Lake and pond managers and owners spend a good deal of time and money dealing with lake weeds. In fact, it is fair to say, that dealing with aquatic weeds is where the lions share of pond and lake management time and money is spent.
Exotic lake weeds
Lake weeds are an ever increasing problem today, in large part, because of the presence of so many exotic weeds, and their amazing and terrible growth habits in our climate. A plant that may have been a beautiful and productive part of it's native landscape in another region of the world can become a destructive lake eating monster when transplanted into a new environment. Unfortunately that is what we are experiencing in the Southern United States.
Native lake weeds
As bad and difficult to deal with as exotic lake weeds are, they are not the only weed problem that lake managers deal with. Our native varieties can be devastating if conditions exist which encourage their excessive growth. Native aquatic weeds can become almost as problematic as exotic aquatic weeds.
Preventing lake weeds
Lake weed control can be difficult and expensive. Every treatment option has it's drawbacks, some are like the medications advertised on television that have side effects worse than the original problem. In fact, there are no good or great treatment options, because they all deal with the symptoms and not the problem.
There is a better way. When dealing with lake weeds, we can think of the process as a series of steps, with the best options at the beginning, and the least desirable options left to the end as a fall back position.
The best option is prevention. Stopping lake weeds before they get a start is better than dealing with lake weeds after they have become a problem, in the same way that avoiding auto accidents and house fires is better than the very best methods of dealing with the aftermath. Prevention is always better than treatment.
Keeping lake weeds out
It is obvious that if there are no invasive lake weeds introduced into the lake, there will be no problem with them. So how do the lake weeds get into the lake to begin with?
Natural elements you can't do much about
The processes that bring invasive lake weeds into a body of water can be natural, such as birds and animals, or overflow from infested ponds or lakes upstream. This can be unpredictable, and unpreventable, but luckily, this is not the most common means of aquatic weed trans-location.
Human elements you can do something about
By far, the most common means of aquatic weed movement is human beings. This is usually done with boats that have not been cleaned properly after visiting another lake, or fishing equipment that has small pieces of plants that go unnoticed, and even by recreational equipment like all terrain vehicles. If living tissue from some exotic lake weeds from any source makes it's way into your lake or pond, it can, and probably will start to grow, and that growth may be geometric! If you are ever going to become an advocate of clinical cleanliness, this is the place to do it!
Check everything that goes in or near the water. Leave no stone unturned when it comes to clean up, check live wells, bilge, propellars, everything! Check lures, nets and anything else that might hold a fragment, because a fragment of some exotic lake weeds can become a lake full in just a few weeks!
Proactive lake weed prevention
The next step has elements of both treatment and prevention. It involves making your lake less vulnerable to lake weed infestation by strengthening it's defenses.
Ideally, your lake or pond should have no areas under 3 feet in depth. This depth will control the majority of the lake weeds we consider problematic. In 3 feet of water, it is difficult for light to reach the bottom, and that is where most weed problems begin Unfortunately, most ponds and lakes are just not built this way, and even if they were, sediment gradually accumulates around the edges. Raising the water level can be unsafe if the dam is not strong enough and high enough to hold, and dredging can be very expensive.
Whether you have shallow spots or not, there is another approach that you should consider, in fact, this should be done whether you have problems with lake weeds or not.
Water color
If your lake has clear water to a depth of more than 24 inches, your fish are probably hungry, and you probably have a problem with lake weeds and pond scum. Tinting the water will prevent the sunlight from penetrating to the bottom, and will, thereby, prevent the majority of submersed, and emergent lake weeds. How you tint the water will determine whether or not you have skinny fish!
Algae bloom
There are colorants on the market that do a good job of preventing light. They serve a useful purpose in many cases, but not when it comes to ponds and lakes used for recreational fishing. In such cases, what is needed is plankton, or non connected single cell algae. Plankton is the natural colorant for ponds and lakes, and it is the natural food for the microscopic aquatic life which feed the bugs, which feed your fish. Algae bloom is the beginning of the life cycle in lakes. The great thing about this is that it is easy to produce. If all other conditions are right, a relatively small amount of fertilizer can start the process in a matter of days, or even hours.
For lake weed control methods see: Lake Weed Control Advice
For a paid consultation about dealing with your pond scum problem see:
Lake Consultation
