Originally Posted by catscratch
Originally Posted by Theo Gallus
What plants make up the 37%? 37% of Potamogeton is a lot different than 37% European Milfoil.

That's a great question and one that I'm somewhat ashamed to not know the answer to. Everyone here calls it "coontail" but I have not done a complete id on it. Suppose I should do that this weekend...

I had coontail completely take over my pond, growing from depths of at least 12' and spreading on the surface. For years it kept itself at bay, although it would spread as the summer came on, we could at least use some of the pond. Each year though, it got worse and worse. It was so bad that by June each season, our pond was unusable. You couldn't cast in it, couldn't swim in it and even putting a kayak in wasn't any fun. It was so bad that I was worried if a someone fell off our dock and got panicked, they could drown should that stuff wrap them up.

I tried raking it and maybe got a 30' x 30' spot around the dock yanked out and carted away while it took me a good portion of a day. It was far too much for us to treat with pesticides and we eventually decided to drain, dredge and start our pond anew, a decision I am so happy with now. This time we'll hammer on it if and when as soon as we see any of it again.

Maybe other people haven't had the negative experiences I've had with that vegetation but for me, that stuff is evil.