Pond Boss Forums AQUATIC VEGETATION Controlling unwanted plants How to do I get rid of a large amount of hydrilla

I live in South Africa and I have a small dam in the Drakensberg mountains. The dam is filled with hydrilla weed and I just can't seem to shake it. I hve looked a other forums and I have seen ideas on how to get rid of the stuff. I would like to get some grass carp in the dam but I am not sure they will survive because of the climate. I really need to get rid of this stuff as soon as possible. Please can you help. Thanks

Hi Dylan and welcome to Pond Boss. You're our first poster from that part of the world. What is the climate there? If it is anything like North Texas, with highs in the 107 to 110 degrees and winter lows in the teens, they would probably make it OK. What are the temperature ranges? I'm sure that you would have to look at import/export regulations on buying them. Your water quality might also make a difference on whether they would survive but they are pretty tough.

Would it be possible to control any nutrient inflow that allows the hydrilla to flourish?

What steps have you taken to eradicate it so far?

Do you have any pictures of your place? We would love to see what ponds are like in your part of the world.

Greetings and felicitations, Dylan.

I will second DD on White Amur probably being able to live where you are. Kwazulu-Natal's Latitude range is just about the same as Texas'- 30 +/- about 5 degrees.

P.S. There are other hydrilla controls that may work for you as well. Standby for information from other folks here.

Thanks for replying. There is a small problem with the nutrient intake because the water comes from a spring on the mountain next to the dam. So no, there is no way of controling the intake I also thought about draining the dam but can't do that because no pipes were put into place to do so. The dam was built on a stream. The climate varies quite drastically from 32 degrees celcius in summer to the low negatives (-5 degrees etc.) in winter. The only thing we have really done is raked it out but as I have read in other forums this dosn't work and the stupid stuff just grows back even stronger and thicker. I have heard there is a bug of some sort you can put into the water? Thanks for helping out. how do i add a picture? haha

Welcome to PB. See this. You may know this info already.

http://aquaplant.tamu.edu/database/submerged_plants/hydrilla_mgmt.htm

See the Archive thread on posting photos.

WRT draining, check out siphons.

Dylan, I have just recently did battle with Hydrilla in my pond. I can tell you that Hydrilla is extremely invasive. The first year I noticed the Hyrilla it was not that pervasive. The second year the Hydrilla had taken over the entire pond. With the Hyrilla already mature my choices were limited, I choose and applied Aquathol. The Aquathol provided a slow kill, almost 4 weeks, but it did eventually work. This year, having done my due diligence, I used Sonar. My results are posted in the thread below.

http://www.pondboss.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=171679#Post171679

The Aquathol provided a topical burn down of the Hydrilla. The Sonar, being systemic, is supposed to provide a longer term of control. The longevity of control in my case is to be determined.
I can tell you this, do not let Hydrilla continue to grow. It will take over the entire pond. I have never seen anything grow as fast as Hydrilla.
Ron

We are constantly being warned that Hydrilla is 40 miles off the Michigan border in Indiana. The Midwest Aquatic Plant Management Society's chart says that is spreads by turion formation and fragmentation.

Hey my boss is from South Africa (Orange Free State)! You should give her a ring sometime and talk to her about hydrilla control. Shoot me an email and I'll get you two together.