On 2009-08-24 11:58:54 +0100, Martin said:

On Mon, 24 Aug 2009 11:39:04 +0100, Sacha wrote:

On 2009-08-24 11:29:05 +0100, Martin said:

On Mon, 24 Aug 2009 03:15:26 -0700 (PDT), sutartsorric
wrote:

On 22 Aug, 07:13, John Lloyd wrote:


This year our small garden pond is totally blanketed with duck weed.
Is there a remedy likely to be harmless to the inhabitants? *Netting it
out seems to stimulate further growth!
-
John Lloyd
Black Country, UK

You are not alone John, my small garden pond is exactly the same.

I was told that there is very little that can be done if the pond is
too small for wild fowl which might eat it. The only things suggested
were, buy a pump and some kind of water circulation device to keep the
surface moving, or wait for a sharp winter frost then the weed will
become encased in ice and can be moved away wholesale.

As the latter is likely to be months away, I am considering the
former.

Cover it with black plastic. Duck weed needs sunlight to survive.

But that would kill off other plants too, surely?

One has to be willing to make sacrifices. )

Give the pond some shade by planting some shrubs/trees.

Encourage ducks, moorhens, etc as they eat the stuff.

Try a duck weed treatment but there aren't many and this one is expensive:
http://www.aquahydrotech.com/catalog...product_type=1

Keep raking it out.

Remember that it does some good in removing contaminants from the water
(hence it is cultivated in some sewage/waste water treatment plants.

Or try one of these -- you might take baby out with the bathwater but
at least you don't have tokeep emptying it:
http://www.garden4less.co.uk/hozelock-pond-vac.asp