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Started By
Message
Coon tail grass in my pond
Posted on 4/4/19 at 7:08 am
Posted on 4/4/19 at 7:08 am
Did a big draw down last year which helped. Now that the pond is full, I see coon tail grass growing big time. My pond is about 12' deep in spots and the grass is even growing there. 
I did put some dye in the water too!
I did spray some Reward which helped a little.
How or what to use for deep water grass killer? I am looking for something that will NOT effect the fish.
I did put some dye in the water too! I did spray some Reward which helped a little.
How or what to use for deep water grass killer? I am looking for something that will NOT effect the fish.
4
Posted on 4/4/19 at 9:14 am to fishfighter
Ask someone from LW&F to hook you up with some of them grass carp they like to destroy lakes with....you'll never see another blade of grass again 
Posted on 4/4/19 at 9:25 am to fishfighter
quote:
I am looking for something that will NOT effect the fish.
The fish probably love it, FWIW. The products I would recommend to treat it would be buzzbaits, spooks, and frogs.
Reward, Sonar, and Aquathal K are the chemical treatments that pop up on pondboss for controlling it. With that much I would be worried about killing it all at once and dropping O2 levels. Maybe try several small treatments in different areas of the pond, and I would definitely try to get it done before it gets too hot.
This post was edited on 4/4/19 at 9:27 am
Posted on 4/4/19 at 4:03 pm to TheDrunkenTigah
Yes, I am treating small spots at a time. Would love to find out what kind of pellets they used on False river years ago. That killed all the grass in no time.
Will give WL&F a call tomorrow.
Will give WL&F a call tomorrow.
Posted on 4/4/19 at 8:09 pm to fishfighter
If you find out any info, let the board know. I have some grass in my pond I would like to keep under control
Posted on 4/5/19 at 2:33 pm to fishfighter
Fish, I'm newly registered to the site, and have been following the various boards for some time, but I have some background in this area, I'll offer some thoughts. Bear with me as I navigate the nuisances of the board as a new poster. Hopefully these comments/recommendations will be helpful to other posters who will likely be having weed problems in their ponds now that Spring has arrived.
In my professional opinion the best informational site on aquatic plants management for recreational ponds is "AquaPlant" out of Texas A&M. Helps with plant identification and the best chemical and biological control methods.
https://aquaplant.tamu.edu/
Triploid (sterile) grass carp are very effective in controlling submerged, soft/succulent aquatic weeds such as coontail, and it can take a few years to get a bad aquatic weed problem under control with carp only, but they are a good long-term cost-effective solution. Sterile grass carp can be stocked at low density (5 to 7 per acre) so as not to totally eradicate all soft submerged aquatic plants (you want to maintain some plant habitat for the fish). One must obtain a sterile grass carp permit from LA Dept of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF), which last I checked was $50 (1 time payment). Information and permit form is on the LDWF website, and they provide you a listing of fish suppliers authorized to sell sterile grass carp in Louisiana when they issue you the permit. And though more expensive, its best to purchase larger sterile grass carp (10 inches or larger) than cheaper, smaller fish, if you already have a bass population. Danger of bass eating the smaller carp before they grow to a larger size. Small sterile grass carp are fine in a newly stocked pond.
I have found that a low stocking density of sterile carp (long term control) in combination with an appropriate aquatic herbicide, such as "Reward" (diquat), for short term control, is a very effective solution.
All the aquatic herbicides labeled for use in fish ponds are "safe" for fish when used at labeled rates. Of course, what can happen is if you kill to much aquatic weeds at one time by treating the whole pond, it can cause an oxygen depletion resulting in a oxygen-related fish kill. So its usually recommended to treat 1/4 to 1/3 of the pond with herbicide, wait 2 or 3 weeks for the pond to recover and the dead aquatic weeds to decompose, and treat the other areas of the pond in sequence. The later you wait to treat, the higher the water temperature which increases the risk of having a oxygen-depletion fish kill following herbicide treatment. So tackle the problem as soon as you can.
Controlling submerged aquatic weeds with herbicides in a pond is never 100% risk free, but if you follow the guidelines in AquaPlant or other university-based aquatic weed control recommendations (all readily available on the internet) you will greatly minimize the chance of an oxygen-related fish kill. Helps to have an aerator or emergency aerator to minimize this risk, and most pond owners don't, but you can work around that.
If you don't get the weed problem under control, the probability increases that you might have a oxygen-related fish kill in the extremel heat of the summer/early fall, particularly during long sustained periods of cloudy weather and heavy rainfall.
Last, make absolutely sure the aquatic weed(s) is accurately identified so that the proper herbicide can be chosen. If you have any doubt that the weed could be something other than coontail, post some close-up photos. You know the cost of the chemical herbicides, they are expensive, so you don't want take chance on selecting one that is not the most cost effective.
