clearing 'mind your own business' from my pond
cuddly.ken
Posts: 4
my mother's pond is now completely covered in Helxine? The pond has frogs, no fish and currently many tadpoles. Is it helpful to remove this weed and if so, how do I remove when there are so many tadpoles amongst it.
0
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Bit of a pain if it's in the pond Ken
I think the best way to go is to scoop and pull out as much as you can, leaving it on the pond edge so that any wildlife can find a route back into the water. Much the same as removing any overpowering plant or weed. Just keep checking on it to make sure the tads are all out. Alternatively, you could even try putting it into a bucket of water after removal, and then you might be able to isolate any tadpoles and put them back into the pond that way. Tricky but might ensure you collect them all.
Is it coming from an area of ground nearby? If so, you might have to resort to some weedkiller to eradicate it there so that it doesn't spread.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Gladly I don't have it any more, but I used to spray the garden hose on the surface of the pond to push all the weed to one end of the pond then remove with a net. Then repeat until it's all gone.
Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
http://image1.gardenersworld.com/98317.jpg?tag=7afb8f5a-f4cc-49cb-9010-7b850c1693af
You need one of these. Get a taller one though. My pond is four feet deep in the middle and this is the small size machine!
If you wish to discuss rental terms I'm listening. After the machine was switched off the pond looked like water again and ducks came. It was all very exciting for a while! That hose idea sounds like a goodun. I spend rather too much time teetering on the brink with a keep net!
oh, thank you for all your replies. I especially like the idea of renting the machine! I will try to find if there is a source for this and treat that accordingly. My mother, who is 91 next week, can try some of your suggestions (I live nearly two hundred miles away from her.)
Is this helxine harmful to the wildlife in the pond as it has now covered the whole pond.
are you sure it's helxine, not duckweed?
In the sticks near Peterborough
Sounds like lemna minor
yes, I now realise it is duckweed. I have read up on it a little and my mother's gardener cleared some of it today, being mindful to make sure the large tadpoles went back. We do not keep fish in the pond, only frogs. I am wondering how unhealthy this stuff is for the tadpoles and frogs. Do we need to try to eliminate it all?
Not unhealthy at all, they all live together naturally. It's people that don't like it because they like to see clear water.
Same with green murky water, the inhabitants don't mind, people do
In the sticks near Peterborough
oh, great, thanks very much for that information. I learn everyday!