Dredging this topic up as I now have a patch of unwanted cattails. Went to do some manual labor on them, and my lower back quickly realized spraying would be much more advantageous. Most are out of water right now as my pond is down a good 6 feet with a couple more feet to go before the rainy season.

So my question is:
Whats the best way to attack the problem?

Can you simply spray the base of them, or do you need to treat the entire plant (mine are over 10 feet tall). That would use alot of spray and drift might be an issue.

Would it be better to cut them down near the base with a machete or something, and treat the freshly wounded bases?

Thanks in advance for any help.

GSF are people too!