Pond Weeds by Roger N. Cobb Agricultural Extension Agent

Ponds in Alamance County are built for various reasons. They are used for irrigation, a place to fish, beautification of a homesite, a place to view wildlife and often to water livestock. The invasion of pond weeds can cause problems with each of these uses of ponds. Weeds can be unsightly, clog irrigation lines, make fishing difficult or impossible and make it impossible to enjoy the pond for recreational uses.

Once a weed infests a pond, proper identification is necessary to plan a control program. Some pond chemicals are expensive so you want to make sure the proper chemical is used at the proper rates. Some weeds can be controlled with sterile grass carp, thereby eliminating the need for chemicals. Grass carp are very selective in what they will eat.

If you need to have a pond weed identified, you can bring it to our office. If we can't identify it, we will get it to our aquatics specialist. The proper way to prepare a weed speciman is to remove some of the weed from the pond, place it in a damp paper towel and put it in a ziplock bag. DO NOT bring the weed in a jar of water.

Take a look at some examples of some pond weeds found in local Alamance County ponds. These weeds are water meal, top row, variable leaf pond weed, (bottom left) and chara (bottom right.)