Pond Boss Forums AQUATIC VEGETATION Controlling unwanted plants What to do with dead/dying pond vegetation after treatment?

I live on an approx. 2 acre pond that is owned by the HOA. This year we had a large growth of what I guess to be duckweed.

The weeds go from shore to about 6 feet out on average. The HOA had the pond treated on May 9th with "Captain". This week the weeds appeared to be dying and there was a noticeable bad smell.

My neighbor and I raked about 20 yards of shoreline to open a space for fishing. I don't mind doing this if it is worth the effort, would removing these weeds be preferable? Did the copper treatment kill them, or will that only kill algae? Will the weeds just decompose on their own eventually?

Is there any benefit to raking/agitating the dead debris on the bottom of the pond, will that help it break down if I keep at it?

Thanks!

Is the pond aerated?

If it is, then that will do what raking accomplishes. If not aerated, raking will help but for the amount of constant work coupled with the slow noticeable progress, I think the work will most likely be soon abandoned. It would be much better to get the HOA to install aeration. The addition of air (raking the bottom) helps decompose the materials.

Removal of organic material never hurts. When it dies and starts decomposing it helps fuel/start the next round. Granted, it won't eliminate the problems, but it does help if someone is willing to do the work. If possible remove the material to where the decomposed nutrients will not re-enter the pond.

As far as the chemicals and their use, some pro will have to chime in.

Thanks for the input! The pond is not aerated, I had the HOA price it out last year and it was too much for the budget.

I actually enjoy working back there, so I think I'll keep up with the manual removal for now.

I composted my FA along with with some cow manure/hay compost and it worked well. So a compost bin might be a good place for it.

+1 on compost. I compost my FA as well. After removing it from the pond, I leave it on the shore for 2 or 3 days to dry. Makes it way lighter and easier to handle.

Good idea but don't leave it too long to dry. If it gets too dry it gets brittle and sticks to whatever it is laying on. Then it breaks up in pieces and hard to handle. Catch it just the right moisture and a pitch fork handles it well.

Captain is only good for algae not weeds. The pic you posted doesn't look like duckweed either. I'd stick to Weedtrine D or Reward if you are unsure of the plant. The dead biomass just goes to the bottom so try using microbes. Best thing to do is treat early with Reward or Fluridone to keep the plant mass down to a minimum and keep the pond dyed.

Will removing the plants as they die not remove the chemical too? I just figured that if the plant takes in the chemical and then we rake or pull out the plant that this will dilute the chemical.

If you treat with herbicides make sure you let it kill the plant and it drops to the bottom. If you want to be proactive on the dead biomass on the bottom I would look to using muck remover bacterias or a small suction dredge. Removing live or dead vegetation is painful but people do it. Treat early on young plants and you will not have the extra dead biomass to worry about. I have a few clients where we used fluridone and the plants are dead yet floating on the surface. A small algae treatment or good rain will knock it down. Aeration and bacteria is the best answer to counteract the dead waste.