THE WEED ID GUIDE
Weed ID Guide
Eurasian Watermilfoil
Myriophyllum spicatum
Delicate, feather-like leaves that grow in whorls of four around the stem. Stems are long, spaghetti-like, and often have a pinkish or reddish tint.
Reproduction
Spreads primarily through fragmentation. A single chopped floating fragment can drift, sink, root, and start a new colony.
The Problem:
Grows incredibly fast—up to an inch a day—forming thick canopies on the surface. Blocks sunlight, ruins aesthetics, and wraps tightly around boat propellers.
The Solution:
Manual raking creates fragments, worsening the problem. The most effective approach is clean, mechanical harvesting that pulls the biomass completely out of the water. Remote-operated aquatic harvesters let you extract it from the dock.
Curly-leaf Pondweed
Potamogeton crispus
Submerged plant with stiff, wavy, translucent leaves that look like lasagna noodles. Leaves have finely toothed edges.
Reproduction
Spreads via burr-like winter buds called turions, which drop to the bottom and sprout the following year.
The Problem:
Grows vigorously in early spring, beating out native plants. It forms dense mats that interfere with boating and swimming, then naturally dies off in mid-summer, causing muck and algae blooms.
The Solution:
It must be removed before it drops its turions in early summer. Mechanical harvesting extracts the plant and the attached buds, preventing next year's growth without adding chemical toxins to your lake.
Coontail
Ceratophyllum demersum
Submerged plant with stiff, dark green leaves clustered tightly at the tips, resembling a raccoon's tail. It lacks true roots.
Reproduction
Spreads almost entirely through fragmentation and seed production.
The Problem:
Free-floating beneath the surface, it forms dense colonies that can jam boat intakes and make swimming impossible.
The Solution:
Because it doesn't root in the soil, it's highly susceptible to drifting. Chemical treatments leave dead matter behind. Using a remote-operated harvester allows you to collect and remove the floating mass directly from your dock.
Duckweed
Lemna minor
Tiny, free-floating green plants with a single root hanging down. Often mistaken for algae, it looks like a carpet of tiny green leaves on the water.
Reproduction
Reproduces primarily by vegetative division—cloning itself. A small patch can cover a pond in a matter of weeks.
The Problem:
Multiplies rapidly to cover still water surfaces completely. This cuts off sunlight to submerged plants and depletes oxygen, which can lead to fish kills.
The Solution:
Chemicals cause the plant matter to sink and decay, creating muck. Mechanical surface skimming is the most effective way to remove the biomass entirely and restore oxygen exchange.
Hydrilla
Hydrilla verticillata
Submerged, heavily branched stems with small, pointed leaves growing in whorls of 4 to 8. Leaves have noticeably jagged edges.
Reproduction
Spreads through fragmentation, tubers (roots), and turions. Even a tiny fragment left behind can restart an infestation.
The Problem:
One of the most aggressive aquatic plants. It can grow up to an inch a day, filling the entire water column, choking out all native life, and completely halting boat traffic.
The Solution:
Cutting or raking spreads fragments rapidly. High-capacity mechanical extraction is critical to pull the root systems and stems out entirely, managing the spread effectively.
White Water Lily (Lily Pads)
Nymphaea odorata
Large, round, floating green leaves (pads) with a distinct slit or 'V' shape cut to the center. Produces large, fragrant white or yellow flowers.
Reproduction
Spreads via seeds and a massive, thick underground root system (rhizomes) buried deep in the lake bottom muck.
The Problem:
While native and often desired in small patches, they can completely overrun shallow shorelines. Dense surface mats block boat access, entangle propellers, and make swimming impossible.
The Solution:
Chemicals leave massive, rotting root systems behind that create deep muck. Hand-pulling is exhausting due to the thick, rubbery stems. A mechanical harvester cleanly cuts and removes the surface canopy and stems, easily restoring your boat lanes and swimming areas.