Chemical Control of Aquatic Plants

aquatic herbicides are often the first place Pond owners turn when nuisance aquatic plants appear in their Pond herbicides can provide Rapid Control of aquatic plants but they can also cause serious environmental damage when used incorrectly aquatic herbicid should only be used after careful consideration of the aforementioned nutrient control strategies as well as physical and biological Alternatives once you decide to use an aquatic herbicide there are a number of steps that must be followed to ensure a safe and effective result first make sure you properly identify the plant or plants that you want to control most aquatic herbicides are effective on a specific group of plants so it is imperative that you accurately identify the offending plant and choose the correct herbicide that will control it in this example the pond owner has identified elodia as the nuisance plant they want to control the next step is to select an appropriate aquatic herbicide there are several herbicides that can be used for any given aquatic plant the selection of the best herbicides should be based on several factors including the effect on both the Target and other non-target plants the presence of sensitive fish and other Aquatic Life the water use restrictions after application of the herbicide and the cost of the product aquatic herbicides fall into two categories including contact and systemic contact herbicides are fast acting non-selective and kill all or part of the plant by contacting the plant's surface systemic herbicides are usually slower acting and more selective but they are more effective because they're taken up by the plant through the roots or leaves and kill the entire plant frequent changes to Aquatic herbicides along with the number of products available make it impossible to describe each product in this video instead you should consult various written and upto-date resources available from your local Cooperative Extension Office the Penn State Pond website and herbicide manufacturers to help you select the proper herbicide for your situation in this example the pond owner has decided to use a product with diquat di bromide since it is very effective on eloda is relatively safe for fish in the pond has only minor water use restrictions and only costs a few hundred for a 1 acre Pond now it's time to figure out how much herbicide you will need this is where the area and volume measurements that we demonstrated earlier in this video will come in handy all aquatic herbicides are applied in dosages that are based on either the surface area of the pond in acres or the volume of pond water in acre feet it is imperative that you carefully calculate these Pond parameters to ensure that you apply the proper amount of herbicide using a GPS device this Pond owner determined that her Pond is about 1/2 acre in size since diquat di bromide has a recommended dosage of about 1.5 Gall per acre we will need about 34s of a gallon for this treatment the next step is to submit the state permit to apply the herbicide to your pond many Pond owners are unaware that a state permit is necessary before making any herbicide application to their private pond the permit is a simple two-page form available on the Penn State Pond website or from the local office of the Fish and Boat Commission or the Department of Environmental Protection the permit application requires information about the characteristics of your pond the plant you want to control and the chemical you want want to use both the Fish and Boat Commission and the state D will review the permit and may deny or limit it if any accurate or improper information is given or if the herbicide application could harm Aquatic Life in a stream that receives water from the pond once you have received the state permit to apply the Aquatic herbicide you can purchase it at many local Farm and Home Supply stores or through numerous online Outlets the cost for aquatic herbicides vary greatly depending on the active ingredient ranging from less than $100 to over $1,000 to treat a 1acre pond after obtaining the herbicide read and follow the product label very carefully all aquatic herbicides are potentially dangerous and should be handled carefully the label will include information about proper protective clothing to wear while mixing and applying the herbicide how and where to mix the herbicide the correct number of pounds gallons or quarts of the herbicide to apply for a given area or volume of pond water how and when to apply the herbicide for maximum Effectiveness and any water uses that should be avoided after the application in general it is best to apply aquatic herbicides early in the growing season before the plants completely overtake the pond although Cattails and some large floating plants like spatterdock and water lily can be treated successfully in late summer treating too much vegetation can cause fish kills as the plants Decay and consume oxygen from the water if you do treat large amounts of aquatic plants treat only 1/3 to 1/ half of the pond at a time and allow for 1 to two weeks between treatments to allow the pond to recover note in this example the pond owner is wearing protective clothing listed on the label including eye protection long sleeves impermeable Footwear and rubber gloves the label suggests a backpack sprayer as a suitable method to apply this chemical the pond owner care y mixes the product according to the label to create the required dose of 1.5 Gall per surface acre the label suggests applying the herbicide on a warm sunny day with little wind and a water temperature of at least 60° f after the application is complete the sprayer should be washed with pond water and the remaining herbicid should be stored in a clearly labeled container as suggested by the label keep in mind that there are many professional Consultants that can be hired to apply herbicides to private ponds and lakes these Consultants must be State Certified to make herbicide applications they can take care of all aspects of an herbicide application including choice of herbicide permit acquisition and application of the chemical a complete list of State Certified aquatic herbicide applicators is available at the Penn State Pond website aquatic herbicides offer an effective solution to some nuisance plant problems but some common mistakes are made by Pond owners a applying too much herbicide due to improper calculations or application methods can result in the death of fish and other Aquatic Life failure to read the herbicide label can result in ineffective treatments personal injury or serious environmental damage treatments are often made too late in the summer causing large amounts of vegetation to Decay leading to disastrous fish kills acquiring the state permit can eliminate some of these problems by allowing an aquatic herbicide expert to review your proposed treatment strategy before you start remember that complete eradication of a nuisance plant through the use of an aquatic herbicide is rarely accomplished and unrealistic more often the herbicide treatment will reduce the growth below a