Water Hyacinth Control: How To Get Rid of Water Hyacinth

This page is a general DIY guide for controlling water hyacinths. Using the suggested products and methods, you can control water hyacinth. Follow this DIY article and use the recommended products; we guarantee 100% control of water hyacinth.

Water hyacinth is a free-floating aquatic weed found on freshwater surfaces or mud. Water hyacinth is known for its broad, fleshy green leaves and purple flowers. Plant size ranges from a few inches to a meter in.

Water hyacinth is a very troubling aquatic weed because it has the potential to spread quickly, resulting in sizable infestations over large areas of water. The plant is native to South America but has found its way to the US, where it frustrates pond owners and water property managers.

Water hyacinth can grow in mats up to 2 meters thick, reducing light and oxygen in waters, affecting water chemistry, and significantly increasing water loss due to evapotranspiration. It also causes transportation and recreational problems, hampering boating, fishing, and swimming activities.

If you're having trouble managing an outbreak of Water hyacinth, our easy-to-follow DIY guide below can help you eradicate It from your water property for good.

Identification

Before proceeding with a treatment program, you must be sure you are dealing with a water hyacinth infestation. Careless identification can lead to using the wrong treatment methods, which can waste time and money. Below are the characteristics that will help you understand what a water hyacinth looks like.

• Water hyacinth is a large floating aquatic plant that forms dense mats on the water's surface. When mature, it will grow to be 6 inches tall but reach up to 8 inches when flowers are produced. 
• Leaves are broad, round, cupped, bright to dark green, waxy, and up to 6 inches wide and 4-8 inches across. The leaves are formed in rosettes and attach to a swollen, spongy leaf stalk. 
• Each floating branch has a mass of fine, dark purple to black roots with small white hairs that will hang underwater. 
• Seasonally, flowers are produced at the end of the stems. These flowers form single spike rosettes of 4-15 individual blooms that vary from blue-violet to lavender with a yellow blotch. The flowers have six petals and are about 2 inches wide. 

This description and image will help you identify whether the weed growing in your pond is water hyacinth. If you need help determining the plant, contact us, and we will do our best to identify the weed you have and offer control suggestions.

Inspection

Once you confirm that you are dealing with water hyacinth, you can move on to inspection. During this phase, you will locate areas where water hyacinth is thriving and observe the conditions that allow it to flourish. This information will help you know where to focus your herbicide application.

Where to Inspect

Water hyacinths can be found in various natural and man-made freshwater sites such as ponds, sloughs, ponds, canals, wetlands, marshes, lakes, rivers, reservoirs, and ditches. 

What to Look For

If you have Water Hyacinth on your pond, it's hard to miss it. Watch out for its big, broad, fleshy green leaves and long stems. If it has matured enough, you will see beautiful-looking purple flowers. Don't be fooled by its beauty; you don't want this fast-growing plant around.

Treatment

Before handling any chemicals, you must wear the proper personal protective equipment (PPE) for safety.

To treat a water hyacinth outbreak, apply Ecomazapyr 2 SL Herbicide. This product's active ingredients kill water hyacinth effectively and can also control many other aquatic weeds that may become a problem on your water body.

Step 1: Mix and Apply Ecomazapyr 2 SL Herbicide

Determine how much Ecomazapyr 2 SL Herbicide you need by measuring the square footage of the treatment area. 

Find the square footage by measuring the treatment areas' length and width in feet, then multiply them together (length X width = square footage). For acreage, take the square footage and divide it by one acre (square footage / 43,560 sq. ft. = acres). 

Mix and apply this product with water in a spray rig, watercraft, helicopter, backpack sprayer, or handheld pump sprayer. 

Apply 1 to 2 pints of Ecomazapyr 2 SL Herbicide per 100 gallons of water per acre. As a spot treatment, use 0.72 to 1.45 fl. oz. of product per 1 gallon of water per 1,000 sq. ft. 

Apply the mixed solution to your labeled water site as a surface spray, ensuring the weed is completely treated. Be sure the water hyacinth is actively growing at the time of application for best results. 

Use a fan spray nozzle to ensure an even coating on the water surface.

Do not treat more than one half of the surface area of the water in a single operation and wait at least 10 to 14 days between treatments.

Step 2: Follow Up Application

After the first section has been treated and 10-14 days have passed, you may retreat the remaining half of the water body. 

Water hyacinth can be a recurring problem, so monitoring your water is key, and repeated application is vital.

Do not apply more than 6 pints of product per acre. 

Prevention

Once water hyacinth has been eliminated from your property, you will need to implement preventative measures to ensure that this weed does not return.

• To keep water hyacinth from returning to your pond, we recommend applying Vision Pond Dye. Vision Pond Dye hinders plant development by blocking sunlight into the water and also gives your pond a clean blue color. Measure the appropriate amount of Vision Pond Dye into a bucket based on your pond area measurement findings. The label recommends applying at a rate of 1 quart per 1 surface acre of water at a 5-foot average depth. Pour the pond dye over the edge directly into the body of water, and the water's natural movement will disperse the dye.
• Be sure to clean boating equipment, trailer, and fishing gear after each use with waters previously or currently infested with water hyacinth. 

Key Takeaways

What Are Water Hyacinths?

• Water hyacinth is a free-floating weed that grows freakishly fast and creates dense mats in the water.

How to Get Rid of Water Hyacinths

• Applications of Ecomazapyr 2 SL Herbicide have proven to work best against water hyacinth and will kill growths quickly.

Prevent Water Hyacinth Reinfestations

• Applying Vision Pond Dye after an herbicide application is a great preventative measure that prevents water hyacinth growth and improves the look of your pond.