I have a smallish (around 6ft x 4 ft) pond. Its many years old, at least 40 years old I would say. Its one of those pre molded plastic ones, thats been set on the ground, built around with stones and paving and some planting. It here when I arrived.

I have to say I like it but my husband does not.

It used to be thriving, it had loads of frogs in February and loads of newts.
But I guess I am not good with wildlife over that last 20 years they have all gone. I have no frogs at all now ( yet when I counted them back in 2004 I had 20+ . I seemed to lose them all one winter and only returned but he seems to have gone a couple of years ago now.

I had newts up until last year but I have been messing with the pond today and I cant find any.


The thing is, there is something going wrong with this pond. The planting seems all disturbed. It was mainly a little lilly type plant which comes up with a small white lilly in the next month or so.

What too my attention ( and the reason I am messing) is that the roots of the plants seem to have been disturbed and were making a sludgy mucky mess . I pulled some out and most came up and turned over.

Its as if someone or something has upset it or been rooting in it.

I couldnt find a single newt. I did find some dragon fly type lava ( sorry they went as a result of me pulling out the dead sludge).
The water level is low but the hot weather may have something to do with that. I cant find a leak or a split visable. There is a lot of debris in the pond from leaves and rotting stuff off the one tree that shadows it.

Is it time to call it a day on this pond or is there any chance of getting it going again? If I do retrieve it, would my wildlife come back do you think? - I mean the frogs and newts, not the dragon flies ( I really dislike dragon flies).