Pond Boss Forums AQUATIC VEGETATION Controlling unwanted plants killing coontail

Here's the situation. I'm in south central illinois, the pond is 5.5 acres and the pond has about 40% (2-2.2 acres) coontail. The water is very clear and the coontail is growing in ranges from 4-14ft with the average growth in 8-10ft of water. I've narrowed my chemical choice down to Aquathol K, Super Aquathol K pellets and Sonar (Q or PR). There are other plants present such as Cattails and Creeping Water Primrose that I want to remain in the pond. My questions involve application rates to specific areas while avoiding dilution, application techniques and which combination of chemicals and techniques will be most cost effective. My tools for application are either a 25 gal ATV sprayer or a 40lb manual lawn spreader. I would like to treat the Coontail before it mats on the surface but if there is a significant cost advantage to treating it on the surface then I'll most likely wait.

In my opinion, I would use the Sonar. Not sure I would use the pellet though. Typically with coontail, the sediment is fairly mucky, giving the release of the Sonar a very unpredictable release. I would use the AS at fairly low rates while the coontail is very young and easier to kill. You should be able to control the coontail without damage to the primrose and cattail.

Thanks PondsRX. Do I still have to apply enough chemical as determined by the entire pond size and ave depth or can I effectively spot spray the affected areas? As you know there is a big cost diff between treating 2.2 acres of problem area vs treating 5.5 total surface acres.
Thanks again for your insight.

You will need to use enough for the 5.5 acres. 1 gallon should be enough for the entire treatment. It is expensive though!

GH, quickly we kill quite a bit of coontail every year. You can use the 25 gal ATV sprayer and apply 1.5 gals Reward per weeded acre along with good srufactant ( yes it helps even under water) and maybe add liquid copper if you have algae growing along with the coontail. Your total cost for this would be around $500 far less than Sonar. Aquathol might work as well we just prefer to use Reward and it has worked well for us when applied correctly. Also not sure why you want it b/c water primrose in our case is also invasive.

What if you attached a piece of 3/8 or 1/4" pipe with a couple small holes drilled in a cap on the dispensing end to the sprayer, and released it under water at the depth needed to treat the deeper stuff? I also have a coontail problem but can't spend the 5 bills right now. I rake the areas we fish along with about 100' of the dam occasionally. It's time consuming, back breaking work but a couple times a year helps. I only have 2.5 acres though, not 5.5.

FH

Thanks guys. I appreciate the responses. Greg, with the Reward do you notice any regrowth later in the year? Do you do any underwater injection of chemicals in deeper water and if so do you notice any advantages over simply applying chemicals to the water surface?
We want to keep the primrose for fish cover and for nutrient uptake. In past years it hasn't gotten too bad.
I talked with the people from SePro on friday and they recommended that I use Sonar Q at a rate of 10lbs/surface acre. I talked to a guy recommended to me from the makers of Aquathol and he recommended using Super Aquathol K pellets at a rate of 6.6# per acre ft.

green head,

We have had tremendous success controlling coontail with Aquathol K and the surfactant, Cide Kick II. We are about to treat a 6 acre pond tomorrow for coontail. The last time we treated this pond for coontail was 5 years ago. The Aquathol K treatment worked well in that instance. Remember that Reward needs a minimum of 48 hours of contact time at the recommended concentration, Aquathol K needs 72 hours, and Sonar needs as much as 90 days. So, depending on your pond, your water exchange may play a large role in deciding what herbicide works best for you.

Another reason I like Aquathol K is it's specific gravity is heavier than water meaning it'll sink through the water column even if you apply it only to the surface. Obviously the more penetration you can get to the deeper water, the better. But at least you have a greater specific gravity helping you out.

Like Greg, we prefer to control creeping water primrose as it's very invasive where we are. Cattail, too, for that matter.

Your pond's characteristics will play an important role in what herbicide you choose.

Good luck!

Trent-at what rate would you apply the Aquathol with the scenario I described in the first post. Thanks for the post.

I just looked up Aquathol and it appears I can not use it in Iowa, or atleast it can't be sold here. Why would that be?

FH

ttt

You might contact Estes Chemical in Nebraska. The Nebraska office is the closest that I have found near you. They could either sell it to you or tell you that you can't get it.

402-833-5536

Thanks Dave, I was bumping this to the top for a post that disappeared over the last couple of days for someone else.

This is the thread we looked at when we killed a bunch of coontail this last July using Reward. For some silly reason I've only been seeing a small number of posts for the last couple of days, then all of a sudden this morning there were hundreds of new posts.

You can also contact Aaron Klusmire, he is a fisheries biologist on the forum, out of Omaha, NE. He treats alot of lakes in NE, Ia, MS, ans KS. You can PM me and I'll give you his number.

I am happy to help out with weed control issues in the Midwest. Look up my email and email me direct with any additional chemical/application questions.

I'll definitely give my endorsement of Aaron Klusmire. He's helped me on lots of projects.

Aaron, what happened to the previous posts you've had? Did you need to re-register?

Are you still a moss specialist?

...and if so is there any truth to the rumor that moss grows fat on a rolling stone?


{oh come on, ya had to see that coming}

I saw it comin' all right.

Aaron gets calls all day from people wanting him to control their "moss".

He then needs to educate them--in a nice way of course.

But that's not how it used to be.