Pond Boss Forums AQUATIC VEGETATION Controlling unwanted plants Millfoil

Hello Everyone, this is my first post. I am located in southern Ontario and presently have a 1/2 ac pond with Walleye, blue Gill, and perch and one really bad mill foil problem. this past summer we dug another 1/2 ac pond right beside the existing. Our plan is to pump out the first pond and move the fish to the new pond and renovate (the pond is only 5 years old). We cant afford to completely re dig the pond as there is 200 ton of rock around it that we don't want to replace, basically we are going to dig it deeper and make the sides steeper, then connect the two ponds. My question is if I wait until the mill foil is up and hopefully the seeds have germinated, then pump it dry, is there any chance that I can kill it off. We are not allowed much up here in the way of chemicals, the only thing I have access to is round-up that the farmer uses on the fields. Any thoughts. Thanks

Is Milfoil weevil an option for you?

Add enough pond dye and you will choke the light off that the milfoil needs to grow, add the dye at ice out while it is still dormant and laying flat on the bottom.

I had milfoil in my pond a few years ago, pond dye in the spring followed by gully washers that muddied up the water two years in a row and it now completely gone. No chemicals used, I kind of miss it but it was getting out of hand when I first tried the pond dye. The first year I used it conservatively and it kept the milfoil from growing deeper than 4ft which was ideal for my pond.

Keep in mind that your fish community developed over time in the presence of milfoil, its sudden departure will upset the balance in your pond. You may need to harvest some fish to get things back in balance. It's likely you could end up predator heavy and light on forage once your milfoil cover is gone. Young of the year and small forage fish will have a lot fewer places to hide.

That seems like a simple solution. Does the pond dye affect the plankton?

The simple answer is yes but how much really depends on the amount of dye you use. Aquatic vegetation needs three things to take off, light, nutrients, and the right temperature. Take any one of those away and they won't do well.

I have seen lots of posts about crawfish controlling vegetation. Do they eat Milfoil?

That I do not have an answer to, I do not have crawfish in my pond. My dad's old pond had crawfish and lots of milfoil.

Bill, I have researched the weevil and it seems like it is too much money for a small pond, however there is a lake about 2 hours from me that the Ministry has put them in and it is really working. I wonder how many I would need to get them going? As for Dye I was thinking that too as this spring we had some really big rains and the pond really muddied up and it seem to hold the Mill Foil back, that is until mid summer when it cleared up and boy did it take off.

Does anyone have experience with draining a pond with mill Foil and the effects it has? My concern is the seeds and weather or not they ALL germinate in the spring or if some lay dormant for multiple years.

My thoughts are that if they all germinate this spring and I drain the pond before they reseed I may have a chance of killing it off.

I can tell you that there is no guarantee that you will have 100% germination of the seeds. I can also guarantee you that if you drain the pond down, let the ground freeze over the winter and let it fill up in the Spring, the Milfoil will still be there.

Do you have a list of chemicals that the ministry will allow you to use?

If you can furnish a list (or a list of the banned chemicals) then I can give you a recommendation.

If it's a case that you cannot use the chemicals because you are not licensed, then I strongly suggest you hire someone that is licensed to apply the chemicals.


"Having access to" and what is allowed is two completely different things. Round up that is formulated for fields is not to be used in the pond, even here in the states.

esshup, I have no intention of breaking any rules. I'm simply stating that chemicals are hard to come by up here.

I really don't want to use them anyway, I was just hoping that there may be a way to take care of it naturally while I am doing the renovation. In my pond the Millfoil grows to about 5 feet so if when I'm done most of the pond is over 5 feet and I have a ring of Millfoil around the edges, that's not too bad.

I plan on building a large "T" dock with a diving board and latter, so we won't have to walk through it to get in the pond. And it will look really cool!!

Understood.

I prefer to use a reduced dose of Fluridone to specifically target Milfoil and not the other plants in the pond.

If treated at the correct time, one treatment usually lasts a couple of years, and if re-treated before seeds can be set, the 2nd treatment may last even longer.

Scott - The ONLY aquatic herbicide registered for use in any of the Canadian provinces is REWARD (diquat).
I'm not certain about applicator licensing requirements for private-water applications, but ALL public water treatments must be conducted by a licensed individual.
One of my customers recently went through the Canadian licensing process, and he is reportedly now the only US-based applicator who is commercially licensed in Canada.

Thanks Kelly. THAT sure limits things!!!

Anything over 1 gallon containers has to ship truck freight..... Found that out this Fall.

Unfortunately Scott, that factor is somewhat irrelevant since our US/EPA label isn't valid in Canada.
The Canadian label is linked in my previous post.