Pond Boss Forums AERATION Should I aerate? is it really necessary?

We're looking to buy property with a 5-acre spring-fed lake. It looks to be beautifully maintained. It is stocked with bass and bluegill. The owner has some carp in it to keep down the vegetation. The owners also swim in it. Is it really necessary to aerate? I grew up on a farm where we had 2 ponds, and no one ever heard of aeration. Do the facts that the lake is 5 acres, spring-fed, etc. and the fish are healthy indicate that maybe in this case, no aeration is needed?

Welcome, fishwife. That sized pond gets enough oxygen from wind and wave effects. Smaller ponds, very fertile ponds, high density fish ponds are aided by aeration. If it aint broke, dont fix it. Sounds like a bargain. Pic?

Thanks for your response. That's what I thought. We went out to look at it again today. Freaking beautiful! My husband decided to check out the fishing, so he brought his rod and reel. Within 5 minutes he caught the biggest large mouth bass either of us had ever seen! Well, now it will be extremely difficult to negotiate the price down since he's practically drooling. When we got home, we realized we were covered in ticks, so we've been busy with the tweezers and magnifying glass. Country living. Ahhhh. Will send pics soon. We're putting an offer in tomorrow. Woo hoo!

Ticks? Horrible, horrible things! Why, there's simply no way you can pay that much for a piece of land with ticks! (wink, nudge)

P.S. Welcome to the forum, fishwife. We never have enough Fish Wives.

Fishwife once you close on the property, get to the local feed mill and inquire about getting some Gineau fowl to take care of those ticks. Gineaus are a strange looking bird, much like a Peacock robbed of the huge tail fan, but they will eat every bug in site around your pond and keep the tick numbers in check. I'm told they are good watch dogs too, approaching every strange vehicle that enters the place. Sounds like a beauty of a pond to me.

Yep that was a serious tactial error Fishwife. At the most you should have only allowed him to catch a scrawny, tired looking, bleary eyed Blue Gill. But a lunker Large Mouth?



Yep, ticks are a pain. There is a spray that you can apply to your clothes that keep ticks off. Can someone help me out here, that section of my memory cells seem to be misfiring this morning, I can't seem to remember the name of the stuff.



We really like photos!



Best of luck to you. Please let us know what happens.

You must be in southern Indiana -- land of the ticks. Here in northern Indiana we haven't seen many ticks this year.

Good luck!

Yes, indeed I'm in Southern IN. You might say Kentuckiana. I work in Louisville across the river. The land we're looking at is about 40 miles west of L'ville, so it'll be a little bit of a commute. But I mostly work at home, so no big deal.
I never even heard of "turkey ticks," and I'm a country girl from Alabama. So when I saw these tiny little critters, I couldn't believe it. When I looked on the internet, it said they were pervasive in Harrison and Crawford counties Indiana! Well, the property is in Crawford county, evidently the turkey tick capitol!!

Sounds like a great pond. Now, lets see some pictures! How did the negotiations go?

Uhmmmm...OFF? Anything with DEET, anyway.

My legs are really itching from these tick bites. I've never seen anything like it! We used OFF, but I'm not sure it contained DEET. Anyway, I've been reading a lot about it, and I think I know how to treat the area next spring. (hey, maybe I'll find a tick forum!) Well, it's better than watching for water moccasins!
Anyway, our first offer was accepted, and we close on the place Oct 6th. Woo Hoo!!! We're thrilled, of course. But now we've got to sell our place.
The inspection is being done on our new place tomorrow, and so I will take some pics. Not sure how to post. Should I post in this forum?

Fishwife, congrats on the new venture. I wanted to comment on your original post asking about aeration and if you need it.A 5 acre pond being spring fed can be as much in need of aeration as a 1/4 acre pond.We get calls every week from around the country that start out " Ive never had a fish kill and Ive had this pond for XX years," the latest one is 12 acres 30 year old lake with a lot of open water.My intention with this post is to keep you investigating the need for aeration so you do not have a negative experience. With the information you provided one cant say "yes or no" as to the need for aeration.Your 5 acre pond should have a muck depth check done to see just how much organic matter you have on the bottom, the higher the level the higher the demand for oxygen.The age of the pond comes into play, The fish types and overall population,additional water source average depths, etc etc also come into play to answer your question.You may want to have the pond electro shocked also by a pro to give you an accurate idea of your overall health. These companies can also suggest different options for aeration to suit your future goals. If your pond is stratified at present then it can be a sediment bowl or nutrient sink in the lower 1/2 to 2/3rds.This means your pond is only 1/2 the depth and may be anaerobic until fall. When it turns if it is done slow your fish will have no problem.I dont want you to get a false sense of security if you are using the barometer of "alive fish or dead fish" as to weather your pond is healthy or not.Many ponds and lakes are on the "oxygen edge" and the lake owner has no idea how close they come to a negative experience. I hope others will revisit this thread as a I think it was left incomplete.Again my intention is to get you to make informed choices after you define the goals for your pond.Enjoy your new digs and I hope you old residence sells quickly for you.

Congratulations Fishwife!!!!!!!!!

