Now that spring has arrived, it’s time to start gearing up to make sure your pond stays weed and algae free all season long! Pesky weeds and algae can make your pond unsightly, and they can take the fun out of having a water feature as part of your landscape.

Lake Restoration has been in the lake and pond weed services industry for 40 years. They offer proven solutions that will get rid of weeds and algae, making your pond look beautiful all year round.

Here are some common weed and algae types that may pop up in your pond, along with tips and products to help you combat weeds all summer. All of our liquid products can be applied to your pond with ease using the TORMADA® application boat. The TORMADA® is fun to drive and will take the chore out of treating your pond.

Common Floating Weeds

Floating weeds are weeds that float on top of the surface of water. A common floating weed is duckweed. Duckweed floats on the surface of the water and creates a film over the water. Algae will also create “scum-like” mats on the surface of the water.

SOLUTIONS: What is the solution to floating weeds like duckweed and aglae? Lake Restoration’s Pond Products will help you rid your pond of these types of weeds, as well as the algae that grows shows up on the surface. Use Dibrox® herbicide to get rid of the weeds. Dibrox® is quickly absorbed by weeds and is safe for fish and animals. Our copper-based Mizzen® algaecide will rid your pond of algae. 

Common Submerged Weeds

Submerged weeds are weeds that grown completely under the water’s surface. There are many different types of these plants, but the following are some commonly seen examples:

SOLUTIONS: Just like with floating weeds, submerged weeds can be easily controlled using Dibrox® herbicide. Mizzen® algaecide will help you rid your pond of algae as well.

Other Advice for Floating and Submerged Weeds: Both floating and submerged weeds and algae can be controlled using Dibrox® herbicide and Mizzen® algaecide. Some other helpful products for pond care include SparKlear® nutrient reducer and Sapphire Bay® pond dye. SparKlear® comes in liquid or pellet form and is great for eliminating organic material at the bottom of your pond and reducing nutrients that cause algae growth. Sapphire Bay blue pond dye will help give your pond a beautiful blue color.

Emergent Plants

Emergent plants are plants that grow above water or on your shoreline. These include cattails, water lilies, grass, weeds, poison ivy, and woody brush in and around ponds and lakes.

SOLUTIONS: To control emergent plants, use Glyphosate 5.4 to control problem areas. It is also recommended to use a surfactant to help Glyphosate spread. This treatment kills plants at the roots, and there are no restrictions for swimming and fishing. A backpack sprayer is advised for easy application of these products.

Weeds and algae are no fun to deal with in the summer. That’s why Lake Restoration provides comprehensive options for eliminating weeds and algae so you can enjoy your water. To learn more about products, application methods, to request a catalog, or to order, visit LakeResotoration.com. Take advantage of our FREE SHIPPING offer in celebration of 40 years in service! 

Got Duckweed?  

We are happy to announce that we are adding a new pond herbicide, Spritflo™ Herbicide, to our pond product lineup.  Spritflo™ Herbicide is a substitute for Sonar® AS Herbicide and contains the same active ingredient 41.7% Fluridone. 

Spritflo™ Herbicide is great for management of aquatic vegetation in fresh water ponds, lakes reservoirs, potable water sources, drainage canals and irrigation canals. Spritflo™ also controls duckweed (floating plants) and nearly all submerged weeds in ponds. It stays suspended in the water longer than other pond herbicides providing longer control for undesirable aquatic vegetation. It can be applied right away to a pond to give more control and help stop weeds before they start to grow.

“We are excited to be a direct substitute for Sonar® AS Herbicide for less money,” says Chad Hadler, VP of Operations at Lake Restoration.  “Customers now have a more affordable way to treat their pond with Fluridone for duckweed and submerged weeds using Spritflo™ Herbicide.”Spritflo™ Herbicide, a Lake Restoration product, is available in five sizes with the smallest 4 ounce size treating ponds that are half acre in size for $95.00.  Other sizes available are:  8 ounce ($179.00) for treating up to a one acre pond, 1 pint ($329.00) for treating up to two acres, 1 quart ($582.00) for treating up to four acres, and one gallon ($1687.00) for treating up to sixteen acres.

Spritflo™ Herbicide is a concentrated herbicide that is easy to apply.  Applications can be made directly into the pond by using a sprayer or the TORMADA® product application boat.  The TORMADA® is remote controlled and enables ponds to be treated for aquatic vegetation right from the shoreline, reducing exposure to products.  It is easy to use and fun to drive!

Work with our Lake Restoration aquatic experts to order Spritflo™ Fluridone Herbicide or to customize a pond kit that will enhance the overall health and appearance of their pond.  We have a wide variety of aquatic herbicides, algaecides, and pond dyes to eliminate nuisance pondweeds and algae.

If you have a goose problem, you may be hesitant to step in your own yard for fear of walking into a pile of goose droppings. This is an all too real problem for anyone who has a waterbody on their property. A single goose can eat up to four pounds of grass in a day creating large amounts of poop. When groups of geese congregate on your lawn it can ruin your summer activities. We want you to be able to use your own lawn and lake or pond without worrying about a geese problem! Walking barefoot in your yard and enjoying the lush grass shouldn’t be stopped because of pesky geese.

