Pond Boss Forums AQUATIC VEGETATION Controlling unwanted plants Duckweed control?

Has anyone heard of using a large fountain to control duckweed? I read in the local paper last year about a small pond in a city park that had a terrible case of duckweed. The city didn't want to use chemicals, so instead they put a large standard floating fountain in the middle of the pond and run it much of the time. There is no noticable duckweed in the pond any more.

My theory is that the surface action created by the water splashing back down pushed the duckweed to just limited shoreline areas like a good wind can do. Since the duckweed was then constantly pushed to just a tiny bit of shorline it eventually died off.

Is this just a pipe dream? Do you think they must have done some other treatments that the paper didn't talk about? Have you heard anything like this?

My grandmother has a pond with an awful awful duckweed problem and a solution like this would appeal to lots of relatives who don't want to use chemicals and would love the aestetic aspect of a nice big fountain in the middle of the pond.

Thanks.

I've treated several ponds having duckweed very thick just not in a 50 foot area around the fountain. I have never seen it get rid of duckweed. Also I have been using a herbicide enhancer "growth stimulant" along with Reward. It appears me and the pondowner through about 4 treatemtns have rid of both duckweed and watermeal in two ponds this summer this way. Fo rinfo in one pond... Total herbicide cost of $325 for a 4 acre pond badly covered with watermeal back in APril. Good luck.

This must be the thread that never dies.

Greg: How does a growth stimulator enhance a herbicide that works by rapidly rupturing plant tissue at the cellular level? I've heard of using stimulants/enhancers with hormone-type of herbicides, but not with diquat. D'limonene does increase diquat's activity, but not through growth stimulation. Just curious as to which enhancer you were referring. KD

Controlling duckweed can be accomplished. I hired an airboat sprayrig and using Reward, destroyed about 75% of the infestation. Then, using a fine-mesh net, physically removed as much as possible. As wind moved the remainder to the bank, I sprayed with Reward, using a fine mist spray. My eight acre pond is now 99.99% clear and I'm working on that last .01%.

This may be a stupid question, but why is duckweed bad? It is sold in aquarium stores to provide shade from the sun, food for the fish, and even good hiding environment for fish fry. I wouldn't want to swim in it, but everything else seems desirable. Seeing how much money and effort people spend on getting it out of their pond, I will hold off on putting it into mine.

Let me tell you how bad duckweed can be. I had an over fertile pond from cattle runoff. First the pondweed and algae grew pretty thick. The the duckweed covered 90 - 95% of the pond. That shaded the pond like really cloudy days in Auguast. My oxygen levels dropped (I don't have a meter, just watched how my fish stopped eating and hung near the top). I would then go out and fill my john boat with it and my fish would start eating again. I had to do it every week or I had problems.
I'm planning to drain, clean and divert water and start over with well water.
I HATE duckeeed.

I'm still fighting that last 0.01%. As wind concentrates it against the bank, I dip it out, wait until the wind velocity decreases then spray the remainder with a diquat mist. I believe that my last words will be "Help me to the pond so I can spray that ******* duckweed."

For me as a duckhunter, duckweed is the greatest thing around. I have one small pond, 3/4th acre that i try to keep the duckweed in although its not easy. When i have lots of duckweed i have lots of Gadwalls and wood ducks. Unbelievably, the bass still live in this pond even though it gets full duckweed coverage at times. I have other ponds to fish so i try to keep this one covered thick.