How to Get Rid of Cattails in a Pond or Lake
Use our Cattail & Water Lily Control to eliminate your cattail problem and make your body of water useful again!
Toward the end of the summer, cattails reach maturity and can take over a pond or lake. Lake Restoration is here to tell you how to get rid of cattails.
Do I have cattails?
Cattail stems grow four to eight feet tall with no branches and have a dense brown cylindrical flower with a yellowish spike at the top. The flowers bloom through fall before turning into a white fluffy mass. Cattails have flat to slightly rounded leaves that are thin and long.
The plants can be partially submerged or in boggy areas with no permanently standing water.
Cattails are nuisances
Cattails, sometimes called cat o’ nine tails, can easily dominate the shoreline of a lake, pond, stream or river. They are considered emergent weeds because they grow far above the water’s surface.
Though some people like the appearance of these North American natives, their ability to take over and ruin a body of water for any recreational purpose is what drives many people to remove cattails from a shoreline.
What not to do
Some people cut these plants back in an attempt at cattail control. We at Lake Restoration do not recommend this, especially in spring, as this may ultimately stimulate the growth of the plants if cut below the surface of the water. Burning cattails also encourages new and stronger growth. Pulling them out is an option, though labor intensive.
Since cattails largely reproduce through their creeping root system, leaving any portion of the root behind means doing the exact same task next year.
Getting rid of cattails is easy
Killing cattails down to the roots will offer the best control. We recommend the use of our Cattail & Water Lily Control.
Mix the two products together with water in a sprayer. Spray the parts of the plants above the water’s surface and our herbicide will do the rest! The surfactant breaks through the tough exterior of the cattail, and once the herbicide is absorbed, plant growth stops. The herbicide moves through the plant down to the root system.
Some signs can be seen in as little as two weeks, but it will take up to five weeks for complete plant death. Once cattails are completely brown and crispy, it is okay to cut them down.
There are no swimming restrictions after use and the product is safe for fish and wildlife.