One effective form of goose control is a dog. Geese want to be able to nestle down and have easy access to grass and water. Geese will move on and find a new home where they aren’t bothered by other animals.

But you may be asking, ‘what if I don’t have a dog?’ There are other options like moving decoys. These can come in the form of dogs, coyotes, and other predators. These options are also viable, but may be less successful than a real dog and may be an eye sore. 

Goose repellent sprays can be sufficient as a goose deterrent. However, they can be costly since you will need to buy more when you run out. They can also have unpleasing odors that make your neighborhood smell. 

We recommend using the Goose D-Fence® retractable goose barrier. It blocks geese from accessing the water without flying. During a couple months of summer, geese shed many of their flight feathers and are unable to fly. The rest of the time, geese prefer not to fly unless they are migrating. Research has found that geese do not want to have to work hard for food and water since they need access to it every 30 minutes. The Goose D-Fence® makes the geese have to fly to get to the water which causes them to find a more suitable nesting ground elsewhere.

 Goose D-Fence® is virtually invisible so it isn’t an eye sore. Unless you know it is there, you probably won’t realize there is anything in the yard. Two wires span between the posts and inhibit water access for geese. It is easily set up and is retractable so you can quickly move it out of the way when you want access to your water. One Goose D-Fence® spans up to 250 feet along your pond or lakeshore.

Take back your yard and enjoy the rest of summer, goose free!

We are introducing a new pond and lake weed herbicide, Dibrox™ Herbicide to our product line up. Dibrox™ Herbicide controls a wide range of floating and submerged weeds in ponds and around docks.  Dibrox™ Herbicide contains the same active ingredient as Diquat and Reward® herbicide and is quickly absorbed by plants to easily control duckweed in ponds and submerged weeds in pond or lakes.

Dibrox™ Herbicide will now be a part of our signature pond and lake weed control kits, PONDRestore® and Restore Access®.  The PONDRestore® kit includes Dibrox™ Herbicide, Mizzen® Algaecide, SparKlear® and Sapphire Bay® Blue Pond Dye.  The Restore Access® kit eliminates submerged lake weeds, algae and muck around dock or swimming areas and includes Dibrox™ Herbicide, Mizzen® Algaecide and Muck Maid® muck eliminator.  Whether a pond or a lake, we have a complete do-it-yourself weed control kit for controlling nuisance algae and pond or lake weeds.

“Dibrox® Herbicide is a great and affordable addition to the herbicides that we already offer to our customers,” says Chad Hadler, VP of Operations at Lake Restoration.  “We are very excited to add a liquid herbicide that will tackle pondweeds and lake weeds so our valued customers can enhance their summer experience and enjoy their pond and lake at its best!”

Dibrox™ Herbicide can easily be applied to your pond or lake using the TORMADA® product application boat.  The TORMADA® is an unmanned lightweight boat that enables ponds and dock areas to be treated for weeds and algae without launching a manned boat or using a backpack sprayer.  The TORMADA® is easy to use, and has a simple set up.   Easily treat the water right from the shoreline and drive your weeds and algae away.

Lake Restoration sells many traditional herbicides and algaecides in its online store. Dibrox™ Herbicide, a Lake Restoration product, is available in five sizes:  8 ounce ($14.85) treats 1,000-2,500 square feet, 1 pint ($21.99) treats 2,500-5,000 square feet, 1 quart ($33.75) treats 5,000-10,000 square feet, Half Gallon ($58.00) treats 10,000-20,000 square feet, and 1 Gallon ($101.00) treats 20,000-40,000 square feet.  

Treating your pond will be easy when you use our TORMADA® application boat and our PONDRestore® kit.  The PONDRestore® Kits come in a variety of sizes from 1,000 square feet to 10 acres. The kits start at a price of $48 for the PONDRestore® 1000. The PONDRestore® Kits are intended for use with the TORMADA® applicator boat.

“We launched the PONDRestore® Kits to be used along with the new TORMADA® product application boat,” says Mary Jo Furman, Product Sales Supervisor of Lake Restoration. “The liquid products make the application process easy and fun when used with the TORMADA®.”

The PONDRestore® Kits include several products that benefit the pond in a variety of ways.  Dibrox™ herbicide controls weeds and Mizzen® algaecide controls algae. Dibrox™ acts quickly against unwanted weeds. SparKlear® restores the pond’s health by reducing nutrients that enable weeds to grow and Sapphire Bay® pond dye adds a natural looking blue color.

The PONDRestore® Kit products are used in the unmanned, lightweight TORMADA® pond sprayer. The TORMADA® is remote controlled from the shore and makes applying the products fun. Applying products with the TORMADA® decreases exposure to the chemicals. The boat has a range of 1,000 feet, so places that were hard to reach with a sprayer now become easily treatable.

Our PONDRestore® Kits treat ponds with ease when paired with the remote controlled TORMADA™. Enhance the beauty of your pond with the PONDRestore® kit and the TORMADA® pond sprayer.

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.