Pond Boss Forums AQUATIC VEGETATION Controlling unwanted plants Dead armadillos....

Yeah, so that's where I’ll begin. Got to our property yesterday to find not one but two dead armadillos in it. I thought little of it and just decided maybe one was chasing other and fell in, but half my banks are easy to get out. Then this morning i found a dead bluegill, maybe couple days dead. First for all that since I’ve owned the land. So, what I’ve done lately.

Last two years i used copper sulfate granules to help keep the algae and southern need at bay. This year i used Crystal Blue Crystal Plex Algae Control at the suggestions of a guy at local shop. I didn’t over do it, i don’t think. And as you can see, i don’t have much algae left. I then added the blue dye a week later to supposedly help with the growth and it also made a bit more appealing for swimming which i hope we do a lot of in next couple months.

But here are my issues/concerns. I have tons of BG and LMB in this pond, maybe too much. So, if something was really off, I’d think there’d be more dead. But two armadillos and a BG on the same day? And, in the corner I’m getting that film, the one i recognize because bubbles don’t pop.

I took a sample and going to see if my buddy can test at his ag dept at local college. In the meantime, thoughts????

Very little breeze ? I'm a ways from you , but our wind , just stopped yesterday. Do you have a trolling motor for the canoe ?

I think you really should look into getting a grid based aeration system. Those pictures are telling me high nutrients, nothing in the pond to utilize them, so that grows a bunch of phytoplankton. With a high fish density, you might experience a summerkill. Dying the pond will cut back on phytoplankton, but what is in there to produce O2? Nighttime is the most crucial time for low O2 events.

Very little wind. I have canoe, no motors.


I have two springs, one top side. They kick off a lot for just over a pond acre, i'd guess at least 20 gallons a minute. I always thought that was enough. Seems all other fish and frogs are fine. Just never had healthy looking BG floating. Going to start culling a lot here in the next couple months. pH has always been in normal range. But i'm sure its very nutrient rich.

Lots of animals go to water when they get sick and are dying. That may or may not explain your turttlerats. Of course that wouldn't explain the BG, that could just be coincidence. Or it is connected. I like the suggestion to get your water tested.

Hi Toby ,

I am about 1.5 hours north east of you ( Central Missouri ) and last year I had the exact same thing happen , treated the pond ( 2+ acres ) with Cutrine plus and a day or so later had a dead Armadillo at waters edge , i made note and moved on but that always struck me odd as i never had that prior and or sense ( dead Armadillo at the ponds edge ) , it sure could have been " his time to expire " and completely coincidence but this is simply my experience

The numerous armadillos at our farm prefer to dine on grubs that they dig up. However, they are omnivorous and will eat nearly anything that contains some calories when they get hungry enough.

Metal poisoning (whether mercury or copper) tends to concentrate as you move UP the food chain.

Are there any small creatures around your ponds (for the two members with dead armadillos) that had a diet that consisted of smaller organisms from the pond, such that your algae treatment copper was concentrated in that food source? I can't think that armadillos would be good at catching frogs or tadpoles. Maybe they are adept at digging up crayfish?

Another concern would be the class of blue green algae that are formed from cyanobacteria. These can create cyanotoxins dangerous to dogs and humans in the pond. Perhaps armadillos are more susceptible and just drank slightly poisonous water?

Hi FishinRod ,

I am almost sure the armadillo at my place were eating grubs ect from the yard ( beautiful football size yard and just as pretty ) ,they sure made a mess of it the last couple years but have since been eradicated once i had enough , it was like this guy was drinking , laid down like a loaf of bread and died , beautifully tucked up and just " there " , no struggle no thrashing just dead , like i said , I made note that was weird and moved on but never forgot that and then to hear the same type case of dead Armadillo at a pond after using a copper sulfate type algae treatment I figured I would at least add my experience for what its worth