FusionWhite
Epee ~)----- Fencer
I moved into a new house back in October. It shares about a 1/4 acre pond with the neighbors. From the deck it looks outstanding, however on closer inspection the damn thing is a mess. Ive attached a picture below with some captions. Hopefully some of you civil/water people can help me out with some suggestions.
First of all the area behind my house used to be much larger. There is a stream running through my backyard which catches run off from the area further behind me. Unfortunately the sediment has really started piling up and a large part of the pond has already filled in and has grass, flowers and trees growing in it. Another large section is only a few inches deep and is a mesquito breeding ground. Ive looked into some sediment removal options and found a few places that can get the sediment out, but Im not sure if its economical. Heres the guys I found:
http://www.sedimentremovalsolutions.com/
Is it worth getting this thing dredged/de-mucked? Should I wait until the water gets low and start scooping with a shovel?
The other part is the damn thing is filled with algea and lilly pads. About a third of the water is covered with lilly pads. They look nice, but I really want to cut them back. How do I go about killing off the lilly pads other then wading in with the gardening shears? Ive managed to get the algea under control with liberal applications of algeacide, but I have a bad feeling that the amount of chemicals Im pouring in to keep the algea down is not good for water quality.
My neighbors have a pretty beastly fountain that keeps the water moving pretty well throughout most of the pond, however the afore mentioned shallowness of my end of the pond means the water is pretty stagnant. Im looking at adding a small fountain or bubbler. I would like something solar powered that runs during the day. Does anyone have any experience with these? Are they easy to install?
Muskrats. God damn muskrats. We have lots of them running around burrowing into the banks. I have a rifle and am ready to start blasting them away, but my wife is absolutely against that. My dogs are too stupid to catch them and the pest control guy charges $350 just to come out and set traps. I think I may wait until my wife goes out of town and then invite some friends over for some beer and muskrat target practice, but maybe you guys have some other ideas?
Im trying to avoid turning this pond into a money pit. So any ideas would be appreciated.
First of all the area behind my house used to be much larger. There is a stream running through my backyard which catches run off from the area further behind me. Unfortunately the sediment has really started piling up and a large part of the pond has already filled in and has grass, flowers and trees growing in it. Another large section is only a few inches deep and is a mesquito breeding ground. Ive looked into some sediment removal options and found a few places that can get the sediment out, but Im not sure if its economical. Heres the guys I found:
http://www.sedimentremovalsolutions.com/
Is it worth getting this thing dredged/de-mucked? Should I wait until the water gets low and start scooping with a shovel?
The other part is the damn thing is filled with algea and lilly pads. About a third of the water is covered with lilly pads. They look nice, but I really want to cut them back. How do I go about killing off the lilly pads other then wading in with the gardening shears? Ive managed to get the algea under control with liberal applications of algeacide, but I have a bad feeling that the amount of chemicals Im pouring in to keep the algea down is not good for water quality.
My neighbors have a pretty beastly fountain that keeps the water moving pretty well throughout most of the pond, however the afore mentioned shallowness of my end of the pond means the water is pretty stagnant. Im looking at adding a small fountain or bubbler. I would like something solar powered that runs during the day. Does anyone have any experience with these? Are they easy to install?
Muskrats. God damn muskrats. We have lots of them running around burrowing into the banks. I have a rifle and am ready to start blasting them away, but my wife is absolutely against that. My dogs are too stupid to catch them and the pest control guy charges $350 just to come out and set traps. I think I may wait until my wife goes out of town and then invite some friends over for some beer and muskrat target practice, but maybe you guys have some other ideas?
Im trying to avoid turning this pond into a money pit. So any ideas would be appreciated.