We have a new website, AquaticPlantId.com, that provides detailed information on aquatic weed types and is a great tool for helping customers correctly identify the aquatic plants in their lake or pond. The aquatic plant key will help remove the frustration of identifying and managing aquatic vegetation.

Once a category is determined, one can further identify the type of plant that is inhabiting a pond or lake.  A series of questions will be asked about plant characteristics and then pictures will be shown to correctly identify the aquatic plant.  Each plant is accompanied with a photo, scientific name, and a description.

“We are extremely excited about our new Aquatic Plant Id website,” says Mary Jo Furman, Product Sales Supervisor of Lake Restoration. “We are passionate about ensuring our customers are able to enjoy their pond or lake shore to the fullest.  To accomplish this they need to be able to identify any unsightly aquatic weeds.  Once weeds are identified, our weed control product will help eliminate and enhance their pond or lake views, all of this greatly improves their recreational use.”

Rely on the expertise of Lake Restoration for aquatic plant control.  If you would like more information about aquatic plants or identifying aquatic vegetation, please visit AquaticPlantId.com, give us a call #1-877-428-8898 or email us at LRMail@LakeRestoration.com.

We recently came out with a new product application tool for treating weeds and algae. The TORMADA® is an unmanned, lightweight boat that is driven by remote control. The TORMADA™ has a range of up to 1,000 feet, can go in forward or reverse, and can be operated from the shoreline. It can be used for lake weed control and pond weed control.The TORMADA® is easy to use and lots of fun to operate. All you have to do is plug in the battery pack, pour the liquid, and drive. Using a hand-held remote, you can control the speed and direction of the boat, easily navigating your way around a pond or lake. As you drive it around, the TORMADA® will automatically disperse the products until it is empty.

By using the TORMADA®, the difficulties of using a pond sprayer are eliminated. Areas that once were hard for you to reach with a sprayer will now be easily treated right from the shore. The boat removes the necessity of diluting all products except Fluridone, making your task one step shorter. Also, you have less exposure to products than when treating with a sprayer.

The TORMADA® can easily dispense liquid products. The tank capacity is one gallon and the valve on the back of the boat can be adjusted to restrict or increase the flow of the product into the water.

With the TORMADA®, you can use individual products, one of our PONDRestore® kit products to control pond weeds and algae, or our RestoreAccess® kit to keep your dock and swimming areas free from weeds and algae. Each kit contains Dibrox™ herbicide, Mizzen® algaecide, and other products to promote pond and lake health.

Try the new, fun tool for treating your pond or dock area! For more information on the TORMADA® view our product videos at TORMADA.com or call us.

Watermeal is a challenge to control, and can easily double in area in days.  It is the single smallest plant worldwide, making it difficult for the plant to uptake enough herbicide to be effective.  It has a thick cuticle on both sides of the plant and shows no visible roots.  It looks like a green cornmeal or grits and   can quickly infest a pond. 

An effective means of ridding your pond of pesky watermeal is to use our PONDRestore® Watermeal kit.  This complete kit includes:  Clipper Herbicide, Mizzen® Algaecide, Nutrient Reducer SparKlear® and also Sapphire Bay® Blue Pond Dye. You can easily control floating weeds or submerged weeds, reduce the phosphorus and other nutrients and eliminate algae.

Clipper delivers a rapid control of floating and submerged weeds such as watermeal, duck weed, water milfoil and pond weeds.  It dissipates quickly from the water column giving minimal restrictions for irrigation.  It is easy to use and you will see great results within 7-14 days!  Clipper is also available in one pound or 5 pound containers. 

Mizzen® Algaecide easily controls filamentous algae and effectively manages planktonic algae.  It is a liquid, chelated copper based algaecide that is concentrated.  It is easily applied and has zero restrictions for swimming, fishing and irrigation. 

The PONDRestore® Watermeal kit also includes a nutrient reducer and a pond dye.  SparKlear® reduces the nutrients that enable weed and algae growth.  Using a pond dye not only adds a natural looking color to your pond, small lake or water feature, but it will also help block out specific light rays that will deter weed and algae growth.

Our PONDRestore® Watermeal kits are available in two convenient sizes starting at $295.  Get the best option for controlling Watermeal and be on your way to a beautiful, clear and healthy pond!

Summer is here.  Do you have a pond, or house/cabin with lake shore?  A great way to cool off is to take a dip in the lake and then relax on your beach.  There are many ways that you can improve your dock and aquatic recreational area. 

