Pond Boss Forums AQUATIC VEGETATION Controlling unwanted plants Cat tails in pond

Whats the best way to control cat tails in a pond. The pond (1/4 acre) we want to use for raising fatheads is half full with cat tails. Will the FH use them to lay their eggs on? I have several stacked pallets in for spawning already. Let me know whats the best conditions for the FH. Thanks cat

Pallets should be sufficient. Glyphosate, if you have frogs and want to keep them, not Roundup, but a generic brand. Several systemic herbicides will kill cattails.

Marlcat, around here, other than nuking with chemicals, the only solution I found has been to drain pond, excavate all the rhizomes and roots systems. I saw trials where excavation missed bits of roots and three years later it was all over the place again.
I noticed also that when water drops in summer, those ponds have cattails growing deeper and deeper in the pond, while stable water level ponds only have a rim of plant that never grows deeper than a foot or two in the pond.

Once they are in the pond, I suggest trimming foliage and removing their fruits regularly, so they spend more energy surviving than taking over the whole pond.

Good luck!

Thanks for the info. Will the Glyphosate hurt the FH?

TEH BEST WAY I FOUND WAS TO SPEND 2-3 DAYS PULLING OR DIGGING THEM OUT BY THE ROOTS. AFTER THAT ITS JUST A MATTER OF PULLING OUT A FEW AT TIME THOUGH OUT THE YEAR. MINE ACTUALLY CAME OUT PRETTY EASILY. PULLING OUT THE FIRST FEW HUNDRED IS THE HARD PART. OF COURSE MY POND HAS A SAND BOTTOM WHICH MAY MAKE IT EASIER TO PULL THEM OUT.