How to Get Rid of Cattails – What Are The Basics?
Cattails are a common phenomenon within several North American environments, most especially occurring near ponds, and at first seeming rather harmless. At first you may notice one of these plants and think nothing of it. You might just believe that same thing the next day, and the day after that, and maybe several days after that, until that definitive day that you look out the window, and the entire pond has been taken over to the point where you need an air-boat to get through it as if you were living in the everglades.
So, now that you’ve been invaded by the evil army of the cattail, what kind of offensive will you do? Would you organize the army and run in with guns (or pesticides) blazing? Or will you opt guerrilla warfare? That is totally up to you, because regardless of what technique you choose, the cattails aren’t sentient, so they will not see your approach, meaning that you’ll always possess the element of surprise. That additionally means that you can probably get rid of the camouflage and remove the paint from your face. The binoculars and gas mask probably won’t be needed either.
The options available to you are not few in the area of cattail removal, and naturally, since the pond is yours (unless for an unknown purpose you have decided to attack the next door neighbor’s pond), you are free to choose any of these techniques:
Physical Removal – You’re of course, free to try pulling the cattails yourself. But if you do that, attempt to get to them when they’re very young, otherwise they will take sturdy root and become very hard to pull. That will also become a all order, because around the time you start pulling them, chances are they have already taken over your pond, and there’ll be a lot of them.
Cutting – You may cut the cattails, though keeping mind that it’s wise to cut them about one inch below the water line so you’ll starve them of oxygen and kill them.
Lowering the Water Line – Cattails, like anything else, need water to live. By lowering the pond’s water line, and ensuring those plants do not get everything they need, you will find they expire rather quickly, that is unless they’ve actually broadcast their seed, meaning you’ll have to do it all over again the next year. If you’ve no issue with manipulating the water level of the pond every single year, then this will be a viable option for you.
Pesticides – A final decision, because pesticides may damage any organic life within the pond, which would cancel out the purpose of having the pond. However, you can continue buy any herbicides which you require from both stores, or from the Internet. Only remember the hazards.
Remember this, you might think these cattails are a serious issue and you have to destroy each and every of them, but know that cattails help stop erosion, and that’s a very good thing. Therefore leave at the very least a couple of them alive, because all plants and animals (wasps not included) serve a purpose, even if that purpose is not known.