Water Lettuce Control: How To Get Rid of Water Lettuce

Water lettuce is a free-floating perennial plant and gets its name because of its resemblance to an open head of lettuce. If left untreated, this aggressive plant can spread quickly to the point of covering the entire surface of a pond.

Water lettuce is not known with certainty if it is a native plant or an introduced plant. Water lettuce appears in tropical regions throughout the world in lakes, rivers, and canals. Water lettuce has a tendency to forms large dense mats. While it is a free-floating plant, it can also withstand long periods of time as a semi-rooted plant.

If you have water lettuce growing on your pond or water body, our easy DIY guide below can help you to get rid of water lettuce permanently and at an affordable price.

Identification

Water lettuce has a very unique appearance so it's not likely to be confused with any other aquatic weed. As mentioned earlier, water lettuce gets its name from the plant looking similar to lettuce with its fleshy leaves and light green color. The leaves are also hairy and contain ridges. Its roots are light-colored and feathery and its flowers can not be easily seen.

Using this description and image will help you to identify whether the weed growing in your pond is water lettuce. If you need help identifying the plant, contact us with a close up high-quality image of the plant and we will do our best to ID the weed correctly.

Inspection

Walk around your lake or pond to observe the water lettuce and to see just how big of an invasion you have on your hands. This is important for the purpose of knowing how much herbicide you need to treat the plant.

Where to Inspect

Survey your lake or pond and determine what the best and safest plan of option there is to take. You have to take into account how the lake or pond is utilized not only by humans but also the fishes and aquatic life living in the water.

What to Look For

Water lettuce is a hard plant to miss. By observing your water body, you will be able to spot it out pretty easily with its floating rosette of light green leaves which looks like an opened up head of lettuce.

Treatment

Make sure to gear up with the necessary personal protective equipment (PPE) before handling any chemicals before treatment. Our top recommended products to treat water lettuce is Ecomazapyr 2 SL Herbicide. The active ingredients does a great job in killing water lettuce and they also can control a large range of aquatic weeds.

Step 1 - Prepare and Mix the Ecomazapyr 2 SL Herbicide

Before mixing and application, you will need to calculate the size of the water body you wish to treat to determine how much Ecomazapyr 2 SL Herbicide you will need. For water bodies, the measurement is usually done by calculating the acreage or acre-foot. To do this, measure the length, width, and average depth of the water body in feet then divide by 43,560 (Length (ft.) x Width (ft.) x Average Depth (ft.) / 43,560 = Acre-feet).

The application rate of water lettuce is 1 to 2 pints of Ecomazapyr 2 SL Herbicide per acre.

Step 2 - Apply Ecomazapyr 2 SL Herbicide to target Water Lettuce

Once the Ecomazapyr 2 SL Herbicide is well-mixed. Depending on the targeted weed and the waters depth, you can spray the herbicide over the water along the shoreline, spot treat emerged weeds, or broadcast spray over the waters surface. Use a fan spray nozzle to ensure an even coating on the water surface.

Step 3 - Follow Up Applications

If the pond is heavily infested with water lettuce, it may be necessary to treat the pond or lake in sections and let each section decompose for about two weeks before treating another section. Water lettuce can be a recurring problem so monitoring your water is key and repeated application is vital.

Prevention

To keep water lettuce from reappearing on your water body, we recommend applying Vision Pond Dye. Vision Pond Dye puts a stop to plant development by blocking sunlight into the water and also gives your pond a clean blue color.

Key Takeaways

• Water lettuce is a free-floating weed that gets its name because of it looking similar to an open head of lettuce.
• Ecomazapyr 2 SL Herbicide is our go-to recommendation for treating water lettuce and removing it from your water body.
• Applying Vision Pond Dye after a herbicide application works as a great preventative measure that prevents water lettuce growth and can enhance the look of your pond, giving it a natural clear color.