Pond Care??

[susiestar]

Does anyone know what proper pond care is needed? Our neighbors have a man made pond made by the prior owners. I know the bottom has beer bottles because the last owner's daughter and her boyfriend tossed their beer bottles into the pond.

The current owners pretend the pond isn't there. they even took out the solar lights around teh pond.

The water only circulates when we have a major flood. Then it creates a river through my yard. The bugs have taken over and even the hordes of teeny frogs (some small enough to sit on a dime - very very cute!!) cannot keep them in check.

I have thought about putting dunks in the pond. They are little donut shaped things that kill only skeeters for about a month. They are not harmful to pets, livestock or people even thought they recommend not putting them into water you are about to drink from.

Are there other things that should be done to care for a pond?

 

[witzend]

Filling it in? LOL! Ponds are not something you can ignore. Stuff grows in water. I would try to figure out how many gallons are in there, and definitely toss in some dunks.

 

[GoingNorth]

Man-made ponds actually require a LOT of care. Think fish tanks with natural bottoms made of sediment, etc., over synthetic liners.

You will need at least one pump and weir filter to circulate the water and if you are planning on keeping fish, will need more specialized equipment.

Foster and Smith have an excellent pond catalogue that includes tips on upkeep and design.

You calculate the gallonage using circumferance and depth. I can't remember the algorithm used, but the website should have it.

If you have a stagnant pond periodically overflowing onto your property you have a health hazard that you need to address with your neighbor`

 

[gcvmom]

I would go out and buy a dozen or so mosquito fish and secretly dump them in there. They will multiply prolifically and will keep the mosquitos under control. Our vector control department actually gives the fish away free to homeowners with ponds because we have a problem with the West Nile virus here, which is transmitted to birds (and humans) by infected mosquitos.

We started out with about a dozen mosquito fish about 8 years ago and I've never ever had to buy more. They just constantly reproduce! If there get to be too many, they tend to cannibalize the smaller ones. Oh, and they give live birth, and we often have very tiny fish swimming around in our pond

 

[susiestar]

It is not my pond. The neighbor does not care to fill it in. Or put dunks in it. When the house was foreclosed on there were fish in it. About 3 months later some got out and died in my yard where the water overflowed. They died when the water drained off.

Then suddenly there were a bunch of fish rotting as they floated belly up. I called the health dept, the developer who built the place, the bank that was selling it, and even the realtor who had it listed. It was gross.

It took 2 weeks for anyone to realize what was going on. I had to call the big boss at the real estate firm, the guy who owns it, to get anything done. I told him no one would ever even go inside the house because the stench was overpowering. My kids would not even go outside for those weeks.

Now there aI once had to fish a cat out of the pond (a stray who could NOT swim and was tossed in by a neighbor kids' boy friend. The kids ran and I had to go in. That is how I found the beer bottles. All it has are frogs and bugs and garbage.

I have spent $$ on the mosquito dunks. They don't bother the frogs at all.

Since I am out in the county, rather than in the city, there are few regulations about these things. CPS has come a couple of times because the neighbor kid (Now my niece's best friend, ironically. They met at school.) was alone outside watching her 2yo baby brother with no adult supervision. Of course they were over investigating the pond. I am the one who reported them.

I HATE the pond. It needs to be filled in. It is tempting to buy a few bags of concrete now and again and fill it in with that. But it would be vandalism. Might end up a nice basketball court or hopscotch and 4 square area.

I will get dunks and start agitating the county to do something.

Thanks.

 

[gcvmom]

In our state, they owner would be cited and fined for leaving it in that condition, not only for the biohealth hazard but the drowning risk because it's not fenced in. There's got to be someone in local government who you can light a fire under. What about calling the local paper for some negative PR?

 

[susiestar]

That might work. I will have to see who I know at the paper. Thanks for the idea. If we lived 5 miles closer to town the city would have come and taken care of it or filled it in at 3 times the rate any private pond care co would charge. If they have to mow your yard they charge $75 per hour and they take all the time they can.

Out in the county where I am there are few rules. But I am GOING to find out how to make them tend it.

 

[ThreeShadows]

Susie, our realtor in Maine spoke about the neglect caused by the banks which were foreclosing on many homes. It's a danger and a disgrace.

See if this web site can help you: lenderoffender.com.

Good luck, these banks have been harming our attempts to sell our home by letting other homes go for a pittance. We take care of our house but the banks don't give a you-know-what for their foreclosures. They just let the structures go to Hell rather than make some needed repairs or pay for some simple clean up. They have no shame.

By the way, Happy Birthday!

 

[Star*]

I can send you an alligator. lol. When it grows up it can eat your neighbors.

 

[susiestar]

Cool Star!!! Where do I send the $$?? do you take paypal?? (No, I am not totally joking!)

As for the banks, the house next door to us is 2 story and has many amenities ours does not. The last owners were a stay at home mom mom of 2 girls under 2 and a guy who worked for a landscaper and was trying to be a cop. That house sold for $10K less than our 1 story much smaller home.

The bank of course ended up foreclosing because the family made less than $25K a year and a house over $130K was too much.

Now the house is in worse shape and they do less there than we do here.

Sigh.