weed killers, pesticides, deck treatments?

[Philphine]

i'm liable to use any of these three at some time. i actually dd use both weed killer and bug spray at times last summer, but i tried to be careful of where i sprayed. at some point i guess i'll need to spray the deck with some treatment, and as it crosses the pond in one place it would be hard not to get it in the water.

so anyway, are there any recommended brands of any of the three? something natural or home brewed? i still just have comets, that have seemed pretty hardy so far, but i figured i'd better ask if there's something considered to be fish safe.

 

[pecan]

I would be very careful, not sure what chemicals you can use that wouldn't hurt if it got in the water. But you can plant marigolds throughout your flower beds to keep insects away and weeds down.

My deck can be picked up and moved for repairs and re-staining. Is there anyway you do that withe the part of your deck that crosses the pond?

 

[addy1]

roundup type weed killer is know to kill frogs, toads and tads.

Preen to keep the weeds from germinating, is know to be deadly to your fish.

 

[Waterbug]

There are degrees. If by "safe" you mean will the fish be killed in a few hours I'd say most weed killers and deck treatments would be "safe" as long as very little got into the pond. For example, a deck treatment might be perfectly safe, but if all the chemical was washed off into the pond the pH might crash and kill the fish. So the chemical may not have been toxic, but its effect on water could be.

I'm old. Really old. I'm pretty sure everything that was proven "safe" when I was young is now considered toxic. I now consider claims of safe to mean "kind of safe as far as most people think". I try to keep in mind everything is toxic in some way, to some things, in some amount.

 

[sissy]

you can use the bug sprays that say they have lemon grass in them ,hot shot sells them and it is all I use and smells great too ,a plus .You could do like a lot of people replace the top of the deck with the composite ,I know it is expensive .But the cost is worth it none of the the work to clean and restain and none of the splinters and it does not get as hot under your feet .So much worth the extra money .I replaced one deck with them and plan on doing the deck off the master bedroom next .

 

[Philphine]

thanks. i guess i have to take these things into consideration. i tried to add decking and pavers close to the pond so hopefully not much weed killer would be needed, and i'll look for the lemon grass bug spray.

the deck crossing the pond i don't think i can make removeable, not very easily anyway. i guess i could consider composite decking over the pond part. it might not be too much to do that section

here's an older pic. i'm a good bit further along, but i haven't posted any here for perspective anyway

it's the best pic i had already to show the walkway over the pond (actually a stream section bettween ponds). i looked at the composite decking while i was building, but it was pretty spendy. i guess if push comes to shove, it might be worth it to do this section of it though. thanks again.

 

[sissy]

You will see how much you will like the composite and you will start saving to do the rest .I broke down after 8 years of work on the old deck boards and the hassle of staining and trying to walk on the blistering hot boards .It was a great investment and easy to install also .I built the decks myself and I want to save enough also to do the railings and covers for the 4x4's and maybe do a trellis also .The savings on work on the old deck boards is worth the money and no warping boards

 

[crsublette]

Ugh, good call. I'm gonna have the same problem too with tree bug spray drifts.

Be'n a farmer, I live in the middle of aggriculture with many acres of corn around me. So, the spider mites come to my tree's for refuge throughout Summer. I chemically spray the trees, it's cheaper, more effective, and, if summer not too hot, only one application. Even on a calm day, the bug spray will drift 20 feet or so since the tree sprayer really has to reach to spray my huge elms. So this got me thinking ...

I'm going to use my Winter solar cover blanket pvc tent while the trees are going to be sprayed. This structure is still a work in progress, but I am building this tent structure so that it can be erected very easy over my waterfall, stream, and pond.

Ya might could build some sort of quick'n easy, temporary, cover structure under the deck crossing while ya are cleaning or staining it or whatever ya need to do. Be sure it has a slant so it doesn't puddle on the cover.

From what I've heard, if certain pesticides drift into ponds, then the pond's beneficial bacteria could be severely stunted or eradicated. This is deifnitely a mistake I do not want to allow happen, if there is anything I can do.

For minor weed spot killing in my rock garden around my water, then i'll just have to be careful to minimize drift such as put'n a cone around my wand sprayer and using vegetable oil to reduce drift travel or use a cloth applicator.

 

[sissy]

I just use a large tarp as I live in a ag. area also and lots of farms around me .I also made covers to keep fine stuff out with window screening material .Keeps the finest stuff out .