Pond Boss Forums AQUATIC VEGETATION Balance of plants in the environment Any Downside to Spraying Clethodim On My Shoreline

I have a four year old 1.7 acre pond. I broadcast planted about a 4 foot perimeter of a good pond side seed mix (I think from Cardno) and then hand planted a nice mix of pickerel, cardinal, bullrush, woolgrass, lizards tail, swamp mallow, etc. It has really turned into a pretty and diverse shoreline. There is a fair amount of competition from grasses...mostly fescue that I feel crowds out some of the broadleaf desirables. Any downside to cleth? Thanks for any warnings or advice.

I don't know anything about the product, but....

Clethodim Lable

Sounds pretty scary to me...

Lots of people are scared of things that they don't know or understand.

I use Clethodim for control of grass in clover food plots. According to the label, you can't spray it on the water or let the spray drift go on the water. Don't spray heavy enough that it runs off the plant, and don't spray within an hour prior to a rainstorm or any irrigation. It's similar to Post, different chemical, but Post is also a grass specific herbicide.

I'd use it, being careful to apply it at the labeled rate, and be very mindful of the spray near the water, and I'd pay a lot of attention to wind direction and wind drift of the spray.

I like esshup's advice above.

I continue to be impressed by the performance of "selective" herbicides on our property. "Use as directed", and it almost always kills what it is supposed to kill and does not harm what it is supposed to spare.

Unless I have an emergency need, I ALWAYS spot treat first on some test areas. I keep a supply of those cheap, wire survey flags in my truck. If spraying in thicker cover, I mark out a test area first and then perform a treatment. Very easy to monitor results then.

You can also observe how many days it takes to see plant damages. If it takes 10 days for obvious results, I usually spray a full tank and then come back after at least 10 days and do my adjacent treatment. That way I never overspray, or miss areas of coverage.

Cleth works sloooow, and is most effective on young plants. You'll think it isn't working then all of a sudden realize the grass is gone. I've never used it on the pond edge though so no real help there. I believe the label says "slightly" toxic to fish. Take this with a grain of salt but in today's world of covering your own butt I think they label food as slightly toxic.