Just in case you don't know, there are some less expensive generic brands of "diquat" than "Reward", just look on-line and some of the larger local feed and seed stores, and hardware stores will carry the generic brands.
Be patient, it takes a while to get a bad aquatic weed problem under control without harming the existing fish population. Once you get the weeds under control, stay with the program, and you can keep your pond weed problem under control to your satisfaction with minimal cost and aggravation.
Sorry for the long first post (hope I didn't break a first post record on the Outdoor Board) but I hope it takes you in the right direction and perhaps the information will be helpful to other pond owners on the Outdoor Board who are going to be dealing with similar issues. Good luck!
In my professional opinion the best informational site on aquatic plants management for recreational ponds is "AquaPlant" out of Texas A&M. Helps with plant identification and the best chemical and biological control methods.
https://aquaplant.tamu.edu/
Triploid (sterile) grass carp are very effective in controlling submerged, soft/succulent aquatic weeds such as coontail, and it can take a few years to get a bad aquatic weed problem under control with carp only, but they are a good long-term cost-effective solution. Sterile grass carp can be stocked at low density (5 to 7 per acre) so as not to totally eradicate all soft submerged aquatic plants (you want to maintain some plant habitat for the fish). One must obtain a sterile grass carp permit from LA Dept of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF), which last I checked was $50 (1 time payment). Information and permit form is on the LDWF website, and they provide you a listing of fish suppliers authorized to sell sterile grass carp in Louisiana when they issue you the permit. And though more expensive, its best to purchase larger sterile grass carp (10 inches or larger) than cheaper, smaller fish, if you already have a bass population. Danger of bass eating the smaller carp before they grow to a larger size. Small sterile grass carp are fine in a newly stocked pond.
I have found that a low stocking density of sterile carp (long term control) in combination with an appropriate aquatic herbicide, such as "Reward" (diquat), for short term control, is a very effective solution.
All the aquatic herbicides labeled for use in fish ponds are "safe" for fish when used at labeled rates. Of course, what can happen is if you kill to much aquatic weeds at one time by treating the whole pond, it can cause an oxygen depletion resulting in a oxygen-related fish kill. So its usually recommended to treat 1/4 to 1/3 of the pond with herbicide, wait 2 or 3 weeks for the pond to recover and the dead aquatic weeds to decompose, and treat the other areas of the pond in sequence. The later you wait to treat, the higher the water temperature which increases the risk of having a oxygen-depletion fish kill following herbicide treatment. So tackle the problem as soon as you can.
Controlling submerged aquatic weeds with herbicides in a pond is never 100% risk free, but if you follow the guidelines in AquaPlant or other university-based aquatic weed control recommendations (all readily available on the internet) you will greatly minimize the chance of an oxygen-related fish kill. Helps to have an aerator or emergency aerator to minimize this risk, and most pond owners don't, but you can work around that.
If you don't get the weed problem under control, the probability increases that you might have a oxygen-related fish kill in the extremel heat of the summer/early fall, particularly during long sustained periods of cloudy weather and heavy rainfall.
Last, make absolutely sure the aquatic weed(s) is accurately identified so that the proper herbicide can be chosen. If you have any doubt that the weed could be something other than coontail, post some close-up photos. You know the cost of the chemical herbicides, they are expensive, so you don't want take chance on selecting one that is not the most cost effective.
Just in case you don't know, there are some less expensive generic brands of "diquat" than "Reward", just look on-line and some of the larger local feed and seed stores, and hardware stores will carry the generic brands.
Be patient, it takes a while to get a bad aquatic weed problem under control without harming the existing fish population. Once you get the weeds under control, stay with the program, and you can keep your pond weed problem under control to your satisfaction with minimal cost and aggravation.
Sorry for the long first post (hope I didn't break a first post record on the Outdoor Board) but I hope it takes you in the right direction and perhaps the information will be helpful to other pond owners on the Outdoor Board who are going to be dealing with similar issues. Good luck!
This post was edited on 4/7/19 at 9:29 am
Posted on 4/5/19 at 7:52 pm to CrawDude
quote:
CrawDude
got damn boy
Now I know about pond weed control and I don't even need to know about it.
Posted on 4/6/19 at 12:23 pm to CrawDude
quote:
CrawDude
Stong first post, baw.
Posted on 4/7/19 at 6:30 am to CrawDude
quote:
Bare with me as I navigate the nuisances of the board as a new poster. Hopefully these comments/recommendations will be helpful to other posters who will likely be having weed problems in their ponds now that Spring has arrived.
It is a strong early post. But one recommendation is to check your grammar and word usage for good posting practice. Bare is a naked azz. You are looking for BEAR, not bare.
Posted on 4/7/19 at 9:30 am to aTmTexas Dillo
Noted and corrected
Posted on 4/7/19 at 9:51 am to CrawDude
Great info and thanks. 
