I'm looking to get a product to clear some of my ponds banks of watershield.

Does anyone have any expereince using Navigate and/or Sculpin G? Which one works the best?

I'm thinking of using a granular 2, 4-d product this spring on about 40% of my ponds banks to kill/supress the watershield before it really gets going. By late summer the banks of my pond are covered and it makes it difficult to get at the bass and I expect it makes it difficult for the bass to get at forage. Want to clear a good portion of the shallower end of ponds bank. Plan to leave alone large sections of watershield be to provide a refuge for small fish/shade/oxygen.

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I have no experience using these types of things. It will just take the right person to read this thread to be able to answer you correctly. Have you tired some of the online pond stores? They should be able to help you with your task.

We use Polaris, which is an Imazapyr product. Mix it with a good surfactant (Activate+ is what we use). Its systemic and good for control over a long period of time. (Usually one spray job will keep it down for the year.) Also good for most other emergent vegetation as well. Just make sure you're not going to get any rain within 24 hours of spraying, if it gets watered down it isn't effective.

I've had mixed results with granular navigate. Haven't tried Sculpin G. Imazapyr has been the best herbicide for emergent vegetation in my experience.

Thanks for the info!

Thanks for the info!

Looks like Imazapyr is a broad spectrum herbicide. Main reason I'm looking at 2, 4-d is that I want to preserve the grasses that are growing while killing the watershield.

I've used navigate on A lotus several times with good results.

Weedar 64 is an aquatic rated 2 4-D, but are you talking about shoreline grasses, or grass in the pond? I have Imazapyr here, but haven't needed it yet. It was recommended to me by one of my biologists as being a good one and done aquatic herbicide.

The grasses I want to preserve are in shallow water - they start on shore to about 1.5' deep. There are some other weeds/plants growing in pond that I'd just as soon preserve as habitat for fry/small fish but the watershield is a real nuisance - by August it was so thick that shore fishing was a complete no go and even from a boat it seemed as if most of the bass were well under the watershield and unreachable. You could see them attacking bluegill occasionally when the bluegills were flung out the top of the watershield.

Granulars are pretty non-selective, so I might go with a targeted spray application. You can use a bbq mop to treat watershield that's mixed in with the grass.

IIRC 2, 4-D only targets broadleafs and leaves the grasses alone. Are you sure it's grasses and not rushes? If it is a rush species, I would verify it is resistant to 2, 4-D if you want to keep it.

Good point Bill.

nvcdl, could you post a pic of the grasses you're wanting to save?

Tried Navigate. Mixed results, expensive to use and the grasses also seem to get killed.

Just ordered some Polaris, surfactant and some dye. Will try that next.

Oddly enough the Navigate seems to have suppressed and partially killed watershield around the entire pond. Only about 40% of it is blooming.

It is slow to act and now the watershield is rotting away. I think next year I may just use a bag or two Navigate as soon as the watershield first starts to grow in the spring. May work well if I just hit every bank I want to clear for a supressive effect.

Good deal. Systemic herbicides can take a few weeks to work.