Pond Boss Forums INTRO New Forum Member Introduction New pond owner in Four Oaks NC

Hello! My name is Debbie and I recently bought a pond that came with a house, lol. I am a complete mess, I have contacted 3 companies, 1 didn't show up, 1 only does small ponds and the 3rd was going to send me a proposal for the job today but, they have not even seen it!
Anyway, that was a long way of telling you I have a problem with green algae, 3 snappers and about 30 slider turtles (please don't recommend shooting them). I have a ton of small skinny crappie and a few small mouth bass. I just want it to look nice and be more enjoyable for my grandson.

Please do not get in a rush. This forum is frequented by real pond experts. I have personally learned a great deal and have two pond that are great and one in development. With any luck, I will start digging my 4th pond tomorrow. Turtles are not a problem for me and I have plenty. Skinny crappie suggest an active harvest protocol. The enemy of a healthy pond is exclusive catch and release.

RAH, I was told recently just to catch the crappie and leave them on the bank.

Debbie, welcome to Pond Boss,
How big is the pond? How deep?
The turtles are seldom a problem. They perform a service as the clean up crew for sick and dead fish.
This time of year is when the pond mgt guys get busy. Be patient. Some one will take your money.
How bad is the algae? Infestation?

Hi Dave, the pond is about 1/2 acre. The only turtles I am concerned with are the snappers, I would like them to be relocated since they have gotten aggressive after I started feeding the fish. The algae is pretty nasty and I have no idea how deep the pond is. I was told it is 12' deep in some areas. I think it's about 20 years old.

Other than shooting them, I don’t know of any way to catch and relocate turtles. I really doubt that the snappers constitute a danger due to aggressiveness.
I once tried trapping them but the results were disappointing.

Re the algae, you might have to spray it yourself if the pros won’t show up. If you do it yourself, don’t do the whole pond at the same time. The dying algae rots and thus can create an oxygen shortage that kills fish. That creates a bigger, nastier problem.

There are traps made that target turtles, but I have no experience with them. I do remember reading here of a member or two that have used them with good success. My personal thoughts on them at my 1/4 acre pond is that a few (1-3) are fine to have, but more than that and they may become a nuisance. I mostly see the common snappers which travel back and forth from a nearby creek, so my turtle population always goes from none to a few. I have a feeling that the turtle traps work much better on the regular ole' sliders, not so much on snappers. I don't see snappers basking in the sun like the sliders do and the traps rely on that habit. A baited trap would work better for the snappers, however.

I think I could trap my spoiled snappers. I inadvertently started feeding them when I was feeding the fish and the blasted things LOVE bread, not good for them but, I am not going to stop them, lol.
However, when they jump out of the water, you know what I mean, and grab a piece of bread at my grandsons feet, big guy needs to go!

I was really hoping for a chemical free solution but, beggars can't be choosers. I had read about Tilapia? Any thoughts?

Snapping turtles are easy to catch. Put a 3" dead bluegill on a 6/0 kahle hook that's tied to a 2 liter soda bottle with dropper line string. Toss it in the pond at dusk.
Check it in the morning. You'll either have a turtle, or a catfish, or a bare hook. If you have a catfish, but half of it is gone, you know you still have a turtle to catch.
Repeat until you're satisfied the snappers are all gone.

Plan ahead for what you're going to do after you catch them, because they're not going to be friendly.

I'd leave the slider turtles alone. You want those guys - they keep the dead stuff cleaned up. Just don't ever feed them cut up chunks of hot dog. Some kids did that at
my buddy's quarry lake one summer. It quickly became unsafe for them to dangle their feet in the water off the swim dock. We had to relocate a dozen or so of those
turtles to stop the toe-nipping.