Pond Boss Forums AQUATIC VEGETATION Controlling unwanted plants Milfoil Weevil

Has anyone here on the Pond Boss message board had any first hand experience with using the Milfoil Weevil? If so, was it expensive? Thank you for any information.
Bob

For those who want to know, the Milfoil Weevil is a natural way to rid yourself of that pesky Eurasian Milfoil problem in your pond or lake. You can do a search on google to find some interesting articles and how effective it is. There is not much info on where to get these little buggers so that is why I'm inquiring here on the most informative message board there is regarding pond and lake management. Thanks for any input.

Bob,

I'll certainly file that away for future reference!

There is also a natural enemy of alligator weed, a type of flea beetle. Don't know if it's commercially available.

Water primrose is decimated by a certain caterpillar, but it seems to survive.

Hope you find the milfoil weevils.

Not so much related to millfoil, but is causing me sleepless nites is a recurring bladderwart problem. I've tried Reward and get some relief, but it never terminates the growth. The lake is 25 plus feet deep and spring fed. Probably has as much flow through as .5MGD Lake size is 57 acres. I've thought about grass carp, but am concerned the carp will consume desired plant growth on the bottom as well. Any thoughts? D

The midfoild weevil is available from Enviroscience in Ohio. They did our fish survey, and I just saw a presentation at the Michigan Lakes and Streams conference of it. They had the sesame seed size bug there and the plant. It works for some better than others, there are mixed reviews of it. I guess that plant is cross breeding with other plants now. It isn't cheap.
Lynda

Yep, you are right Lynda (2catmom). I shot off an email to Enviroscience in Ohio and got a reply very quickly. The email was quit long so I will only post the part about cost.

From Nancy Cushing who is a Research Biologist from Enviroscience:
[With most lakes we incorporate pre- and post- application monitoring surveys in our projects. Under this program we perform initial baseline surveys at the time of stocking and then survey again at the end of both the first and second seasons to make sure the weevils are reproducing and spreading around the lake as expected. The surveys allow us to chart our progress and provide the association with detailed progress reports. The survey component also includes fees associated with stocking the weevils and generally costs between $4,000 and $5,000 for a single stocking program and for most lakes within 400 miles of our office. In addition, we add the cost of the weevils which are sold in units of 1,000 at $1,200 per unit. We do not install less than 2,000 to 3,000 in any one area of the lake. Most of our clients will place three or four thousand in several locations around the lake. In most cases, it probably does not make sense to spend less on the weevils than you do on the survey, so our smallest lake projects are generally at least $10,000 and have gone up to $150,000.]

As you can see these little buggers cost about $1.20 each. I have a privately owned 15 acre lake and in the summer time the milfoil is terrible making fishing and boating difficult.

Here are some photos of my lake and you can see the milfoil bloom.
(http://www.rvanorman.com/images/gallery.asp?foldername=/images/lake).

Thank you for all input to this thread. Thanks.
Bob

Hi DBR:
Ever consider Harvesting? With so much plant material, harvesting may be your best bet. Killing it and having that much biomass floating to the bottom of the lake can't be good.
I just saw a presentation of that too at Michigan Lakes & Streams Assn., some went from chemicals to harvesting, depending on the plant problem and size of their lake.
Rule/permits are different in every state.
Lynda

Bob - I'm no help on the milfoil bug, but your lake is amazing! Really enjoyed the pics.

2catmom,
The lake that has the bladderwart infestation is 57 acres. Probably 30% of it is affected by the weed. To harvest that much bladderwart will require a considerable amount of time and the labor to do so will be too much cost to entertain. Thanks for the
suggestion though. Chemically speaking is there a better choice than Reward or Sonar for this problem? D