Making Pond & LakeWeeds Disappear Since 1977

Lake Restoration

What type of Submersed Weeds are in my lake?

June 10, 2015

Submerged aquatic plants are rooted and are a big interference for our summer water activities.  Knowing what kind of submerged weeds you have will help you in determining how to effectively eliminate the weeds so you can enjoy your lakefront.


Milfoil (Eurasian Watermilfoil) is a very aggressive submersed plant usually found growing in muck, sand or rock.  It can grow nearly 10 feet in length and has aggressively invaded lakes in North America.  Using an aquatic herbicide that is quickly absorbed by the plants is best when trying to control milfoil. 


Hydrilla stems are up to 25 feet in length and can be rough to the touch.   The leaves typically are branched oppositely near the bottom and on the upper portion of the plant have 2 to 8 whorls of leaves around the stem.



There are many different varieties of Pondweed.  Some are curly, while others are wide and wavy.  Curly-Leaf, Clasping-Leaf or Sago are some of the most common types of Pondweed.  Curly-leaf Pondweed typically grows earlier in the season and is often described resembling lasagna noodles.  Curly-leaf grows in dense mats near the water’s surface.  Clasping-leaf Pondweed can sometimes be confused with Curly-leaf.  The easiest way to tell the difference between the two varieties is to look at the tip of the leaves.  Clasping-leaf tips have a pointed tip while the Curly-leaf will have tips that are more rounded.  Sago Pondweed typically grows in recreational areas where there is shallower water.  When viewing Sago Pondweed from the surface, it often resembles blades of long grass that are growing up from the bottom of the lake.


If you have a weed that bushes out like the tail of a raccoon and is dark green in color, then you most likely have Coontail.  The leaves are identified as looking bushy or spiny and are more forked.  Coontail actually does not have true roots, but it commonly floats near the water’s surface towards the end of summer.

Southern Naiad

Naiads are typically found growing in the spring and early summer.  Naiads are an annual plant growing each year from seeds.  If not controlled, they can form a dense mass by midsummer.  Naiad has short, narrow leaves that look like ribbons forming off of the stem of the plant. 

We recommend using our RestoreAccess® for controlling Milfoil, Hydrilla, Pondweed and other submersed plants.  This all-in-one aquatic weed control kit includes Diquat herbicide for tackling those submerged weeds.  It also includes Mizzen® algaecide for eliminating algae and MuckMaid® for tackling the mucky bottom of the lake.   If you are looking for a non-herbicide solution, our LAKEMAID® will restore your beach area by cutting through the weeds and revealing a sandy lake bottom beneath.







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