Pond Safe Vegetation Killer

[Nyboy]

I have a natural stream that runs a few feet from my patio. I was given some roots that where suppose to be flag iris. Turned out to be cat tails, now I can not get rid of them. Like the cat they are named for they seem to have 9 lives. Have tried digging them out, but impossible to get 100% of roots so they grow back. Is there a reptile, amphibian fish safe vegetation killer ? Would like to spray cat tails wait till they die then dig out? If not how do you get rid of cat tails.

 

[mrsclem]

White vinigar can be used around ponds but not in your stream. Cattails are hard to get rid of. Just keep pulling them out. Took me 3 years to get mine out of my bog.

 

[Meyer Jordan]

Try cutting the foliage to below the water line. This will eventually suffocate the plants.

 

[budgenator]

You can get roundup gel in an applicator that looks like a stick deodorant, that way you can apply precisely to what you want to kill without getting it on anything else. Catails are probably tough for even roundup to kill, so it may not be a once and done thing. If you one of the people Leary of using roundup I've heard good things about vinegar and epsom salts for weed killer.

 

[tbendl]

It's in a stream budgenator, Roundup is not fish or frog safe.

 

[Nyboy]

I do use round up on poison Ivy in yard, there is warning not use near water harmful to fish.I bought house because of the wildlife so want to be very careful on what I use

 

[Meyer Jordan]

http://aquaplant.tamu.edu/management-options/cattail/

Please note--Glyphosate, based on fairly recent studies, has been determined to cause health issues not only in fish but especially water fowl.
The addition of any chemically based product, can and usually will, have undesirable side effects on aquatic life.
Mechanical removal is usually the safest and most effective method of aquatic weed control in small ponds.

 

[Lisak1]

Glyphosate, based on fairly recent studies, has been determined to cause health issues not only in fish but especially water fowl.

It's bad for us human animals, too, and anything we put into the earth eventually ends up in us - one way or the other. I was watching a documentary the other day and a "scientist" said glyphosates are safe for humans because they only kill weeds and bacteria. Ummm... I may not have weeds growing on me, but we rely pretty heavily on the bacteria in our bodies to keep us alive and healthy!

 

[MoonShadows]

Glyphosate is to our time what DDT was to the 60's. Big Money and Big business keep pushing it's "harmlessness" to humans, but more and more studies are showing how toxic it is to humans.