Get rid of unwanted submerged weeds automatically with the LAKEMAID®.  The LAKEMAID® is a light weight, lake weed and muck removal machine that will expose the clean, sandy bottom beneath.  It is available in 12’ units that cover 110 square feet, 24’ units that cover 450 square feet and 36’ units that cover 1,010 square feet.   All units have “one person” installation and can easily be moved around and shared.  Watch our LAKEMAID® video!

You can also clean up the organic debris that is in the water with MuckMaid®.   It will help improve your water clarity will devouring the muck.  It is easy to apply and has no restrictions for swimming.  You will see great results in just weeks and can get back to enjoying the pond or lakefront.

The best kit for removing lake weeds in your dock and swimming area would be our RestoreAccess® kit.  This kit controls submerged weeds like milfoil and hydrilla and it also kills algae around your dock or swim area.  Also included is our MuckMaid® to eliminate the muck.  If you are looking for a granular form of this kit, we have the RestoreAccess® “G”.  It includes Hydrothol Granular for controlling a wide range range of submerged weeds or algae and includes MuckMaid® for getting rid of any organic build up.

For cleaning up the beach sand area, remove large rocks and then use a screening rake to help sift through the smaller rocks.  If you have unwanted weeds or grass in the beach area, using our Open Water Kit to effectively kill grass, weeds, poison ivy and woody brush around your pond or lake.  It is excellent for beach areas above the water line.  Not only will you kill the plant, you will kill the root!

Now that you have gotten rid of your aquatic weeds, keep the geese off of your nice beach and manicured lawn with the Goose D-Fence® System.  The Goose D-Fence® system is a patented, retractable fence that keeps unwanted geese off of your property.  When it comes time to play, mow, or access the water, just wind it up.  It can be installed or removed within 10 minutes and the best part is that it is inconspicuous and attractive.

Don’t forget about safety.  Be prepared with a Life Ring or a Rescue Station. 

A great addition to your beach area would be adding an outdoor eating space.  Complete it with lawn chairs, a picnic table, and even a fire pit for roasting marshmallows or hot dogs.  Having a place to relax or play outside of the water is an added bonus.  Enjoy your hard work and beautiful oasis!

With the warm summer temperatures rising, we are seeing an increase in algae blooms this summer.  You can keep your pond’s algae and scum levels under control by using an algaecide and nutrient reducers.

During the summer months, phosphorus levels in ponds often spike due to the use of fertilizers.  High levels of phosphorus will promote excessive weed growth and algae blooms.  Phosphorus is the main source of food for algae, and algae cannot survive without it. We recommend using PhosControl®, a granular product used for reducing phosphorus levels and clarifying the water, to help deter the growth of algae.  PhosControl® bonds with the phosphorus, making it unavailable to aquatic plants and algae.  The use of PhosControl® is very important because each phone of phosphorus will product 500 pounds of aquatic plant/algae growth. 

Any organic material in your pond will decay over time and deplete the amount of oxygen in the water.  SparKlear®, a nutrient reducer, is the biological control for ponds and small lakes.  The SparKlear® pellets contain bacteria, enzymes and trace minerals to promote the health of your pond by reducing the nutrients available for weed and algae growth.  If the organic matter is left untreated, this material can release harmful gasses such as CO2 while decaying.  It is important to reduce the build-up and keep the nutrient levels under control. 

Promoting the overall health of your pond and reducing the amount of nutrients in your pond will help keep the algae blooms away.  “Customers can extend the beauty of their pond by killing the algae and treating the excess nutrient levels,” says Mary Jo Furman, Retail Sales Supervisor at Lake Restoration. “We want our customers to be able to enjoy looking at their pond or water feature and not see the scum floating on the top.”

As algal blooms appear, we recommend using a liquid algaecide that can easily be mixed with water and sprayed over the surface of the pond.  You can even spot treat algae mats as needed.  We offer a variety of sizes in their Mizzen® Algaecide.  Mizzen® starts at $14.75 for 2,500 square feet of coverage and scales up to a gallon for $31.95 covering approximately a half of an acre.  Gallons packs are available at a discount.

You can keep your pond or water feature looking great all year long.  Our team of pond experts work all year round to help you create a seasonal treatment program to sustain the beauty of health of your pond.  

Protect your pond from unwanted aquatic plants like Duckweed, Watermeal and Algae with Lake Restoration’s PONDRestore® kits. 

Aquatic plants are a necessary component to a pond.  However, too many aquatic plants can be aesthetically displeasing or even limit recreational use of the water.  Here is a prime example of how aquatic plants get into your beautiful, weed free farm pond.  This little turtle is out for a walk, probably making its way from one pond and heading to the next.  This little guy is covered in duckweed and watermeal.  Once this turtle enters the new pond, this pond will now be infected with both Duckweed and Watermeal. 

