Pond Boss Forums AQUATIC VEGETATION Controlling unwanted plants Duckweed

Hi, this is my first post. I have a 2 acre and 5 acre pond, both are unfortunately completely covered in duckweed. I would like to remove as much as possible mechanically before attempt chemicals, possible to use some type of trash pump to remove the weed and place on the bank? so far all pump manufacturers state the weed would clog the pumps. Also is there a decent skimmer out there to physically skim the weed off the surface? Thanks for any sugestions Anton

Best thing to do is decide you want a pond full of duckweed.... then it will all disappear on its own. Just kidding, some will be along to help you. For now, welcome to the forum.

A close up picture of what you're trying to get rid of might be of assistance for positive identification as a way to start.

Welcome to the forums!

I don't have any experience with this product, but look up "The Pond Hipo". It should be a decent tool for you if you choose to spend the money (I could net out ALOT of duckweed for $2400).

I can't image that a 2" trash pump would have any problems with duckweed, but I haven't tried it either. I imagine a wire cloth basket that would accommodate a king size sheet as a filter and just pump the water into it and the water could run back into the pond. The biggest trick would be getting the most out of the suction side of the hose. You would want to suck off the surface as much as possible to maximize the amount of weed you get per gallon. Not to mention, moving around the pond using the hose as a vacuum cleaner could prove to be challenging. There's got to be a better way.

There are certainly PB members fighting this stuff...you'll get some better advise shortly.

My understanding is that duckweed has a very high reproductive rate.

I am skeptical that mechanical removal will have any effect at all.

Perhaps a biological control such as Tilapia would be an alternative to chemical removal.

Also look for a root cause. These ponds are very fertile.

Perhaps fertilizer run off?

I saw a YouTube video a while back about manually removing duckweed. The company used floating tubes to corral the duckweed and drag it to one end of the pond. Then a crew used wire mesh dip nets to remove the duckweed by raking it out onto tarps then hauling it to a location where it wouldn't end up back in the pond. Very labor intensive and not 100% eradication. But it did remove the vast majority...to the point that the remaining duckweed could be chemically treated without massive amounts of chemicals. I dont think there's any quick fix short of a lot of manual work or massive amounts of weed killer that will likely kill your fish.

I battled water meal weed last year. It covered my 1 acre pond edge to edge. At the time I believed my pond was fishless and decided to use Clipper with a suficant with it with a hand pump sprayer. I also rolled the dice last year and stocked some FHM ,shellcrackers, LMB , and shiners. After the stocking I only noticed mortality due to transport. I had two floaters after the winter ice. I caught one LMB this year and saw another and the FHM are also seen schooling. With duck weed and meal weed if you do not get every piece out it will quickly come back. I believe that water meal weed will double in size every 2 days.I waited for a day where the wind was in my favor and the majority of it was blown to one side and nuked it. This pond was abandoned for 20+ years and is slowly coming back to life.

You may find the link below educational.

I bought some "Wipeout" for a neighbor last year with a small pond...it worked great on his Duckweed....but it's certainly pricey.

Duckweed Info & Products

Thanks for the input. I am going to try using a trash pump setup that I have seen on some videos to try to pump out a lot of the weed before using chemicals.trying to figure out best pump for the duckweed, I am thinking a diaphragm trash pump would be my best bet , I am thinking less chance of clogging versus regular centrifugal pump?