Eurasion Milfoil invasion

[ToddF]

has anyone had success with getting rid of this invasive species?

What did you do if you got rid of it.

[ski4xtc]

@ToddF, what type of lake do you have? If it has no outlets, Triploid Grass Carp will clean it up. Be careful not to overstock. It is better to start slow with them.

[RAWSki]

If you can access the herbicide "Sonar" use it. It will knock to the Milfoil down easily.

[garyh20ski]

I will second the use of Sonar.... Although expensive it has eliminated our Milfoil and Sago Pond Weed issues. We are in Northern California and could not get a permit for Grass Carp so have no experience with their effectiveness.

[bishop8950]

Yep, Sonar works. Expensive but effective.

[6balls]

We've dropped a pile of 2,4D into our lake, holding our own.

[sixball]

We use Sonar on our lake. Not a ski lake but a 2,000 acre lake with water turnover very hi.

It works well for us.

[garyh20ski]

To be more specific our lake is about 60 acre feet in capacity. We use Sonar Genesis liquid. Our application is 12 gallons annually. 6 gallons initial treatment with a follow up of 3 gallons each 30 and 60 days post initial dosing. We get the Sonar Genesis for around $300 per gallon for a total annual cost of around $3500. We just dump it out behind the boat so it is super easy to dose the lake. It nukes the weeds but does not have any effect on algae. For that we use a chelated copper in a dry pellet form that we spray out of a backpack sprayer.

[RichardDoane]

Broho had issues years ago. Mechanical removal and grass eating carp did the trick. Make sure incoming trailers are clean. Dye helps limit the sunlight penetration. Our lake owner said no to chemicals.

[Than_Bogan]

Even where legal, keep in mind that the grass carp are indiscriminate -- they eat all weeds. You may or may not regard that as a good thing. They also can get HUGE (30+ lbs) and they sometimes hang out very near the surface.

Chemical methods also have obvious downsides. The entire point of herbicide is to be toxic (to plants, but they are only so different from us).

 

Point is: Do your research. There are many effective options, but none are perfect. You'll have to determine what tradeoffs you are willing to accept.

[BraceMaker]

@Than_Bogan bowfish the big boys.

[BCM]

Regarding herbicides - be sure you use an aquatic labeled herbicide that is labeled for use in your state and use by the label recommendations. In most states the label of the product in your hand is the law. Those labels are there for a reason, read them and follow them.

 

Regarding toxicity - many herbicides are relatively benign to humans. Many work by disrupting plant specific cell processes, such as photosynthesis. This is how you can have species specific herbicides, they have been formulated to only disrupt the process in certain types of plants. If used at the labeled rate with the proper protective equipment listed on the label and you pay attention to the re-entry period on the label you will likely be just fine. The Sonar label I looked up did not have a use restriction for swimming after application, meaning, according to the US EPA you can swim after application and likely be just fine.

 

I agree with @than_bogan, do your research. But, look for legitimate sources of information, there is a lot of non-science based BS surrounding herbicides. Reach out to your local ag extension office (WSU Ag Extension Locations) or a local, licensed pest control applicator. A key to understanding how the herbicide might effect you is to understand the mode of action for that herbicide. Sonar is a Chlorophyll/Carotenoid Pigment Inhibitor because of this mode of action it is detrimental to plants but not humans (we don't have Chlorophyll in our cells).

 

[ToddF]

wow great input

thanks

I know that eurasion milfoil is the Hydra of weeds. Every time you chop one, two or three more grow. In 4 or 5 years we have gotten to the point where you can't ski if the water level is low, our water level goes up and down a lot.

[Greg Banish]

They used 2,4D in our lake (in Michigan) as well with decent results. It has to be applied at a specific water temp in spring to be most effective. It only affects dichots, so it's safe on grass. Our biggest challenge is that some homeowners refused to let them apply it to the beds in front of their homes, which makes eradication across the entire lake almost impossible.

[The_MS]

Find out the source prior to dumping cash into lake and then have it happen again.

Hit it hard with Reward and follow up in spring with Duiron 80.

As long as your outbound flow is very small you can stop it with Reward.

 

[scuppers]

garyh20ski Where do you order Sonar for $300 per gallon?