On 17 May 2020 09:05, april wrote:
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).




Suspect a Heron has taken all the frogs and newts or the pond has
turned toxic. Some leaves can do that as they rot.
If you want to keep the pond then clean it out and start again, it's a
very messy smelly job and the sludge is a very strong fertilizer so use
little and don't let it touch plants (or put on compost heap).
Once it's clean and you have replanted it then you need to put a
deterrent against Herons around it. They prefer to land on ground and
walk into water so some posts and fishing line pulled tight about 1 ft
above the ground right next to pond edge frightens them (usually).
Wildlife usually comes back eventually.
Do keep the water level up and try to stop leaves falling in (net in
autumn) Do you know which tree it is?
--
Regards
Bob Hobden