The start of an adventure.

Yep post your photos. You will need to sign up for a free photo hosting site (I use photobucket but there are several good sites). Here are some "how to" instructions:


From the archives - How to post photos

Hey Fishwife, sounds like you guys are in "heaven" with your new digs. Here in Missouri we call those peskey little things "seed ticks". Sooooooooooooo small you can barely see them, but do they ever carry a wallop. We use yellow sulfer powder in an old nylon stockin, and "slap" our legs and upper body with the powder before we go out. Seems to do the job, and it works well on chiggers too. Just a thought! And, as a side note, having a "tick check" once in a while ain't all bad either, if you know what I mean. Heeheeeee!!!!!! Just funnin'with ya.. Good luck with your project. Jim

fishwife, the are you are looking in is gorgeous country. Just went through there on my way to Evansville. Have friends with a decent size spread up there too. I envy you your location. If daughter goes to U of E we might move that way, as she's a native of Indiana.

If you were bitten by very small ticks they may have been deer ticks. In any case, see a doctor and get a prescription for antibiotics effective against lyme disease. It easy to cure but very dangerious not to cure. My wife contracted it 20 years ago and did not get treated right away due to a very slow diagnosis. You do not want to get this!

Permanone is the stuff you apply to clothes to kill ticks & other blood suckers. Not for use on the skin & wait 2 - 4 hrs before wearing the clothes. I usually apply the night before wearing. Lasts through several washings. The lable actually says to wait at least 2 weeks before re-treating.

If you can find someone to apply this:
Pounce 3.2

it really works well on ticks, flies and mosquitoes. The local Sporting Clays range uses it on the shrubbery that is near the walking paths on the range and even tho the area is wet, we aren't bothered by mosquitoes or ticks. It really, really works well, but getting some to apply takes an applicators license. It's not inexpensive either. The last time I bought it was 3 or 4 years ago and a gallon cost $132.00.

Congrats on the new digs!

As Esshup wrote above, Pounce (or most other pyrethroids) are very active against ticks and many other arthropods including bees. Applying this is definately a job for a professional.

From the Ponce label: "Toxic to fish and aquatic organisms. Do not apply where streams, lakes, ponds or other bodies of water used by livestock or for domestic purposes may be contaminated. Do not apply within 15 metres of fishery productive bodies of water or waterfowl habitats. Do not contaminate ponds, lakes, streams or rivers during sprayer filling operations."

FYI

Amblyomma americanum: The lone star tick occurs across the southeastern and south-central U.S. It is most common in southern Indiana, but is found throughout the state, most commonly in moist woodlands. Adult females are characterized by a pearly-white spot at the tip of the scutum and by long mouthparts. A wide range of animal hosts serve as a source of blood, including ground-dwelling birds, small mammals, and large mammals such as deer, livestock, and pets. All developmental stages of the lone star tick feed readily on humans. Larvae, which sometimes are referred to as "seed ticks" or "turkey ticks," appear in spring and again in fall. The nymphs of this species over-winter and are active from April into July. Adults also over-winter and are active from late March into June. A female can lay over 8,000 eggs before she dies.

The lone star tick is the second most common tick found on humans especially in southern Indiana. The long, barbed hypostome of female adults inflicts a deep feeding wound, and engorging females have been associated with tick paralysis. This species is a vector of spotted fever, and two recently recognized diseases, ehrlichiosis and Southern tick-associated rash illness (STARI).

RAH:

You can only buy Pounce if you have an applicators license. It as you probably read, it works by disrupting the nervous system of the bugs. The bad thing about Pounce is that it's very toxic to bees and wasps. I had a bald faced hornet's nest on the house, and I had to get rid of it before the roofers showed up to re-roof the house. All it took was two sprays of Pounce and they all died within minutes.

But, on the other hand, if it's sprayed in the undrestory of woods, on the bushes, it takes care of all the mosquitoes and ticks until the next rain.

essop,

You can get restricted use pesticides with a private applicator license as well as a commercial applicator liscence. Niether are hard to get. Take a simple test, and attend some seminars where you can get credits to maintain it. I'm all for pesticides when used responsibly.

I have stopped using anything that can hurt honeybees. But that's just me.

Sounds like deer ticks to me as well - I just had two subcontractors come down with lyme due to untreated deer tick bites and they are down for the count for a spell - didn't receive antibiotics until the symptoms had been around too long and the illness got a foothold.

I'm fortunate that mosquitoes and ticks generally leave me be, but whenever we're going to walk through any vegetation during the Summer at the lakes I make sure to get a nice layer of a repellent with at least 10% DEET on the wife and kids and they have always come through clean.

I have to echo Ric's sentiments on being cautious broadcasting pesticides that eradicate beneficial insects indescriminately. I know in NE the honeybee population has been significantly reduced over the past several years - think that might be the situation nationwide too. Certainly not preaching, just something to consider before taking that route.

The bee populaton around here has been affected as well, that's why I mentioned it's effectiveness on them. I think that if it's used in the correct environment (leafy understory and woody areas) the impact on honeybees will be minimized.