Duckweed and Watermeal are very small floating green plants that can reproduce very rapidly if not treated.  Duckweed is often mistaken for algae.  It may have a tiny ‘roots’ extending from the underside of the plant.  Watermeal is the smallest of the flowering plants and generally very difficult to control.  It often coexists with duckweed.  Watermeal shows no visible roots and often look like green corn meal.

Many ways that floating plants get into your pond would be through other pond wildlife, roaming animals or waterfowl.   Submerged plants can also get into your pond the same way or be washed into the pond.  If you have a lot of run off from fertilizers, this can also cause an imbalance of phosphorus and other nutrient levels.  Also, if you have rotting vegetation in the pond this will increase the nutrient levels in the pond.

Like Algae, Watermeal and Duckweed thrive in nutrient rich waters.  If you have either of these aquatic plants in your pond, we recommend using the PONDRestore® Kit, with the herbicide Fluridone or the PONDRestore® Watermeal kit that has the herbicide Clipper.  Both kits contain Mizzen® Algaecide for treating a wide variety of algae, Sapphire Bay® Blue Pond Dye, and a nutrient reducer SparKlear®.  By using Lake Restoration’s complete pond kit, you will get rid of the unwanted aquatic plants and your pond will find balance. 

The LAKEMAID® is a lightweight lake weeds and muck removal machine and is now being offered as a 36’ unit.  The LAKEMAID® eliminates submerged weeds near dock and swimming areas while removing muck and silt for a clean, sandy lake bottom.  This new unit covers 1,010 square feet and quickly eliminates weeds by making 3,000 rake passes within 24 hours.  The LAKEMAID® eliminates weeds in a few days and continues working as long as you’d like.  The rakes simply brush across the lake bottom, keeping your area clean and clear of lake weeds.  The LAKEMAID’s® rakes will also eliminate the build-up of silt and muck.

The LAKEMAID® is environmentally safe.  The support arms gently pull the rakes over the lake weeds, gradually wearing them down until they disintegrate completely.  This means very few weeds end up on the shore and won’t accumulate in the swimming area.  The LAKEMAID® is also available in 12’ units that cover 110 square feet and 24’ units that cover 450 square feet.  “The LAKEMAID is not difficult to install and once that is completed, we can forget it and just watch the efficiency of the LAKEMAID,” says Shirley Larson, a current LAKEMAID® customer.  “I especially like the free standing unit.”  All units can easily be installed or removed within 15 minutes.  

All sizes of the LAKEMAID® receive the upgraded anchor system.  The new anchor system prevents the pump from turning and the cord from twisting.  Instead of using an anchor bag, there are two pipes that secure into the lake bottom and fasten to the pump handle. 

The LAKEMAID® is manufactured by Lake Restoration, Inc. in Rogers, MN.  View the LAKEMAID® video or call us for details.

We have aquatic weed and algae control kits for under $100 and are offering a new size of our RestoreAcces® "G" kit.  These complete kits are a valuable tool in improving access to the water for recreational activities such as swimming, fishing and water skiing.

Our RestoreAccess® dock and swim area control kits are available for $68.00. The RestoreAccess® kit effectively controls submerged lake weeds like milfoil and hydrilla while killing the algae. The kit includes Dibrox™ Herbicide, Mizzen® Algaecide and MuckMaid®.  The all-in-one submerged weed control kit products are quickly absorbed by the plants, allowing for effective management and control in small areas of large water bodies.  “Our customers want their lakefront to look good and that is why we have offered an aquatic weed control option for under $100,” says Mary Jo Furman, Retail Sales Supervisor for Lake Restoration, “We want to help our customers improve their recreational area so they can have fun this summer playing in the water or relax when they are sitting on their dock having a cup of coffee.” 

In addition,  we added a new size to our RestoreAccess® “G” kits.  This is a granular version of the RestoreAccess® and controls a wide range of aquatic weeds and algae.  It also includes MuckMaid® to improve the water clarity and devour the muck so you can enjoy your lakefront.  “With Hydrothol Granular now being packed in 20 pound bags, we are happy to offer a new weed control kit size to our product lineup giving our customers another option to control their aquatic weeds.” The new size treats 2,000 – 4,000 sq. ft. and is available for $155.  Two additional sizes are offered for those that have a smaller or larger lake front.  Treat 1,000 – 2,000 sq. ft. area for $87.00, and 4,000 – 8,000 sq. ft. area for $279.00.

