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Tips for rescuing a neglected pond

ruthaizlewoodruthaizlewood Posts: 2
in Problem solving
Hi All - I have a pond which has been sadly neglected for a few years.

It is roughly 5x3 feet and probably around 3 feet deep (bit hard to tell as the bottom is sludged up and the water is thick with rotting, barely afloat vegetation).  There is no pond pump.  It is now in full sun year round with about half the pond surface covered with lily and the other half with some sort of small leaved pond weed.  I have swiped a pond net through it and there is a lot of insect life in there which i take as a good sign, but the volume of frogspawn has apparently reduced signifcantly over the last year or two.

I presume that the first step is a full on pond dredge to get rid of the dead vegetation - do i need to be dredging the sludge in the bottom out as well (it doesn't smell particularly good)?  Would now (winter/pre-spring) be a good time to do this - i figure spring should generally be avoided but i'm loathe to leave it until autumn as it will be another year down the line at that point.

Any hints/tips/information gratefully received.

Posts

  • KlinkKlink Posts: 261
    I had to empty my pond as it had been neglected for many years. I guess it would have been around the same size as yours though a little shallower. I did it early autumn in the hopes that the frogs would return as mine had also seen a decline in frogspawn.
    As i was replacing the liner with a preformed smaller pond i had to empty it all.The sludge at the bottom smelled terrible but i put it into a raised bed that was available and mixed it with compost to return to the garden to fill the space where the old pond was.

    If you're not replacing your pond i'd remove some of the water to a container so you can return it when you refill and as it'll have some of the creatures in, your pond will be off to a good start for the frogs to return.
    I'd certainly get it done before before your frogs arrive or you'll be looking at autumn again i should think.
  • fidgetbonesfidgetbones Posts: 17,618
    I would totally empty it. You may have to get in with a bucket.  You may find lots of frogs hibernating at the bottom. Be prepared to put any wildlife you find somewhere safe so you can replace it afterwards. The silt is really good for pouring around shrubs or trees to feed it.
  • KT53KT53 Posts: 9,016
    If you are going to empty it and start again, which is what I would advise, you need to do so quickly.  With the milder winters, frogs start spawning earlier.  We had them in late Jan or early Feb in some years.
  • ruthaizlewoodruthaizlewood Posts: 2
    Thanks all - i will have at it asap.  I will give some thought to where to stash the silt.  On the plus side it'll give me something to get out in the fresh air for  :D
    In terms of the hibernating frogs - do they need to be submerged or would stashing them (and their silt) in the crannies around some piled up rocks i have near the pond be ok?
  • KlinkKlink Posts: 261
    'My' frogs leapt out of the pond as i was emptying it so i put them in an old rotting wood pile i had near the pond and put leaves and some silt over to keep the worst of the weather out.Hopefully they'll survive. I think if you have somewhere like rocks you should be fine if you add silt or sandy soil. You can make a place for frogs to over winter;google it and you'll get some idea?
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