weeds

[LTC]

Hello all:
I was wondering what I can do about weeds in front of camp, can I cut them? dispose of them? what am I allowed to do with them?
Checked out the weed link did not read anything that I can or cannot do.

Thanks

[Tori]

Put down old pool covers with rocks on them where your boat comes in next to your dock. Smothers the weeds and is not very visible. Get an inground pool cover that someone threw out next to the road....no cost to you. You can get a weed cutter too for the weeds in deeper water.
Tori

[RochNY]

Good morning LTC,
When you say 'weeds' I'm assuming you mean the invasive Eurasian Water Milfoil. If you do not know what this aquatic plant looks like, please check an online photo using your computer search engine. Some 'weeds' are beneficial to the lake's ecosystem. It's when they grow uncontrollably that they become a nuisance to human activity--the fish still like them.

These 'weeds', if Eurasian Water Milfoil, should NOT be cut! Each little piece settles elsewhere in the lake to become another full grown plant in short order. Cutting these weeds as well as nutrients from leaking septic tanks around the lake is what has caused this invasive plant to take hold and proliferate in Black Lake.

If possible pull the weeds out by the roots, and dispose of them on shore--compost them, or remove them from any area near the water's edge. The covering idea that Tori mentions, is one means of controlling them, but using an old swimming pool cover is inappropriate. There are mats designed specifically for this purpose--an old pool cover will simply get you into trouble. In addition, use of benthic mats must be started early in the Spring before the weeds grow up toward the surface.

An old swimming pool cover or plastic tarp is NOT designed for that job. A benthic mat must breathe to vent the bubbles of decomposition gases of the smothered weeds, otherwise it will balloon up and float away. This big piece of plastic then becomes a hazard for boating. It is essentially trash in our lake.

Technically, one needs a permit from the DEC to use benthic mats since they smother ALL organisms under them--the good and the bad--the plants and the animals. The Black Lake Association conducted (in conjunction with the ad hoc Invasive Weeds Committee) several trials of different brands of benthic mats last summer. We published the results of that trial in last Fall's issue of our newsletter Currents. We also have a comparison sheet for different types/brands of benthic mats with contact information for sellers of each brand listed.

Proper installation, use and maintainence of benthic mats is an effective means of controlling weed growth in the shoreline water zone. It enables wading/swimming and clean access to boats on docks or mooring areas. There is plenty published on the internet about proper use and installation of benthic mats.

I encourage you to read on the issue and not try some of these helter skelter do-it-yourself, home-brewed methods to control weeds--they do far more harm to the lake than good.

Sincerely,

Rich Henderson, President, Black Lake Association

[Tori]

Rich,
I have used the old pool covers and have never had them float away or become trash in the lake. The same ones have been in place for a few years. Who can afford weed mats??
Tori