Pond Boss Forums POND CONSTRUCTION Selecting a site Walnut danger...?

Brettski:

I will give you my limited knowledge of Walnut toxicology:

1) My Grandpa used to soak Black Walnut husks in a bucket of water for somewhere between a couple of days to a week. He poured the resulting liquid on the ground and the irritative effects would cause earthworms to surface for bait collection. (This fact seems most pertinant to your query.)

2) Black Walnut sawdust should not be used as horse bedding because when mixed with horse urine, it gives off a toxic gas. (Just a seemingly useless piece of trivia.)

3) The treeline North of my pond (75 to 200 feet away from the water's edge) contains a half a dozen or so large (12" dbh or bigger) Black Walnut trees. These cause a small amount of BW leaves and nuts to reach the pond, which so far have not caused any problems I am aware of. (All things in moderation.)