Pond Boss Forums MANAGING AN EXISTING POND Fertilization Cattails - good or bad?

I have two 15 acre ponds that are surrounded on the sides and with a few islands with cattails or tulles. Will this impact my fertilization of the ponds? Should I leave them as cover for the bass and bluegill and crappie or remove them completely and use other hard wood forms of structure only?

Dave

Some cattails are ok and I think good for fishing - but you want to keep them under control - they can and will spread rapidly and take over your pond - there are herbicides that can kill them

David, It depends on the depth of the ponds. Cat tails will mostly be in shallow water. How shallow? I don't know.

DavidB:

I agree with Tim. Cattails will take over your pond limiting access to its edges and spreading everywhere you don't want them to be. And, they are very difficult to kill. It has taken me several treatments of weed chems to get them under control. Thier roots and seeds survive just about any type of conditions. The other thing about cattails is that they are a choice food for Muskrats, which you don't want to have in your pond. It's a shame about cattails because they are attractive, they make your pond look natural, they provide cover for waterfowl and fish, and they are a very effective cleanser of your pond water. So, I will keep some around, but you have to keep after and kill any spread of the plants beyond any desired borders.

Keep the cattails in check by spraying with a glyphosate compound. Use an appropriate surfactant and soak them well. Two applications are usually needed in a growing season to acheive total kill.