Pond Boss Forums AQUATIC VEGETATION Controlling unwanted plants Floating Bogs

We have a number of floating bogs on our 8 acre pond. Pond is 6-8 ft deep. I would like to get rid of some of the bogs. How do I do this and keep my pond environmentally healthy?

Kim,
If you could describe the "bogs" or include a picture you stand a better chance of getting help. Also, you might try going thru the earlier post in this category, there are some pictures that might match your problem.

What is a floating bog?

The floating bog I know about is in Buckyeye Lake here in Central Ohio. If I understand and remember correctly, it was a peat bog (many, many feet of preserved, very slowly decomposing plant matter) which broke loose from the ground and floated up to the surface when the lake was formed [it was dammed up to be a water supply feeder lake for the Ohio-Erie Canal (1830 time frame?)].

"Cranberry Marsh,", as it is known, is supposedly the largest floating bog in North America. Unfortunately, it has been steadily decreasing in size due to the high volume of recreational boating (lots of water-skiing) in Buckeye Lake (which averages less than 6 feet deep and is a stirred-up muddy mess during the warm months). While once it was over a hundred acres, it is now a fraction of that size and it is projected to disappear completely in a couple of decades.

When I was a kid my Grandpa kept his boat on Buckeye Lake. The biggest, most beautifully colored Bluegills I have ever seen were ones we caught one day in a little cove next to Cranberry Marsh. They tasted horrible, so bad we couldn't eat them. I have always assumed it had something to do with the acidic nature of the water near the bog.

Thanks Theo, interesting story. More interesting is a water supply lake with inedible fish. Do/did/could they drink the water?

There's plenty of drinking on and around Buckeye Lake, but none of it is the water.

That one batch of BG from the Bog were the only fish we ever had trouble with out of Buckeye Lake. Lots of other BG from other locations (it's over 2800 acres) tasted just fine. Sediment is much worse in the Summer now because of all the boating, but I have had Saugeye caught in the Winter from there twice in recent years, and it tasted good.

I just moved to a place on a lake and we have a number of floating bogs as well. Our bogs are made up of cattails that have either broken off from other cattails or moved from their permanent location because the water level is up so much with all the rain. The problem is that you never know where they are going to end up. In my case, it could mean that they end up in front of my place creating a barrier to open water or they sometimes end up in the channel to the other part of the lake and thereby totally blocking it.

I too would like advice on removal options.

Thanks.

Bob

Saunders Lake Home Page

We have only one lake with floating bogs in our management portfolio. Each 'island' is a minimum of 6' x 6', up to 10' x 10'. Several years ago, one was too near the dock, so we drove a 't' post into it, and towed it away.
These bogs are basically peat moss with plants growing on top of them. In winter, they tend to sink. But, when cattails begin to grow, with other plants, they float. Then, terrestrial plants root. They are pretty cool to see, and fish use these floating masses of organic matter for cover.

If you are just wanting to get rid of the vegetation on one of these, Habitat works really well. Very broad spectrum herbicide that will take care of most of the unwanted weeds.

PondsRx,

Do you have Habitat for shipment to Texas? Maybe you could send me a PM on prices. Thanks.

PondsRx :

I had very good results on cattails and willows this summer with Habitat as well as a number of other pond plants. But to date mixed results on pondweed. ML it was $85 a quart but that would cover an acre at a mid-range application rate. ewest

EWEST,

I just haven't found a source for it in this area...pricy stuff, isn't it?

I thought you said you got good results on pond weed with it, better than Reward (which isn't systemic)...did I misunderstand?