Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations Roudup On Beach

I have a beach area on my pond and it is very time consuming to keep it weeded. We use the pond for swimming and fishing. Is it OK to kill the weeds with Roundup?

Nope. Roundup is not approved for aquatic use and is harmful to your amphibians in your pond. There are formulations of glyphosate that are approved for aquatic use, but even then I usually recommend them for plants around the shoreline. Reward or Weedtrine D are good multi purpose aquatic herbicide and algaecide for a beach, but if you can identify exactly the type of weed you want to kill, you can get a specific product for the task.

Yeah I made this Roundup mistake last summer!!! I got it a little to close to the shore and found a few dead minnows so that's a big no, no!!

Might not want to use the roundup!

Uh oh! I have been using round up for 8 years on my pond! I have never seen a problem. I must have been lucky!

I've used it in a pinch and never noticed any problems either. It seemed I had more frogs them ever that year too!

agreed with CB1
I use it sparingly on cattails to provide that tangy taste that drives the muskrats wild.

Don't tell anyone but I've used it along with a surficant to kill Cattails and Yellow Pond Lily (spatterdock).

You can tell anyone you want that I've used it to kill Cattails.

Roundup has gotten a bad rap from the frog huggers due to it's surfactant. I have also never had problems. Only problem I have is the price. Too many generic options out there now that the Monsanto patent protection is gone.

When I asked my state DNR and county extension what to use on cattails they suggested roundup. When I asked them about what I've heard regarding it's effect on amphibians they said that is an over reaction. I've been using it around both of my ponds. One pond is just a duck pond and has zillions of frogs, still has zillions of frogs. Does all roundup contain surfactant? I think the stuff I buy does not since my labels tell me to add surfactant. So I use dish soap or car wash soap for a surfactant and it appears to work fine, it's cheaper too.

If your worried about drift just put some on an old mop and wipe whatever you want to kill.

Or put on a long rubber glove (like a dishwashing glove) then a cotton glove over that. Just dip your hand in the stuff and run the plant thru your gloved hand.

Monsanto was supposed to cut the price by 50% this year, at least that's what the commercials on the Ag channel said.

Ahhhhh! The Glove of Death!! I am going to use it on the cattails that lived after last year's attack.

The cattails that lived last years attack are actually new shoots coming up. The best time to kill them is when they are very short. Then the biomass does not build up and take all year to decay. In Southeast Michigan new shoots will start coming up from now until just after the 4th of July or so I would guess.

I dont know all the politics or the science, but in Illinois it is against the law to spray any herbicide not approved for aquatic use in or around your pond. Always follow the label for any herbicide use.

Glyphosate still wouldnt be my first choice for submerged lake weeds anyhow.

At our ag dealer it is $3.65 /Litre. It was $8 two years ago.

I have a lot of grass growing in between the rocks surounding my pond. Is there a non-toxic method to killing the grass and other green plants that won't harm the fish and other creatures near the pond.

I mean other than pulling them out by hand. Some are embeded pretty deep between large rocks.

Didn't mean to steal the thread, just looking for another weed killer.

Roundup has been $20/quart for the past several years around here. I might get generics for $10/quart if I'm lucky. I think $3.65/liter is dirt cheap. I hope it gets that low around here. Must have somthing to do with regulations that drive up cost maybe? Oh, and the only non-toxic way I know other than pulling weeds is boiling water. I've used this on the grass growing in the driveway cracks. It seems to kill them root and all. Not sure if you can boil enough to do around your pond however.

That would take a few BTU's to pull off