Get Rid of Pesky Pond Weeds Once and For All: 6 Proven Steps

Share this post:

Few things can be more frustrating than weeds growing in your beautiful pond. Fortunately, it’s not that hard to get rid of them and solve the problem altogether.

If you’re wondering how to drag weeds out of your pond, this is the article for you. This article lists all the possible ways to clear your pond of weeds of all types and shapes.

6 Steps to Drag Weeds Out of Your Pond

1. Start by the banks and extend your rake to remove all the weeds you can reach until you completely clear the edges of the pond.
2. Move further into the pond to remove the weeds systematically.
3. Use the rake to drag the weeds toward you.
4. Remove the weeds that get entangled in the rake and dispose of them on the bank.
5. Leave the weeds on the bank to drain completely, thus reducing their weight.
6. Place the drained weeds into plastic bags and get rid of them properly.

5 Effective Tools for Dragging Weeds Out of Your Pond

Following is a list of the most effective tools you can use to drag weeds out of your pond:

1 – Weed Rake

This is the most important tool you can use to remove pond weeds. Typically, rakes should be lightweight with long handles to facilitate dragging loose patches of floating weeds. Moreover, the wider the teeth are the easier it gets to remove a large amount of weed.

2 – Weed Cutter

This tool is usually long-handled with V-shaped cutter blades on one end. Weed cutters should be lightweight but still heavy enough to sink to the bottom of the pond to cut weeds at the roots. They may also come with ropes to cover a larger area.

3 – Hand-Operated Weed Tiller

This tool features a long handle that ends with a rotating cylinder head with hooked metal teeth. It rolls along the pond bottom to dig in the mud and pluck the roots of weeds. The hand-operated weed tiller comes in handy with complicated root systems.

4 – Surface Skimmer

A surface skimmer or pond parachute is a stick with a flexible mesh net. It’s used to collect surface weeds as the net trails behind the attached moving stick. This tool is very useful when removing surface weeds that have fine root systems or no roots at all.

5 – Beachroller

The Beachroller allows you to remove weeds from the root, which prevents regrowth. Simply, leave it in the water until it drops to the bottom and push it around. Beachrollers also come with end caps that add weight to the tool to ensure it stays at the bottom of the pond.

3 Benefits of Dragging Weeds Out of Your Pond

So, why should you remove weeds from your pond? Here are some general benefits of clearing your pond of such invasive species:

1 – Healthier Fish

Weeds require oxygen to survive. Therefore, when you get rid of them, all the oxygen they used to take will go to your fish. This would ensure happy and healthy pond fish.

2 – A Nicer View

Removing weeds helps you restore the picturesque look of your pond. Weeds can be unappealing to viewers. They may also hinder recreational activities by the pond.

3 – A More Balanced Ecosystem

As an invasive species, weeds take the space, the sunlight, and the oxygen required by aquatic plants. This can in turn affect the ecosystem since aquatic plants are a stable food source for species such as dragonflies. Without these plants, the habitat of these species is disturbed.

Different Weeds Call for Different Methods

Unfortunately, not all aquatic weeds can be removed the same way. The type of pond weed dictates certain ways of control. In fact, each type grows differently, which means that each type requires a certain removal process. Here’s how:

1 – Algae

While little algae won’t pose much trouble, a great amount can cause the death of your pond fish. Here are ways to control algae:

UV Clarification

A UV Clarifier is a highly effective tool to get rid of free-swimming algae blooms in your pond. Fortunately, it’s not at all harmful to fish, plants, or any sort of wildlife in your pond.

Pond Dye and Shading

Pond Dye is another successful method of algae control. It helps suffocate algae by reducing the amount of sunlight it gets. On the flip side, it will affect other plants as well.

Manual Removal

Some species of algae, such as string algae, can be easily removed, vacuumed, scraped, or even cut by hand.

Herbicides

You can also use herbicides, such as copper sulfate, to control algae. However, you should be cautious about the dose and application to avoid harming the fish and plants in your pond.

Beneficial Bacteria

Some bacteria may be able to kill algae. This can be a highly effective method, but make sure you remove the dead algae as soon as you can and don’t leave it to decay, which is a further waste of oxygen.

Draining Pond Water

This is the last solution to resort to if all other methods fail. Simply, drain the pond completely of water. Then, you can clean it thoroughly and fill it back with water, leaving no trace of algae.

2 – Emergent Weed

Due to its rapid growth, emergent weed can be incredibly invasive. It grows along the pond edges and only requires a few inches of water to emerge. Here’s how you can get rid of it:

Seasonal Cutting

Emergent weeds can be very hard to cut manually because they reproduce through rhizomes. Therefore, to get rid of them, you need to remove the entire rhizome with the weeds. It’s preferred that you do this after the growth season in order not to give it a chance to resprout.

Emergent Weed Herbicides

You can also apply herbicides directly to the emergent weeds to get rid of them. However, we don’t recommend chemicals as they can harm your plants and fish. Therefore, you need to be cautious when using herbicides.

3 – Floating Weeds

Floating weeds are basically any plant that spreads across the surface of the pond blocking sunlight and depleting nutrients.

This type is relatively easier to control because its rhizomes are simpler. Here’s a list of ways to remove floating weeds:

Manual Removal

Some floating weeds have rhizomes while others have no roots at all. That’s why manual removal can be relatively easy with this type of weed. Depending on the species of floating weeds, you can remove them by skimming, raking, or vacuuming.

Floating Weed Herbicides

You can also resort to herbicides in case the weeds are severely spread. With floating weeds, you better opt for contact herbicides, which are generally a safe option. This is mainly because they break fast into the water, reducing their dangers to fish and plants.

4 – Submerged Weeds

This type of weed typically grows into a dense mat underneath the water surface. Its flexible stem makes it easy to remove. Here’s how:

Manual Removal

Manual removal is the easiest way to get rid of submerged weeds. They have a delicate stem that facilitates raking, skimming, cutting, or even dragging out of the pond.

Submerged Weed Herbicides

Most probably, you won’t need to use herbicides with submerged weeds as they’re easy to remove manually. However, you can still use herbicides when the problem persists. For this matter, apply a seasonal herbicide to solve the problem temporarily.

Grass Carp

In case the problem persists, you can introduce Grass Carp as a means of long-term control. This is an invasive species of fish that can consume such weeds and help you get rid of them permanently.

Final Thoughts

So, how to drag weeds out of pond? The first step is to identify the type of weed you’re dealing with in order to choose the best method.

You can always drag weeds manually out of your pond using some useful tools such as rakes, parachutes, and tillers.

Share this post: