# remove cat-tails?



## socdad

Need info on the best (simplest) way to remove cat-tails from a farm pond. Do not want to harm fish & frogs in the pond.


----------



## [email protected]

Try this http://aquaplant.tamu.edu/database/emergent_plants/cattail_mgmt.htm


----------



## rebu

I know of no easy way to getting rid of cattails. I don't know of any herbacides that can do the trick. They must be dug up, and when done, you have to get all of the root. The trick is to get them before they really spread. On my pond, once or twice a year, I walk around and pull up a stray here and there. After 20 yrs, I still don't have them (knock on wood)!
If they're thick, you're probably better off mowing them down occasionally, but that will not get rid of them.


----------



## Bassnpro1

If you have a bunch of them, the best way to do it is to get in the water and start pulling them out. It will be alot of work, but it will get the job done


----------



## bigfish73

I worked on a golf course and all we would do is cut them off under the water. 

Bigfish73


----------



## rebu

It depends on whether you want to get rid of them temporarily or permanently. If you just cut them under the water, they grow back. If you just yank them out, the stalk comes apart from the root system. They will grow back. You have to dig them out in order to do it permanently.


----------



## T-180

Maybe I just got lucky, but I used "round-up" on them & they went away for good. I used the concentrate & mixed it for heavy weed control (like ivy)& they were dead in less than a week. That was last spring & there's still nothing coming back up. Did the pulling & digging thing for 3 years & will never do that again.


----------



## Nikster

T-180 said:


> Maybe I just got lucky, but I used "round-up" on them & they went away for good. I used the concentrate & mixed it for heavy weed control (like ivy)& they were dead in less than a week. That was last spring & there's still nothing coming back up. Did the pulling & digging thing for 3 years & will never do that again.


In My Opinion that stuff leech's into the whole ECO of things & then transfers to what ever feeds in or from it. Catch a fish & see it it's got a extra eye ball, maybe a extra growth that should not be there???????? That stuff is just nasty for a pond. 
But does work GREAT on Poison Ivy or Oak. Good stuff.

Nik


----------



## [email protected]

The Bad Thing Is The Red Wing Black Birds Like To Nest In The Catails. The Frogs And Marsh Peepers Like The Tails. So Does The Muskrats. I Have A Good Size Pond And Can Not Pull Up The Roots Nor Get Rid Of Them. I Now Have To Try The $$$ Round Up ,it Cost A Lot.if You Get A Problem With Duck Weed Let Me Know, I Have The Safe Cure For That One.
Moose


----------



## fishslime

Biological control =

Stock Hippos or Manatees


----------



## Bob4246

Back in the early '80's we used Round Up on the cattails on a buddy's pond. It worked great on the cattails, but we went for a swim afew days later and that stuff burned the s**t out of our skin... Red rash, itching etc. I wouldn't recommend it, especially with the environmental issues of the 21'st century.


----------



## [email protected]

Glysophosphate is what makes Roundup work and is available in several formulations labeled for aquatic use. Monsanto, who makes Roundup, also makes a product called Aquamaster. The main difference is the surfactant used in the formulation. Aquamaster recommends you add a surfactant.

It's generally a bad idea to use a product that isn't labeled for aquatic use in a pond for many reasons not to mention it's illegal. The glysophosphate isn't the nasty stuff (although some may disagree) it's the sufactant...the stuff that cuts through the waxy part of the leaf and makes it stick.

If you have an infestation, you best bet is kill off the weeds chemically then maintain by pulling any the few that pop up each year thereafter.


----------



## Fishman

fishslime said:


> Biological control =
> 
> Stock Hippos or Manatees



haha long time no see!

I use AquaPro combined with Cide-Kick II personally, glysophate systemic herbacide very comparable to round-up only approved for aquatic useage.

2oz's of each to a gallon of water kills them all in one or two applications. Usually one good spray on a nice sunny day is all it takes. Kill's them to the root.


----------

