Cattails are a normal occurrence in several North American environments, most especially occurring in or around ponds, and initially seeming rather innocent. At first you may notice such a plant and think nothing of it. You may just think that same thing the next day, and the next day, and maybe several days after that, till that one day you look out the window, and the entire pond has been overgrown to a point where you require an air-boat to navigate it as if you were living in the everglades.
So, now that you have been invaded by the evil army of the cattail, what sort of offensive can you do? Would you organize the troops and run in with guns (or pesticides) firing at will? Or will you opt guerrilla tactics? That is completely for you to decide, since no matter which technique you choose, the cattails are not sentient, so they will not notice you coming, meaning that you will always have the element of surprise. That additionally entails that you can likely take off that camouflage and remove the paint from your face. The binoculars and gas mask probably will not be required either.
The choices at your disposal are not few for cattail removal, and naturally, since that pond belongs to you (unless for some reason you’ve decided to do battle with the next door neighbor’s pond), you’re free to choose any of the following techniques:
Physical Removal – You’re of course, welcome to try pulling those cattails up by yourself. But if you do that, try to pull them when they are very young, lest they gain sturdy roots and become extremely hard to pull. This would additionally become a huge chore, since by the time that you start eliminating them, chances are they’ve already taken over the pond, and there’ll be a ton of them.
Cutting – You may cut the cattails, though remember that it’s wise to chop them somewhere around one inch under the water line so as to starve them of oxygen and they will die.
Lowering the Water Line – Cattails, like any other living creature, need water in order to live. Through reducing the water line, and making sure those plants do not receive everything that they need, you’ll find that they expire rather quickly, unless of course they have actually broadcast their seed, in which case you’ll have to do this all over again the next year. If you’ve no issue with lowering and raising the water line in the pond every year, then this would be a viable choice.
Pesticides – This should be a last resort, because pesticides may damage the organic life within the pond, which sort of defeats the purpose of owning a pond. However, you can continue buy any herbicides that you require from stores, or online. Just remember the risks.
Remember this, you may believe these cattails are a major issue and you need to destroy all of them, but know that cattails serve to prevent erosion, and that’s definitely a good thing. Therefore remember to leave at the very least a few cattails alive, because every creature (wasps not included) serve a purpose, even if that reason is obscure.
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