Pond Boss Forums AQUATIC VEGETATION Controlling unwanted plants Cattails, Need Advice!

My pond was finished May of 2005. As of today, the deepest place at the dam is about 6 feet, there is about another 12 feet to go before the pond will be completely full. This past weekend I noticed what I am sure is small cattails coming up all around the pond, they are about 12 to 24 inches long. I was very dissapointed as I am not a fan of cattails because I have seen them take a pond over. My questions is; should I try and spray the cattails now with some kind of chemical or will they die out when the pond eventually fills with another 12 feet of water
over them?

My 1 acre pond filled up in early Winter after being completed in late Summer, so it's not a direct comparison. FWIW I have just pulled the small cattails (as much of them as I could get out) as they have appeared and this approach has been successful at keeping me cattail-free.

There is a smaller (maybe 1/3 acre) pond 1/2 mile away that has a very small watershed (and, I strongly suspect, a seeping dam) which took much longer to fill up. IIRC it was about a year and a half. The owner has never done anything to control the cattails, from what I can see. The cattails that started growing first are still there, now maybe 20 feet away from the shore, looking very healthy. They have been joined by more that cover the area from there to the shore. NOTE: I do not think the original cattails are in anywhere near 12 feet of water.

I would hit the cattails ASAP now that they have appeared. Even if the ones ending up in 12 feet of water end up dying, I think they will "colonize" the edge of the pond as it moves away from them, causing faster cattail growth as the pond fills than if you remove them now.

If you don't have a lot of them and you can check and remove them from the pond regularly, I don't think spraying would be necessary. But if you have a lot or cannot pull them out regularly, spraying would probably be preferrable. Either way, show no mercy.

Thanks Theo, What chemical would you recommend?

I wouldn't - no experience or training. Try a search for cattails (you may well want to narrow the results by adding control) in the "Aquatic Vegetation" categories, "Questions & Observations", and maybe "Help". There should be a lot of threads on chemical cattail control. I know there have been one or two within the last month

Try this one.

http://www.pondboss.com/ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=14;t=000146#000002