Pond Boss Forums AQUATIC VEGETATION Controlling unwanted plants Duckweed Heaven

Did you overlook the location of this pond? ~ inside of Houston's Beltway 8.... ie. inner suburbia. The only ducks in this area are some domestic whites - and the residents of the flanking multi-million dollar homes probably wouldn't take kindly to them be snipered by a duck-murderer .

I must say, you're the FIRST poster that I've ever observed praising duckweed - and asking how to encourage its proliferation.

a duck murderer??? does that make you a duckweed murderer???? Duckweed is awesome. Where ever you find the stuff, the ducks are not far behind. its all about habitat. Its a real shame what has happened to west Houston and the whole Katy prairie. All of the native habitat has been ruined by all the houses, very sad to see

I tend to agree with you about those extremely prolific human vermin who keep building their abodes further and further away from the city. Why can't they simply learn to live more vertically, like they do in NYC???? Sounds enticing - Not!

Seriously, habitat loss will continue to be a problem for all wildlife, not just waterfowl. Unless human population expansion becomes regulated (welcome to China), I suspect that habitat loss will get a lot worse in years to come - and wildlife will repeatedly be forced to adapt or otherwise follow the dodo into oblivion.

In the mean time, just because someone chooses to manage their pond in a manner that doesn't suit your personal taste is no reason to chastise their motives or methods. (BTW: I have nothing against ducks - nor their being harvested for that matter.)

The second half of duckweed's name (i.e., "weed") should indicate how it is commonly viewed. A "weed", by standard definition, is simply a plant growing in an undesirable location or manner. Croton texensis (aka "doveweed") is a terrific food-source for dove. But, it isn't likely that you'd want doveweed to cover your front lawn. So it is with duckweed in the pond depicted in the posted pictures.

If you want duckweed to flourish, simply introduce a flock of domestic ducks into your pond and then provide them with ample amounts of feed. They will quickly concentrate plenty of nutrients within the pond. Transient wild ducks will likely drop by to say "howdy" and probably bring with them some hitchhiking duckweed plants. At that point, mother nature will run her course. It happens frequently.

One thing though; make certain you know what you're getting into before you unleash a plant with duckweed's invasive reputation.

I agree totally with Kelly's sentiments. Most people who have fishing ponds are hunters, also, but 99.9 % on this forum frequent this site for discussions of fishing aspects of their pond.
Growing duckweed should be a much less problem than getting rid of it. Just follow the recipe for getting a food chain algae bloom, then add a little more.

Kelly :

Thank you for your last post on duckweed. It is brilliant and is much appreciated . If someone has ever had a serious duckweed problem they understand . We should call uncontrolled duckweed -- fish killer.

Some very wise men who ,at risk of life ,founded this country and gave us a constitution understood that freedom is dependent on the private right to own property. Private ownership means you can make your on decisions regarding your property as long as you don't injure your neighbors property. The constitution provides that if the government wants to infringe upon this right they have to pay compensation. If one wants to buy land and turn it into a duckweed haven then god bless them they have that right and I will support their choice.

Many have made the ultimate sacrifice and as Lincoln stated , given their last full measure ,to protect this right. Likewise I have the right to remove duckweed to protect my fish and property. ewest

Glad you guys were able to take my responses with a grain of salt. I too, have ponds (less than an acre) that I try to manage for fish and want to keep clean. I do have 1 very small pond where I have duckweed that I duck hunt on. Side note, the bass live even though the whole thing gets covered up) I guess I just wanted to give yall a little of a hard time. We do agree with the problem of urban sprawl. I live about an hour west of where your swamp inside the loop is located. Any time I travel down 99 between 10 and 59 I just cringe. A few years ago that was habitat for all types of wild things and now it is just house after house after house. It brings me to tears. A couple years ago I saw a huge covey of quail right behind the Academy on the corner of 99 and 10 and now all that area is concrete. Good luck to all of you. Hope you get your pond free of duckweed. By the way, if you can raise the water level, the duckweed will float right over the dam.

Duckweed1 - Welcome to the Pond Boss forum. Seriously!

As you have just witnessed, PB forum participants all share a common interest - managing aquatic habitats - although our respective opinions may greatly differ from time to time on how to accomplish certain goals and objectives. That exchange of thoughts, in and of itself, is the basis for this forum's allure and educational value.

I think that everyone will agree that personal opinions and perspectives are welcomed on this board, provided that one doesn't cross the line that divides objective suggestion from subjective criticism - which is why political discussions are generally avoided here, in order to keep the board members civilized.

That said, please visit the board regularly and contribute to the wealth of experience, knowledge and information contained herein.

Well I got rid of almost all my duckweed! I have a long thin pond, had a couple of days of good stiff wind that blew it all to one end. I got a rope with some floats on it. Me and my daughter stretched the rope across and drag it to the end. Gathered up all the duck weed and scooped it out with a net. Filled a skid steer bucket about 5 times. Took about 5 hours to get it all. Pond is clear except for a thin rim of duckweed in the weeds around edges. Here in Minnesota it won't grow back this year any more, too cool already. It won't come back until next July. I might be crazy but in 5 hours I got rid of it all with no chemicals, no masses of dead weeds on the bottom, and I got some excercise. I know this can't be done by everyone and won't even work in every pond but I consider myself lucky.

BZ :

Glad you got control of your DW . Manual control/ removal is the best method of dealing with plant problems if it meets your need. With as much as you got out and the time it took think how much volume and time it would require if you had a serious problem like the one Kelly posted about. Most people seriously underestimate the vol./weight of plants to be removed. That is why it is wise to stay ahead of the problem and not let it get out of control. ewest

I have a pond (?)in central Ontario that I have been digging for the past coupla years.Actually the past couple of Septembers. It is fed by spring melt and summer rain with no outlet. In May it is 150'x100' and 15' deep in one area. That area is now 1bout 2'deep and 30'x10'in size.I would like to introduce some kind of floating plant to reduce evaporation and increase the DO.I think that rooted plants are out of the question because of the huge depth changes over the summer but would like to be able to overwinter some cats for our table. By freeze up the water level is back up to 4-5' and native cat minnows have grown from 2" to 6-7" when introduced in May then netted in late August. What could I use besides duckweed? There are no water plants at present but as the pond dries out the swampgrass and native weeds spring up. Why not duckweed???

Pat - floating plants do not contribute to DO since their photosynthetic processes occur above the waterline. For the same reason, their presence will likely exacerbate evaporation instead of retarding it. Plants and trees transpire moisture, somewhat comparable to exhaled moisture in one's breath. For both of these reasons, duckweed is not a desirable plant for your intended purposes - not to mention duckweed's invasive growth habits.