v8rider.net

Cattails are a normal phenomenon in many North American environments, most especially occurring in or around bodies of water, and at first seeming fairly innocent. Initially you might see such a plant and dismiss it. You might just think the same thing the following day, and the day after that, and perhaps many days after that, till that one day that you peer outside, and your whole pond has been overgrown to the point in which you need an air-boat to navigate it like you’re living in the everglades.

So, now that you’ve been invaded by the cunning army of the cattail, what kind of counterattack will you do? Would you organize your army and go in with guns (or pesticides) blazing? Or will you choose guerrilla warfare? The methods are totally up to you, since regardless of which technique you decide on, the plants are not sentient, therefore they won’t notice you coming, indicating that you will constantly possess the element of surprise. That also means that you could likely get rid of the camouflage and remove the paint from your face.  Those binoculars and gas mask likely will not be needed either.

The choices at your disposal are not few for cattail destruction, and naturally, since that pond belongs to you (unless for some reason you have set out to do battle with your next door neighbor’s pond), you’re free to choose any of the following methods:

Physical Removal – You’re of course, free to attempt pulling the cattails up by yourself. If you do this, try to pull them when they’re very young, otherwise they will take strong root and become very hard to pull. That would also turn into a all order, since by the time you get around to pulling them, chances are they’ve now overrun your pond, and there will be a ton of them.

Cutting – You may cut the cattails, but remember that it’s wise to chop them about an inch below the water line so you’ll deprive them of oxygen and kill them.

Lowering the Water Line – Cattails, just like any other living creature, need water to survive. Through reducing the water line, and making sure those plants don’t get all the things that they need, you’ll discover they expire pretty fast, unless of course they have actually broadcast seeds, in which case you’ll need to do this all over again the following year. If you’ve no issue with manipulating the water line in your pond every single year, then this would be a realistic choice.

Pesticides – This should be a last resort, since pesticides may hurt the organic life in the pond, which sort of defeats the reason for having the pond. However, you may continue buy any herbicides which you require from both stores, or from online. Only don’t forget the hazards.

Remember this, you may think these cattails are a major issue and you have to destroy all of them, however take note that cattails serve to prevent erosion, and that’s a very good thing. So try to remember to leave at the very least a few of them alive, since every creature (wasps not included) has a reason for living, even though the purpose is as yet unknown.