How to get rid of Watermeal

What is Watermeal and how to get rid of it?

Watermeal is a very tiny rootless floating plant. It is hard to see until it groups together, in a large mass on the surface of the pond. Watermeal is often mistaken for Duckweed.

Watermeal is a native weed, and is invasive. Duckweed and mosquito fern often grow together with watermeal. Just like any other floating weed, if it is allowed to spread and cover the surface of the pond or lake, it will deplete the oxygen and possibly cause fish kills.

The good and the bad:

Watermeal is not a necessary food source for ducks, but they will often eat it. However the ducks can also carry it to other ponds or lakes in the area.

So what are safe control options?

The best way to get watermeal out of the body of water is to use a large net with a long pole that has a float on it to scoop it out. It is hard to rake it out because watermeal is so tiny, which makes it difficult to remove. The Lake Rake is the best option because it has the float on it. That makes it easier to skim across the surface. To make it work better, wrap the Lake Rake with a dense netting, so that it works like a scoop.

The next best option is to install a floating pond fountain or decorative aerator in your pond. Both will aerate to put oxygen back in the pond but also, push the watermeal towards the shore for easier scooping.