Aquatic Weed Identification

Many waterfront property owners want to know what kind of aquatic weeds they have. Knowing which type of weed you’re trying to control is especially important if you’re using aquatic herbicides to manage them.

Of course, some people are just curious about what’s growing out there under the surface. The problem with aquatic weed identification is that many aquatic weeds look similar, such as elodea, naiad and hydrilla. The most extensive website for aquatic weed identification we’ve found is the U. S. government’s site on Nonindigenous Aquatic Species.

Though it lists over 140 aquatic weeds, the photos don’t show you much and there’s no descriptions to speak of. Our favorite aquatic weed identification site for descriptions and photos of aquatic plants is the State of Washington’s, Department of Ecology site, Aquatic Plant Identification Manual. The downside to this site is the plants are listed alphabetically by their scientific names! So, if you wanted to find “coontail” for example, you’d have to look up “Ceratophyllum demersum.” “Curly leaf pondweed” can only be found under “Potamogeton crispus.”

Of course, once you find what you’re looking for, the site is very informative for aquatic weed identification.The most user-friendly aquatic weed identification site we’ve found for viewing several photos and reading descriptions of aquatic weeds is Texas A&M University’s site on Plant Identification.

"Knowing which type of weed you’re trying to control is especially important if you’re using aquatic herbicides to manage them."

The only downside to this site is it gives aquatic weed control options that include mostly aquatic herbicide and mechanical removal of lake weeds, (we’ll have to contact them about LakeMat®).

Of course, if you're just trying to keep a specific area of your waterfront weed free, you probably won't care which type of "seaweeds" you have, you just want them gone without a lot of labor and expense.