Algae and Weed Control

by Darrell Rhoades on March 14, 2012

Algae and weed control was at the top of the questions at the Expo There are literally thousands of algae species and the most common asked about is the filamentous string algae. For weed problems the most asked about was Eurasian Watermilfoill which is an invasive (nuisance) species taking over ponds and lakes across the nation.

Algae and weeds, where do they come from? How do they grow? Why my pond or lake? Plants need three items to live. Similar to the fire triangle where we need a Fuel source, Heat and Oxygen to have fire, we can take one of the 3 sides out and knock down the flame.

Weeds and Algae need Nutrients, Water and Photosynthesis (sunlight) to live. Taking away one of the three sides can knock down the weeds. Let’s back up a little to explain the word weed. In the beginning they were actually plants such as the Lilly pad (just as an example), it looked great during the blooming season, blocked sunlight from the water and provided habitat for our fish and microscopic insects for the little fish.

As time moves on each year the plant dies off leaving more nutrients on the pond floor for more growth the following year. As this cycle continues the plants become more abundant until they are not wanted and then seem to turn into weeds. Some of these plants we never planted in the pond and just appeared. Most of which can come by wind, wildlife, transplanting new plants even brought in by boats from other ponds or lakes.

Nuking the pond or lake with chemicals to kill unwanted algae or weeds can hurt our fish, wildlife, microscopic life and end up in our fresh water. Most times chemicals can be effective but are costly by acquiring permits, hiring a licensed applicator, repeating every year or up to three times a season.

One of the easiest and least expensive ways to help control algae and weeds is by using pond dye. By tinting the water we can reduce the amount of sunlight penetrating the water column and removing one of the 3 legs plants need to grow, photosynthesis.

WhatPond will work with you in controlling your unwanted plants (weeds), find an economical approach feasible for you, benefit the uses your pond or lake provides while doing our best to maintain the wildlife in and around your waters.

There are effective ways to manage unwanted plants without chemicals, click the contact us button on top of the page and drop us a line to get started. Or discover more on our Free Education page.