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Texas Lake Solutions
Dedicated to Preserving Texas Lakes
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Water Is Life In Texas, Our Lakes Provide That Water!
Lake Weed Management Myths: Un-Muddying The Water
Preventing the problem
The fiction about weed management in ponds and lakes in Texas, for that matter, everywhere, has grown to a point, where it now supports it's own mythology! I want to clear out some of the weeds, and do so without muddying the water!
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First, Without doubt, without argument, without room for compromise, preventing the invasion of exotic lake weeds is the very best way to solve the lake weed problem! That issue is dealt with at length in the TexPest Services Aquatic Weed Control Directory, Help Stop Exotic Lake Weeds, and Preventing Exotic Aquatic Weeds, and other articles on this site. Another point on which there should be no argument, is that it would be unwise to do away with all pond and lake weed vegetation. I have however heard it set up as a straw man, by people who have a vested interest in one side of this issue. The idea seems to be, that chemical and biological vegetation managers are trying to destroy all vegetation in lakes, and poison and pollute them at the same time! It is not too hard to guess the source of this argument.
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Let's take a look at the facts.
- For good management, we need all of the tools available, but they need to be used in the proper sequence.
- Personally, I have problems with biological controls like grass carp. There are too many things that can go wrong, but there are times, when they are the best option. I have bigger problems with mechanical controls, because of the fragmentation problem. If mechanical controls are used early, and a lot of fragmentation occurs, the problem will grow! There is no if, and, or but about it! Fragmentation will increase the problem!
- There is a place for mechanical weed management, but it should be done carefully, with the best equipment, with as little vibration as possible, not like some underwater spin trimmer or chainsaw, but with smooth, non fragmenting motion, and ALL the weeds and fragments should be collected. This means of control should only be used as a last resort! That is, when there are no other options available, or when the other options are not plausible, and when the owner, or governing entity has determined that the lake must now be maintained in the same way as a lawn, with regular mowing!
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Everyone has a problem with chemical control, because no one wants to see our waters polluted. I read a fishing forum that had a pretty long piece about how TPWD folks, who are obviously puppets of the chemical industry, were sending people out to destroy all the vegetation in a particular lake by polluting it with thousands of gallons of chemicals provided at huge profits by the chemical companies! Haven't you heard? Chemical companies run the world, and their goal is to polute all the rivers and lakes, and kill all the fish, and they do this because they hate nature and wildlife, but mostly because they hate fishermen! Well, that is what the article sounded like. The facts are very different.
In the first place, TPWD is a fiercly independent state organization that is run far better than most state orgs. They cater to no one!
Second, no one, that is, no licensed vegetation manager is pouring anything anywhere! The application process is very specific, tedious, targeted, and precise.
Thousands of gallons? No, the active ingredients in all aquatic registered products are applied in parts per million! Perhaps hundreds of gallons of water, mixed with a few ounces of a chemical which has been tested and put through a rigorous approval process that can be best described as anal retentive, by people who have been through a difficult testing process and stand to lose licenses and spend time in prison if they perform this act improperly, could be interpreted as thousands of gallons, but it just sounds like a scare tactic to me!
The fact is, that chemical controls, are very often the best controls we have in the fight against exotic invaders. If used properly, they can sometimes eradicate the weeds, they can be used to control the problem without causing it to spread, and they can be used selectively, unlike biological controls, to get rid of only the offending vegetation.
The scare tactics need to stop! They are unfounded, and contribute to the general mythology. The fact is, that all the methods of control have their place, and their time. The wise use of these tools should be our focus!
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