Watermeal

Watermeal is a small floating pond weed that does not have any roots and is commonly found alongside Duckweed. Watermeal ranges in size from 0.2 - 1.5 mm making it roughly the size of a pinhead.

Watermeal can be found all across the United States and while there are different types of watermeal it is impossible to distinguish the differences without the use of a microscope and specific training or knowledge.

Given the proper conditions watermeal can cover the entire surface of a pond. Excess growth of watermeal is the result of elevated nutrient levels such as phosphate and nitrate. Complete surface coverage of your pond can result in oxygen depletion which can cause fish kills and death of beneficial aquatic plants. Early action and prevention is crucial to control watermeal and maintain a healthy pond. 

Watermeal can be physically removed from a pond by either raking or netting. These methods are quite labor intensive and can lead to regrowth. Since watermeal is so small it is very easy to miss patches leading to regrowth. Aeration is another possible treatment option as it disturbs the surface of the water. While aeration may be a deterrent it is not a guaranteed solution for preventing regrowth or spreading of watermeal in your pond.

The Duckweed Destroyer Pack is a specially formulated pack that is designed to control Watermeal with results showing as soon as 48 hours post treatment. The Duckweed Destroyer pack includes Cutrine Plus, Tsunami DQ, and PlexMate.

Propeller is an excellent aquatic herbicide choice for floating weeds like watermeal. Propeller is a granular treatment that is dissolved with water in a tank sprayer and applied directly to weeds.

Sonar AS and Sonar RTU are also available treatment options for Watermeal however they have the best result in ponds with little to no flow. This is a slow but safe treatment option, taking 30 days to see results.

Upon treatment all of the current growth will die off. However, if there is Watermeal nearby or if it is reintroduced to the pond by an outside source then the pond will need to be retreated.