Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations keeping pond cleaned/mowed

Do you keep your pond edges mowed and the damn? If you do what do you use to do it? Mine are too steep for my riding mower or tractor - years back I bought a self propelled sickle mower and it worked great - they are expensive however. Anyone use one of these and where did you get yours?

I use my older DR walk behind brush mower to mow sideways on the steep banks on both sides. Close to the water I use a walk behind string trimmer because it's light enough to not pull me into the water. There are types of slope mowers that you ride, but they are $$$$$. On top of the dam, where it's mostly flat, I use a regular lawn tractor or my old ZTR mower.

I would think walking a decent line trimmer may be a safe option. For versatility, I picked up a Stihl Professional KombiSystem a while back for use on steep creek embankment and love it. You can get underbrushing blades for it as well as a wealth of othr attachments for various use/needs.

/c

The inside of my dam is too steep in most places to use my wheeled string trimmer sidewards. So, first I use my regular trimmer to do the closest 2 ft to the water. Then i use the wheeled trimmer down the slope to get the top of the dam which, of course, causes an aching back from having to pull it back up the dam every time.

A sickle sounds great. I may start paying someone to do mine in the future.

Thanks for the link on the Stihl, my Echo is just giving me fits now, and it is a one-blade difficult to change system. I think the metal brush cutter is rusted on. Cannot get it running when it is cold out! I figure 12 years of constant abuse qualifies for retirement.

To answer the question:
Along the very edge of the pond, I use the brush-cutter metal blade on a weed-eater. With this I can lob off the cattails to the root, which controls them. I can even put my waders on and nail them below the water surface out pretty far if needed.

On the level dam and sides I use my zero-turn.

On the dam backside I planted many wildflowers which are helping to choke out trees and other less-desirable plants. I was thinking prairie grasses next year as they are very deep-rooted and can be great for erosion control. This is the last area I want to mow in the world as my butt cheeks get a good workout trying to grip the seat. I mowed it last year with a large 3-pt sickle mower and brush hog, but only to get the cattails under control so I could get some flowers going again. I spot treat with Roundup on the willows and whip-grass. By letting things get tall but not woody provides some privacy.

Dealing with the uphill side that could eat machinery? It is steep and leads into the pond.

I hand-pull the willows, spot-treat with Roundup, and pray it never gets out of control. I cannot run a heavy machine there unless it is amphibious too. Luckily when the pond was first built, the topsoil washed off in a heavy downpour and the remaining subsoil has the nutrient content of flat rock, so everything but willows have a tough time being anything resembling "vigorous" there.

I use a 9' sickle mower and tractor to mow around the edges, and my tractor with rotary mower to mow the back of dam. When mowing the backside I have to go straight up and straight down as it is a 3:1 slope.

what brand sickle mower do you use?

my goal is to not have to use a weed eater to go all the way around a one acre pond - way too much effort for me

see if you can find a Jari brand on a craigslist search in areas close to you. Used those a lot growing up. They had large steel wheels and could chop trees down. Certainly not designed with today's safety features in mind and great bodily harm could be done if they got away from you on a slope.

a picture and other suggestions can be found here:

brush mower options:

New Holland 451. I wouldn't want to cut hay with it, but it works great for mowing around pond.

YOu should be able to find one between 1-2K depending on condition. Mine was faircondition and think I gave 1400.00 but it needed a little TLC work.

I say this everytime this topic comes up, but if you buy a three point sickle mower, get a belt drive instead of a pitman.

i have a new zero turn mower and a farm tractor with a bush hog. the bush hog cuts almost as good as a finish mower. i have a mix of bahia, bermuda, etc. i have some places that are kinda steep for my liking. i can easily keep the usable places mowed. it's the back of the dam and i have some steep banks on both sides (not pond bank water edge). i am thinking about using a local lawn service with 72" mowers to do it a few times a year for me from now own. my mower is a 60".

i have a jd gator. i thought about buying a tow behind mower for it. it is very stable due to the low center of gravity.

What does that gain? All I know is on non a regular field with light brush less than 1/2 inch stuff, the blades get worn on our non belt mower pretty quick. They are quite difficult to replace.
I hit a wire fence with it this year that the deer dragged into the field, and screwed it up good. Going back to a brush hog.

Belt drives allow the tractor to stay level on top of the dam, while angling the cutter bar down the sides of the dam. The rigid pitman arm styles will not accomodate such an angle without binding up. It works the other way too.....you can stand the cutter bar up at a much steeper angle with a belt drive that has the cutter bar pivot on the same centerline as the drive sheave/shaft.

Sickle bars are for mowing hay and grasses. Brush hogs are for mowing....well, brush. The secret to using a sickle bar on a dam is to use it regularly and fairly often, before brush gets a hold. No way would I use a sickle cutter to clear an area.

Perhaps a flail mower would be a better compromise.

I was referring to a walk behind self propelled sickle mower - the one I use to have had large wheels for stability - does the DR mower work as well as one of these would?

https://www.jarimowers.com/product/monarch-mower/

I have a DR brushmower, but honestly i prefer a straight shaft weedeater with a brush blade. Much faster and easier to maneuver.

thanks I will look into one

What I like about sickle is it keeps most of the grass out of the water. I bought a pole hedge trimmer to use around dock .

I have a straight shaft Poulan Weedeater too. It's heavy and wears out my back and shoulders after a half hour or less. It uses dual .095 lines or a triangular brush blade. It has shoulder straps but they are awkward and hard to use. You may have a better, lighter model.

I prefer my walk behind dual line trimmer with .155 line for the edges. I actually leave about a one foot wide strip of foot high grass at the average water line for the frogs to have some shelter.

I built an adapter that mounted a hedgetrimmer to a straight shaft trimmer, and rolled along the ground. Works great when cutting right next to the water. I have a couple vids and photos here somewhere, just linked to them a few weeks ago.

One thing I like about a sickle-bar mower is it doesn't mulch all the critters like a brush hog. The one we have has no wheels, it just sticks out into thin air. It really is meant for level ground, which doesn't exist in my area. It's too bad it is such a wimp on brush, it is so idea for being a good steward of the ecosystem.

I've seen many nesting turkeys and pheasants with legs cut off from a sickle bar mower, I've heard of fawns having the same but haven't witnessed that. Some guys run a bar with chains dangling off the front of a tractor to try and get nesting hens to vacate a nest before the mower gets to them. Thanks.

Bryan