Pond Boss Forums AQUATIC VEGETATION Controlling unwanted plants Muskrats for algae control

This is like walking on thin ice, but has anyone seen value in using muskrats to control algae? I get a good deal of FA near the shoreline and have raked it out in the past. There is a current thread on seining it out. https://forums.pondboss.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=578820#Post578820

I got some muskrats building an above-ground nest and they have been using cattails and FA. I have some conibears but haven't trapped them yet because they are doing such good work cleaning up my pond. I hope to trap them before they have their litter.

They apparently had dug into the higher portion of the bank last fall and their burrows collapsed when we got to full pond. My dam's freeboard is only about a foot so they would be hard pressed to make a burrow in that.

Your thoughts.

I know of zero people on the forum that like muskrats.

I can't believe their pond clearing/pond destroying ratio could be anything other than negative.

However, if you can clearly observe their behavior and can eliminate them at the optimum time, then go for it. One advantage would be that when you see some FA being gathered in that matter in the future, you will know it is time to start watching for muskrats again.

(I dislike killing any creatures in their natural habitat. But muskrats and non-leaking ponds are almost mutually exclusive phenomenon.)

I don't believe Muskrats consume or destroy significant amounts of FA. They do destroy significant amounts of banks (where it's shallow) and pose a significant threat to dam integrity. Every year I have to inspect dams and repair muskrat damage; every time I mow around a pond I have to detour Muskrat collapsed bank areas and pray I don't drive over the next one when it collapses.

Even if Muskrats got rid of FA, I'd rather have the FA. Even if I couldn't stock Tilapia to get rid of it (which I do each year).

There, that touched nerve feels a little better.

I agree with Theo. Muskrats do more harm than good in a pond, and what little bit of FA that they may take out of a pond as a "bycatch" of swimming through floating FA with cattails in their mouth isn't worth the damage that they cause. Even if you don't think they cause any damage to your pond in the form of leaks, stepping on top of one of their tunnels and twisting an ankle isn't worth having them in the pond.

Muskrats are removed as soon as we spot them due to bank and dam damage.

Thanks for the comments, I guess the answer is no!

The muskrats appear to intentionally make 3-4" discrete balls of FA that they pile on their above ground nest. The other thing they do is to pull the cattails out by their roots. In NY, tilapia are illegal and spraying cattails is frowned upon by the state, so this is a real plus.

Nonetheless, I will set a trap this week.
Thanks again for your comments.