I did do a bunch of reading up on this, but one never knows these days on the net. I did only treated a small area.
In the deep area, I might try to hook up a spray nozzle to the end of my spray tank's hose or make up a bar with nozzles. Weigh it down so I can drop it down lower in the water close to the bottom and then star pumping in some Reward. Maybe getting the chemicals closer to the roots might help. Of course I am mixing it by the directions.
Didn't get a chance to call LW&F Friday. Ended up in the dam hospital, still here. Hope to get out today.
Wonder if I just go out and catch my on wild grass carp and throw them in my pond. Know dam well I could catch them out the Mississippi River. Heck, could get them out of False River.
I did do a bunch of reading up on this, but one never knows these days on the net. I did only treated a small area.
In the deep area, I might try to hook up a spray nozzle to the end of my spray tank's hose or make up a bar with nozzles. Weigh it down so I can drop it down lower in the water close to the bottom and then star pumping in some Reward. Maybe getting the chemicals closer to the roots might help. Of course I am mixing it by the directions.
Didn't get a chance to call LW&F Friday. Ended up in the dam hospital, still here. Hope to get out today.
Wonder if I just go out and catch my on wild grass carp and throw them in my pond.
Know dam well I could catch them out the Mississippi River. Heck, could get them out of False River.Posted on 4/7/19 at 9:54 am to aTmTexas Dillo
Hey, this is NOT the OT. No reason to correct a outdoorsmen in grammar. We don't write papers here.
We don't write papers here. Posted on 4/7/19 at 10:24 am to fishfighter
quote:
Hey, this is NOT the OT. No reason to correct a outdoorsmen in grammar. We don't write papers here.
I just have to. It's kind of like my nervous tick. It just happens. I don't mean no harm! Oh man, I did a double negative!?!
Posted on 4/7/19 at 1:04 pm to fishfighter
quote:
I did do a bunch of reading up on this, but one never knows these days on the net.
Fish, university extension publications on aquatic weed control are reliable, and all the southeastern states have good information on the subject. I assure you pond/lake nuisance weed issues is the number one issue that fisheries extension personnel deal with thoughout the southeastern USA. Just make sure the information is current.
The AquaPlant website at Texas A&M is particularly good b/c they keep it up to date, and all fisheries extension personnel I know throughout the Southeast refer their stakeholders to the site for aquatic weed control information.
I note that Pond Boss is also frequently mentioned by posters on this site for pond management information, and it is a good source. The publisher is a highly experienced professional pond/lake fisheries biologist and most of his regular and guest columnists are professional, experienced fisheries/aquatic biologists.
quote:
In the deep area, I might try to hook up a spray nozzle to the end of my spray tank's hose or make up a bar with nozzles.
That is a good idea because diquat is a contact herbicide (as opposed a systemic) so the more contact the herbicide has with the weed throughout the water column, the better the control you'll obtain. It's also one reason why many of granular aquatic herbicides are effective - they sink to the bottom and dissolve and are picked up by the root system. If you have any trouble finding out what granular herbicide LDWF used in False River (and I don't know/recall either) let me know and I can probably find out.
Another thing I failed to mention in my earlier post, if the pond is small enough one can consider raking some of the weed onto the bank prior to applying the herbicide. They sell rakes for this, but a person can make one. Although this does not help in controlling the weed, it temporarily reduces the amount of the weed in the water column so that when you apply the herbicide it increases herbicide contact with the remaining weed in the water column. It also reduces the risk of oxygen depletion b/c there is less dead weed in the pond decaying and depleting the water of oxygen. Honestly, in most cases, except the smallest ponds, this is not practical, but something to consider.
quote:
Wonder if I just go out and catch my on wild grass carp and throw them in my pond. Know dam well I could catch them out the Mississippi River. Heck, could get them out of False River.
Non-Sterile grass carp are present in all the large river systems in Louisiana, and LDWF should consider allowing people to do this. It would not result in additional spread of this fish in the state. The non-sterile grass carp can not reproduce in small ponds - they need flowing water of large river system. These fish will eat as up as 50% of their body weight per day in succulent aquatic weeds - that why they are so effective. If you do this, don't tell your buds or post it on the OD Board - you don't want a visit from LDWF Enforcement! One final comment, managing pond weeds is like managing weeds in your lawn. One application of herbicide is usually not going to do it - it often requires multiple applications, and sometimes a couple different approaches. Patience and persistence is the key.
Posted on 4/7/19 at 1:10 pm to aTmTexas Dillo
quote:
I just have to. It's kind of like my nervous tick.
There are worst things in this world than grammar police. Heck, I do a better job of proof reading other peoples writings than my own.
Posted on 4/7/19 at 4:21 pm to fishfighter
We get excited when we find this in a lake
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