I have some cattails in a corner of my pond. So far I have kept them in the corner.I was told to cut them down in the winter to keep them from spreading.I have done this the last two winters. But it is alot of work and I get covered in seeds when the cattails bust open.Just wondering if iam wasting my time or if it really helps. Thanks

it really helps, its the only way i know how to stop the migration
i cut them down to the top of the ice with a very sharp machete type device

I've always been under the impression that the best way to stop cattails from spreading is to pull them out by the roots(Rhizomes),
this is the hard way, but they will still spread thru their root system.
I have them on my floating islands but they haven't spread anywhere else yet.
By the way welcome to the pond boss forum Cellog, it's a great place.
It's amazing how fast cattails can grow even up here in cold country. The first photo was taken April 24, and the second july 6.

Adirondack Pond, can you start a thread and talk about your floating islands? I'm very interested in adding some of these to my ponds. Thanks

Spraying cattails with Aquastar (the genereic equivalent to Rodeo) works well on cattails, use a good surfactent in the mix.

http://www.agrisel.com/aquastar.html

edinbowen, I was lucky when I built my pond, it was a large gully damed at both ends. About a month after filling in the spring of 2006 the 2 islands popped up. The ground in that section of the pond was always wet and spongy, and it separated from the rocky bottom, then floated up. The roots of the trees that had been there are holding the islands in place(sometimes you get lucky).
I am planning on building a small floating island this year and I'll post it when I finish the framework(hopefully by Feb.).
Here is a link to a discussion on the PB forum on how to build a floating island. floating islands

Thanks AP, I'll take a look. I have looked at the floating islands for sale but to try and save a little $, I'll try and build one. Looking forward to seeing your progress.

I have had great luck controlling cattails with a product called AquaPro. Its relatively cheap for a herbicide and it works great! There are no fishing restrictions and it is easy to apply.