Cattail Killers Needed!

[Hattiegun]

Quote:
seriously???????

 

[La Mike]

Mix some round-up with soap and spray them they will die. Cattails are very hardy so the soap makes the round-up stick to them insted of just washing out.

 

[RaZ]

Hi folks,
I don't want to step on anyone's toes so please don't take offense at my comments. I welcome dialog if you agree or disagree with me on any of this. E-mail or public discussion is fine.

Cattails are considered to be invasive in most plant data bases. There are 2 types commonly found in the higher latitudes of the US. The narrow cattail, Typha angustifolia L. is considered to be an introduced, invasive species according to the USDA. The native variety Typhus latifolia L. is being hybridized with the invasive species to the point that there are few pure stands left. This could be by some states (NY) want to protect them. You might want to check with your county Extension Office to see if they know for sure what is in your area.

So having said that, none of the 3 Typha (cattail) species found in the US are viable fodder for any wildlife. If anyone on these forums can help document any waterfowl actually eating these plants, would you let me know. I suspect that when it looks like a duck (drake or other) is eating the cattail, I would guess that they are simply harvesting insects found on the plants.

Cattails are a big problem here around the Great Lakes. We've been studying them and Phragmites for several years and have not come up with a decent control method. If anyone has verifiable evidence that we can use ducks as a control method, please let me know. I know several professors, biologists and DNR personnel that would appreciate the help.

What we (I) know for certain at this time is that the only sure-fire way to control cattails is to burn off the top growth and manually dig out ALL of the root system. It's hard work!

Randy

 

[critterranch]

Quote:
seriously???????

did even see that was too busy thinking about catails.

yes are they serious????



as for the catails is not so much the plants. it was to do with the new york fresh water shed act. and wetland protection act here in new york. it was to do with great lakes and finger lakes. and any fresh water here in new york. cattails naturally remove and filter pollution from the water.

i could never even think of picking them. we have 8-10 tail tails on our property but they dont seem to spread. they have stayed the same for years. the area the grow in is very swampy it never drys out in summer.

 

[La Mike]

I of course live in Louisiana and they are prolific. The soap and round-up is the only removal method I or any one I know has found other than digging them up. If you wait for them to die so you can burn the dead tops the seed is already released therefore adding more time and effort to remove them

 

[critterranch]

Quote:
please dont do this if your well is near by,or if the rain run off would wash it closer to your well. if you have town or city water i wouldnt worry too much.

 

[Wifezilla]

Raz,

Ducks do not need to eat something to destroy it. Having watched my ducks in action, it is more them digging in the dirt at the roots, trampling things, and like you said, eating bugs off the plants.

 

[La Mike]

Quote:
please dont do this if your well is near by,or if the rain run off would wash it closer to your well. if you have town or city water i wouldnt worry too much.

Unless you live in dungeon days and have a ground level open well you couldnt get enough rain to wash it into your well. You would have to spray your whole neighborhood or town to do that.
I have a well and aint died yet

And agree wifezilla my ducks can uproot anything that doesnt have cross ties holding it down

 

[RaZ]

Good dialog.
At critterranch, are your cattails the broad leaf type? That's the native species. They do help contain pollution in the watershed. The bad stuff builds up in the plant tissue, it's called "bio-remediation" and "bio-accumulation". The pollutants are no longer in the watershed, they are now within the plants.

At lamike, I'm guessing that you have Typha domingensis Pers. and I haven't studied that species. So I can't speak to control. I can say that round-up isn't a cure-all. It's a man-made compound manufactured by a global corporation with stockholders and CEOs to satisfy. Use at your own risk, stay healthy my friend.

I'd just like to observe that anything you put on your soil will eventually wind up in the watershed.

Thanks for listening.

 

[critterranch]

Quote:
please dont do this if your well is near by,or if the rain run off would wash it closer to your well. if you have town or city water i wouldnt worry too much.

Unless you live in dungeon days and have a ground level open well you couldnt get enough rain to wash it into your well. You would have to spray your whole neighborhood or town to do that.
I have a well and aint died yet

And agree wifezilla my ducks can uproot anything that doesnt have cross ties holding it down

our well is not open. but it is cemet lined and the cement comes up 1 foot above ground it has a cement cover and water does run down in it through crack. we have a very good well and if it rains a couple days in a row. it will flood above the whole well and it will be under water. our well is about 50 feet from where our cat tails are growing.

as for old wells many many houses here in new york still have stone lined wells no cement. my fathers house is one of them the well is over well over 100 years old.

i love living in dungeon days.

i do not know what type they are but. as far as i now there is only one type around here. i know they are reall y hard to find around here. i always love looking at them if i drive by some where out in country. i must be a weird one. i love tiger lillys too that grow wild in the ditches lol.