Texas Lake Solutions

Aquatic weed control types.

Sometimes it becomes necessary to use some method of control to deal with aquatic vegetation. Most texts list 3 types of control, mechanical, biological, and chemical. I have a fourth which is the very best form of control for any unwanted organism which I will list .

• Mechanical aquatic weed control.

Mechanical lake and pond weed control is the physical removal of the plant. This can be manual or mechanical, and include cutting, pulling, and raking. The major problem with mechanical controls comes in the form of fragmentation. Most aquatic weeds can reproduce from small fragments, so that if the parent plant is not removed or killed, there will be more plants added to the already existing ones. Other mechanical management methods include draw downs, and dredging to make the water deeper and less susceptible to plants needing sunlight.

• Biological aquatic weed control.
  

Biological pond and lake weed control involves the control of vegetation through living organisms. To date, these include some weevils, and a few types of fish such as tillapia and white amur, and a few other types of plant pathogens. Biological controls are the least predictable form of vegetation control and can present a number of potentially serious problems.

• Chemical aquatic weed control.
  

Chemical controls involve applying chemicals to destroy plants. They can be somewhat selective, as in killing only broadleaved plants or emergent plants, and can be applied in such a way as to destroy plants around a dock or ramp, and leave plants in a shallow slew.

Proper identification of aquatic plants.

The most important aspect of any of the three above mentioned methods, is to properly identify the plants that you are dealing with. This is a very detailed study, but there is a fine tool available for the identification of aquatic plants, and information on treatment methods. Aquaplant is a service of Texas A&M, and can assist you with many of your lake or pond management issues. I use it myself.

• Prevention of aquatic weeds.
  

Prevention of lake and pond weeds. This should be seen as the holy grail of control techniques. Prevention may involve the use of some of the other methods, such as dredging the edge of a lake or pond to make the water deeper, and prevent sunlight from reaching the bottom. It can involve fertilizing to provide algae bloom which will block the sunlight from reaching the bottom, and in some limited cases, the addition of colorants for the same purpose.

The major effort in prevention is to keep invaders out. this involves thorough cleaning of all things that go in or near the water before moving from one lake to another.

Managing pH