it bad exactly three summers ago. Had to use "Sonar"(duckweed killer) to handle it. Extremely expensive product said to last two summers. It worked but I've been seeing some small patches near shoreline. Scooped out what I could with a pool leaf dipper tool. Anyone have/got this problem? Is there any organic, non hazardous concoctions available available that won't break the bank?


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## Lawman60 (May 17, 2010)

c. j. stone said:


> Ducks don't seem to eat it!!(if they do, I haven't noticed any difference-and I do have a resident flock of 25-100 mallards that live here abt. 8 months out of the year.) The Pond is around an acre and was originally for fish(ing). Now, just a headache! I areate 24/7/12. Farm runoff from a nearby field is my biggest problem!
> Well, now(summer 2018!) I have an full coverage infestation "bigger" than when I used the "Sonar" product couplevyears ago! I can't really afford the cost for it presently, plus, even though Jones Fish where I bought it said it "shouldn't hurt" my established trees, it has all but completely killed my beautuful, elegant, weeping willow trees!! Killed my pink(store-bought) water lilies as well! Tried skimmimg it earlier when near shore. Total waste of time! Still wondering if ANYONE has used(successfully) any other water weed killer(that Won't kill my remaining surrounding trees!) that dealt with Duckweed successfully!??(I do plan to look at Diquat but know nothing about it!)


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## Lawman60 (May 17, 2010)

Still having problems with duckweed C.J.? I've been building and learning about ponds for more than 40 years now so perhaps I may be of a little help. But first let me say this...
I do not subscribe to herbicides and do not EVER recomend them. They are just too harmful, as they cannot be contained.
So, duckweed. You know, duckweed is not a bad thing at all in moderation. It provides an inviroment for fish fry as well as all the little critters at the low end of the food chain. It also helps to control algea blooms. But if it becomes invasive, yes, it can be a problem. If you find your pond surface covered with duckweed, it is usually a sign of out of control levels of nitrates, sulphates, and phosphates in the pond. Which point to too much organic sludge at the bottom. In this case, the mat of duckweed can only exacerbate the problem by raising ammonia levels, which can lead to not only a fish kill, but a dead, stinking, cesspool. 
So, how to prevent it first. Well it eventually may come down to the point that the pond has passed it's lifespan. Face it, there are ponds that are beyond fixing. Ponds that are surrounded by trees are bound to not be able to handle the many years of sludge building up from the years of autumn leaves. And without dredging, they will eventually become fond memories. But with that being said, let's address too much duckweed.
The first thing I recomend, is easy and quite inexpensive. Goldfish. Ot even amur, just plain old cheap goldfish. They will feed heavely on duckweed. They will grow large, and can be removed by netting or fishing, if needed. Ducks do eat duckweed, but it's not at the top of their menu.
Second, may be labor intensive, but removing duckweed by skimming is by far the fastest way. There are products made for this task, even automated skimmers, but I cannot comment on these, as I've no experience with them at all. 
I suggest you do some web searching at this point. I know that there are also a number of products that add live enzymes and helpful bacteria to a pond, that actuallyfeed on the sludge build-up in older ponds. There are also some that feed on the duckweed itself.
If I were you, I'd hit Petsmart and buy a bunch of feeder goldfish first. They can tolerate being stocked into warm water at this time of year, as long as you let the water they come in warm up by floating the bags for a while first. You may have to pay more visits to the pet store, as they will soon be noticed and added to the diets of fish, raccoons, and raptors that notice them. And as they begin to chip away at the duckweed, you can research other non toxic remedies. 
Good luck!


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## Fishingislife (May 20, 2004)

c. j. stone said:


> Had it bad exactly three summers ago. Had to use "Sonar"(duckweed killer) to handle it. Extremely expensive product said to last two summers. It worked but I've been seeing some small patches near shoreline. Scooped out what I could with a pool leaf dipper tool. Anyone have/got this problem? Is there any organic, non hazardous concoctions available available that won't break the bank?



Only two ways to get rid of duckweed.... Dredge pond or use chemicals. I paid $200 for a pint of chemicals in 2004 and never had the duckweed come back in the past 15 years.


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## M R DUCKS (Feb 20, 2010)

anyone have any luck with Tilapia ? I know they don't winter, but... . from google: Blue Tilapia, feed entirely on algae (both planktonic and filamentous) but do not readily consume submerged vascular plants. On the other hand, Redbelly Tilapia primarily feed on submerged vegetation rather than algae.
Cost ?


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## c. j. stone (Sep 24, 2006)

I had 8-10 20+ year old(Very large!) amurs in my 1acre pond prior to the "incident" with the(crystaline) copper sulfate treatment I alluded to earlier. It killed most of them(have since restocked 5 or 6 fingerlings a couple years ago). Once they matured, I didn't have any issues with any pond weeds at all for several years. Then a fibrous algae problem one year that they couldn't seem to control, or just wouldn't eat. I remember them sucking/skimming the surface like vaccuum cleaners, likely consuming any small amounts of the emerging duckweed which again wasn't ever a problem. I aererate the pond with a Gast vacuum pump piped in reverse to produce air discharge(making it an air compressor.) This is how we first aererated Wingfoot lake when Goodyear owned it. One 1/3 hp will easily aererate a one acre pond. Those things will run continuously requiring only infrequent changes of the carbon vanes(self lubricating), and what some large pet stores use to run All of their tanks. Anyway, enough "history", I'm going to Diquat for my future endeavors.


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## Lundy (Apr 5, 2004)

Yes, I have put tilapia in my pond 4 of the last 5 years. Costs me around $500-$600 a year for a 2/3 acre pond. When I put them in and once the start breeding they control algea very well. They die late fall every year, small ones get eaten by the bass when they get slow, big ones turtles, birds, *****, and we scoop out what’s left which isn’t many. They grow fast and have babies often.i went this year not putting them in as a test. I will stock them again next year. It is said they even eat bottom muck


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## c. j. stone (Sep 24, 2006)

Lundy said:


> Yes, I have put tilapia in my pond 4 of the last 5 years. Costs me around $500-$600 a year for a 2/3 acre pond. When I put them in and once the start breeding they control algea very well. They die late fall every year, small ones get eaten by the bass when they get slow, big ones turtles, birds, *****, and we scoop out what’s left which isn’t many. They grow fast and have babies often.i went this year not putting them in as a test. I will stock them again next year. It is said they even eat bottom muck


I thought people stocked them to "harvest" before winter, then eat or sell them? Do you know if they also eat duck weed?? My two sons and and I to go to Red Boston's Medina Trout Farm often during Fall and through the winter catching rainbows. We'd bring our "limits" home in coolers with aerators and put them in our pond to catch after the ice went off(a bonafide "blast"!). We could catch them up til the water temp got to 75 degrees, usually mid to late June. They got sick and died after that! Then, if we hadn't caught, cleaned and froze them to eat, I had to net them and put them back in the woods for the raccoons! One year, We c&r'd too much, had an early hot spell, and I put abt 50 or so back there(we weren't fond of eating them! Occasionally we'd smoke them-not bad that way!)


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## Lundy (Apr 5, 2004)

I do not harvest and eat tilapia, they are the waste collectors of the water world.There are there to eat algae and provide food for the bass. Duckweed is not high on their list of foods while they will eat it if their other preferred foods are not available.


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## hezy (Sep 8, 2011)

Sonar is way to expensive. A better alternative is Propeller used to be Clipper. Does a good job on Water Meal and Duckweed. Apply in spring before it gets bad.


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