You know the feeling. You’ve changed into your swimwear, the sun is shining, the birds are singing — it’s a picture-perfect day. The water is that sublime kind of cool you crave on a hot afternoon. You take a few steps in, and the water rises to meet you.
And then it happens. It feels the way an old record player sounds when you drag the needle across the vinyl. You’ve stepped into the Ooze Zone layer. You now have that slimy sludge stuck to the bottom of your feet.
You move faster, trying to skid it off, when abruptly you are hit with the next insult: slimy, fishy smelling weeds. You try to gracefully free yourself, but this is all-of-a-sudden not your day. The mood is gone and you make a snap decision. The weeds are on notice and they’re taking that repulsive sludge with them.
Bob Willard of Pond Perfections says there are three ways of taking care of your sludge and weed issues. “First there’s the weed blower that you can attach to your dock, about three feet under the water.” The blower circulates the water, so weeds and sludge can’t form, and is effective at least 100 feet away. In the winter this weed blower can also serve as a de-icer to prevent ice from forming and damaging your dock.
The next option is the enormously popular weed roller.
“This works like a rototiller,” Bob explains. “As you roll it across the bottom, the six custom blades rip, cut and pull up weeds and muck, greatly increasing the oxygen in the leftover sludge which causes it to quickly decompose.”
For the most complete approach, Bob advises spreading environmentally-friendly sludge pellets before using the roller. The roller will push them deeper into the soil, again increasing the decomposition of the sludge. “Over time the bottom will become more solid and sandier. In the second year, weed growth almost disappears.”
There’s an additional solution for bays and coves with stagnant water: Pond Perfections offers beautiful floating fountains or surface aerators to keep water moving and fresh.
And let’s face it. This is your haven away from the worries of the world, and you want it to be the delightful shoreline you deserve for your family’s summer entertainment.
TEXT KARI KLASSEN