Blue –green algae is blooming in ponds and lakes across the country.  Ponds and beaches are closing throughout the country due to toxic algae.

The algae season is in full bloom and some of it can even be deadly.  With the summer temperatures rising, the algae blooms are growing. 

Algae is commonly referred to as Seaweed, Pond Scum, or Pond Moss and can be found in almost any habitat on earth as long as moisture is there at some time, even if that time is very short.  Depending on the algae, water can often become unsuitable for fish, swimming, and other animals.  There are many groups of algae, but it is mostly divided into two different physical categories:  Filamentous Algae and Planktonic Algae.

Filamentous algae may seem like long stringy hairs, cotton-like in appearance.  Filamentous algae can form thick, greenish looking mats on the water’s surface.  Planktonic algae can appear as a paint-like scum on top of the water’s surface.  The water column turns green, blue-green, or variations throughout and is often described as “pea soup.” 

“With all of the rain that we have been receiving here in MN, the nutrient levels in ponds and lakes are climbing due to the run off of chemicals and fertilizers. We are seeing a lot of algal blooms this summer,” says Chad Hadler, Service Operations Manager at Lake Restoration. “If you are going to be in the water, be on the look-out for blue-green algal blooms.”

Cyanobacteria, also known as Blue-Green Algae, which contain harmful bacteria, can be dangerous to pets and humans.  The scum can often smell like sewage or manure.  Not all blue-green algae is toxic.  We recommend using Mizzen® algaecide to combat algae blooms to keep scum levels under control and prevent toxic algae from forming.  If you or your pets have come in contact with water that has an algae bloom, we recommend thoroughly washing with clean water and then contacting your health care provider if you begin to experience any symptoms.

Mizzen® is a chelated copper based algaecide and may be used in many types of water bodies, including ponds, lakes or water features.  It is manufactured by Lake Restoration and is available in four convenient sizes.  The treatment of 2,500 square feet of surface area costs $14.75, 5,000 square feet $18.95, 10,000 square feet $27.00 and approximately half an acre $31.95.  For ongoing algae management or for larger bodies of water, Mizzen® is available at a special gallon rate.

Submerged aquatic plants are rooted and are a big interference for our summer water activities.  Knowing what kind of submerged weeds you have will help you in determining how to effectively eliminate the weeds so you can enjoy your lakefront.

Milfoil

Milfoil (Eurasian Watermilfoil) is a very aggressive submersed plant usually found growing in muck, sand or rock.  It can grow nearly 10 feet in length and has aggressively invaded lakes in North America.  Using an aquatic herbicide that is quickly absorbed by the plants is best when trying to control milfoil. 

Hydrilla

Hydrilla stems are up to 25 feet in length and can be rough to the touch.   The leaves typically are branched oppositely near the bottom and on the upper portion of the plant have 2 to 8 whorls of leaves around the stem.

Pondweed

There are many different varieties of Pondweed.  Some are curly, while others are wide and wavy.  Curly-Leaf, Clasping-Leaf or Sago are some of the most common types of Pondweed.  Curly-leaf Pondweed typically grows earlier in the season and is often described resembling lasagna noodles.  Curly-leaf grows in dense mats near the water’s surface.  Clasping-leaf Pondweed can sometimes be confused with Curly-leaf.  The easiest way to tell the difference between the two varieties is to look at the tip of the leaves.  Clasping-leaf tips have a pointed tip while the Curly-leaf will have tips that are more rounded.  Sago Pondweed typically grows in recreational areas where there is shallower water.  When viewing Sago Pondweed from the surface, it often resembles blades of long grass that are growing up from the bottom of the lake.

Coontail

If you have a weed that bushes out like the tail of a raccoon and is dark green in color, then you most likely have Coontail.  The leaves are identified as looking bushy or spiny and are more forked.  Coontail actually does not have true roots, but it commonly floats near the water’s surface towards the end of summer.

Southern Naiad

Naiads are typically found growing in the spring and early summer.  Naiads are an annual plant growing each year from seeds.  If not controlled, they can form a dense mass by midsummer.  Naiad has short, narrow leaves that look like ribbons forming off of the stem of the plant. 

We recommend using our RestoreAccess® for controlling Milfoil, Hydrilla, Pondweed and other submersed plants.  This all-in-one aquatic weed control kit includes Diquat herbicide for tackling those submerged weeds.  It also includes Mizzen® algaecide for eliminating algae and MuckMaid® for tackling the mucky bottom of the lake.   If you are looking for a non-herbicide solution, our LAKEMAID® will restore your beach area by cutting through the weeds and revealing a sandy lake bottom beneath.