There are several methods that are popular for lake weed control.
One of the most commonly used lake weed killers is aquatic herbicides.
These harsh chemicals can be effective in reducing the population of lake weeds.
When applied, aquatic herbicides wipe out many of the lake weeds in an area.
However, there are many drawbacks and even dangerous effects associated with the use of aquatic herbicides.
Before deciding to use this type of aquatic weed killer, make sure you are informed about all the potential side effects and dangers associated with this lake weed control method.
Dangers to Humans Of all the aquatic weed killers, this form may be the most harmful to humans.
Many of these chemicals have restrictions concerning swimming and fishing.
In many cases, humans can't go into or have contact with the body of water for one to two weeks.
Since it is considered to be a strong chemical, people are strongly advised to stay away from this method of killing off weeds.
Of course, it's not always easy to let everyone know about the harmful effects of the chemicals, and some people may go swimming and fishing regardless.
Contact with an aquatic herbicide can lead to unknown long-term effects.
Since these chemicals are dangerous to people and restrict their access to a body of water, they are not suggested for most public access lakes.
Dangers to Animals When aquatic herbicides are used to kill off the population of lake weeds, many negative side effects can occur which affect the fish and other organisms living in the lake.
Because of the strong chemicals used, aquatic herbicides can have long-term effects on the fish and other wildlife that call the lake home.
As the weeds are killed off from the use of aquatic herbicides, low-oxygen conditions are created in the water.
Many fish will be killed because of the lack of oxygen.
Additionally, animals who live in the surrounding environment near the lake may be affected also if they drink some of the water that has chemicals in it or when the eat the fish that live in the lake.
It's obvious that these harsh chemicals are very detrimental to the health of fish and other animals that live in or near the lake.
Dangers to Plants While aquatic herbicides are intended to kill off the population of lake weeds, they can also inadvertently harm other plant life in the lake.
Plants are required in a body of water to help produce oxygen for fish to live off of.
Since this aquatic weed killer method is difficult to control, the chemicals may end up harming non-targeted plants in the water.
These plants can live deep in the water or in places where they are not an annoyance to lakeside residents; unfortunately, they may be killed off anyway because of the chemicals in the water.
In order to preserve life in a lake, this kind of poison should not be used.