Foolish mistake.

[skc101fc]

Made a big environmental mistake a few years ago. Cleared a completely overgrown mountain pond on our farm. Hidden by sprawling willow scrub, didn't even know it was there. Worked on land drains to bring a flow of water all year round, created differing habitats around edges with planting and various water heights and marsh areas. All going well so far, newts, frogs, dragon and damsel flies, even wild brown trout moved in.

Then my big mistake. Seeing waterlily type plant on a parkland pond, lifted a few rooted sections and set them in my pond.

The culprit......- Frogbit weed.

The bloody stuff took off like billy o , and kept on spreading, covering the whole 150m area pond in 2 years. Now each year ,waders on and pull as much as I can get out, but the pond bottom is laced with spaghetti lengths of roots that resprout in days. This year I'm trialing cutting the leaves beliw water with a sickle to see if I can starve it out, on half the pond, whilst pulling by hand the rest.

I don't wish to use any chemical, being mostly organic .

Any bright ideas out there ?

[Haironyourchest]

Step 1: Find out whatever animal or insect eats frogweed (some type of frog maybe) in its country of origin.

Step 2: Take a holiday in said country and smuggle back a breeding pair of said animal.

Step 3: Release animals/insects into your pond.

Step 4: ???

Step 5: Profit!

[skc101fc]

I think I've done enough damage relocating just one organism, I like the sound of a holiday somewhere exotic though.

 

 

[skc101fc]

The european frogbit plant is considered as offensive to maby American states as knotweed is within the UK. Not every state blacklists it, so maybe there's something either climatic or geographic about it. Certainly its quite a coloniser of standing water here in Ireland. The place where I harvested mine from, later drained the ponds and sent in a team to spray plants and manually drag root material. Several years later it's returned as if nothing at all had disturbed it.

[skc101fc]

It seems I've been misled, when talking with a local, self taught "environmentalist".

When she first told me it was Frogbit, sure didn't I just accept it for the truth of her knowledge. But as I researched today about control in the USA , things in the desciption didn't seem right. Like flower colour for a simple and obvious start. Anyway 5 minutes with the observers book of plants and internet confirmation , and its fringed water lily I have. A known invasive in ireland, though surprisingly native and little threat in UK.

I am still presented with a difficult task to eradicate now, whilst also not allowing any fragments to escape into other watercourses.

Also teaches me not to accept everything I'm told unless by a qualified expert. - Should have been dealing with this 4 years ago.

Bugger !

 

 

[Mark J]

Maybe your exotic holiday should involve a trip with a tanker to Kielder.

[MattyF]

Grass carp would be worth a try , get some Triploids so all they will want to do is eat and can’t breed.
Some thing about using them in this https://dnr.wi.gov/files/PDF/pubs/ss/SS1048.pdf

[westphalian]

Step 1: Find out whatever animal or insect eats frogweed (some type of frog maybe) in its country of origin.
Step 2: Take a holiday in said country and smuggle back a breeding pair of said animal.
Step 3: Release animals/insects into your pond.
Step 4: ???
Step 5: Profit!

Yeah, get some Cane toads while you are at it

[Stere]

https://invasivespeciesireland.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/Nymphoides_peltata_ISAP.pdf

 

 

from reading this it sounds a nightmare to get rid of it.

 

https://dnr.wi.gov/files/PDF/pubs/ss/SS1051.pdf

 

see the natural enemies  bit^

Edited June 29, 2018 by Stere

[skc101fc]

Thanks ( ! ) for finding the second article. I'd already depressed myself reading the first one. I think I'll just go and spray the shit out of my habitat and then dangle from a gibbett in front of the media ,as a warning to all others.

Otherwise its back on with the waders for several more years till I've got every tiny bit pulled.

We're a bit short of muskrats and some of the other moths etc here. Haven't I done enough damage?