In , on 05/31/03
at 07:52 AM, (Maxixe) said:

We moved to the country and have a 2 acre pond right behind our house
(about 50 ft. from the back of the house) and it attracts all sorts of
wildlife which is fun to watch. Sometimes it is a little too close for
comfort and some people have told me that certain things are undesirable
to have around the pond. For example, a large turtle (about 2 ft. long)
crawled out of the pond to our back door yesterday. It looks like a
snapping turtle and I have been advised to "get rid of it" by friends and
acquaintances. It is creepy looking but if it doesn't harm me or my
family I don't care if it makes the pond it's home but the problem, say
some is that they are "dirty" and pollute the pond.

It won't hurt a two acre pond, and will eat dead fish and other dead
critters that would otherwise rot and pollute the pond. Snappers aren't
pets, and they aren't pretty, but they are interesting, and their jaws are
easily avoided unless someone does something really stupid. If I had a
pond like yours, I'd welcome a few snappers.

Also we have Canadian geese. A Canada Goose pair come in spring, have a
bunch of goslings and then usually leave by late summer and don't come
back until the next spring. This doesn't bother me (except they leave a
lot of goose droppings in our backyard to step in (like having about 10
minature poodles always crapping back there).

Ducks and geese are messy. One pair, though, shouldn't be a problem, save
for the land mines. :-)

The pond is nearly covered with green mossy algae right now is this
because of the "dirty" animals that are using it or is it healthy despite
the algae? I am looking for the best book I can find on starting a pond
from scratch and maintaining it for beginners. This was not a natural
pond to begin with, it was just a hole dug out of the ground by the
former land owner to create a higher grade for building a house since the
lot sits at the bottom of a hill.

You need different plants to compete with the algae for nutrients. Plant
marginals around the edge of the pond, if there are none already. I
always liked cattails, but there are plenty of different marginals
available. I'm sure someone will post some websites. www.lilypons.com is
worth a look.

Good luck. Two acres - wow.


Alan

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