Questions about ponds on property

drkelly

drkelly

Dipstick who put two vehicles on jack stands
Joined
Mar 21, 2005
Location
Oak Ridge/Stokesdale, NC
The fiancee and I are looking at a piece of land for sale that has a pond on it. I don't know anything about ponds, so I am looking for some help/advice. It was definitely man made, and judging from the size of the trees on the dam it must be at least 30+ years old, maybe even 50+. It appears to have a pipe running through the dam, and also what looks to be an auxiliary storm drain run off area around the edge of the dam. The water is slightly murky. I have read that there are things you can add to the water to clear it up. I went for a swim off the dam to check the depth of the water, and it went over the 8' pole I was holding very quickly. From looking off the back side of the dam, I would guess the pond is probably 15 ft deep, or at least it was when it was originally built. I am guessing it might have silted in a little over the years. It appears to be fed by a very small creek/drainage. We have not had any significant rain out our way in almost 3 months, so the creek/drainage has limited water in it. I would estimate the size of the pond at about 2 acres. What kind of things should I check for or be aware of?

Thanks,
Danny
 
Snakes!










j/k







If it is as old as you say it is, then I don't think you will have many problems. Stock it full of fish and enjoy it.
 
Mosquito's :)

I used to live in a house with a pond in back.. Dogs loved to go swim in it and play. I used it to fish.. but FYI we did find a bunch of snakes over the years.

and if you have kids just need to be aware of them when around it at all times
 
Water mocs and the occasional gator was what we had to get used to when my parents put a house on some land that had several ponds...

The first year we killed over 25 water mocs with 12 guage bird shot. Every year after that, the number of mocs that we saw kept dwindling up until about 5 years after they bought the land. Have not seen any since.

As far as the gators, for some reason it is illegal to shoot them :rolleyes: even though they are over 8' long and are within 25' of the house with little kids playing outside...
 
Be sure to keep minnows in the pond, they eat the mosquito larvae.
 
If this property is in or around the foothills or piedmont, then there are no poisonous water snakes around here, granted, I do not like snakes, but if you see a snake swimming in the water, it is not poisonous, so you don't have to kill it. And no gators to worry about around here either :)
 
You would need to cut the trees off the dam. As soon as one decides to fall on it's own, up come the ball of roots and the dam will breach.
I have ponds behind me now and the mosquitos are pretty overbearing. I plan on adding on a screened in porch for outside enjoyment through the Ssmmer months.
 
Grass beds.

During warm months I've seen a couple of lakes/ponds get overran with it. Some is OK, - gives Bass a cool spot to hide in the warm months. There is a chemical to keep it under control and there are a certain breed of Carp that will eat it up. It's a real PITA to fish in.

If the grass beds are thick I'm sure it's possible for a swimmer to get tangled up in the mess and drown. It's heavy stuff....

If you do get a good rain, check out the drain. They can get clogged with leaves and such.

Trespassers - trash would be a good sign of this. Post signs every so many yards (50??).
 
rbo1577186 said:
Grass beds.

During warm months I've seen a couple of lakes/ponds get overran with it. Some is OK, - gives Bass a cool spot to hide in the warm months. There is a chemical to keep it under control and there are a certain breed of Carp that will eat it up. It's a real PITA to fish in.

If the grass beds are thick I'm sure it's possible for a swimmer to get tangled up in the mess and drown. It's heavy stuff....
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X2 on the grass!

we have water primrose in the river beside the mill and it has pretty much taken over the river in the past 5yrs. a small clump of it floated down stream and got stuck beside the dam during floyd and it has taken over. you have a pond tho so you can get rid of it much easier than we can with steril carp and herbicides.

we had a guy come and pick some to put in his pond bc he thought that it would look good around the edge, i warned him that it would take over but he knew better than me. long story short, i spoke to him a year or so later and he doesnt have much of a pond left, nothing but a mat of green shiit :lol:
 
BigClay said:
If this property is in or around the foothills or piedmont, then there are no poisonous water snakes around here, granted, I do not like snakes, but if you see a snake swimming in the water, it is not poisonous, so you don't have to kill it. And no gators to worry about around here either :)
Click to expand...

Just an FYI - Rattle snakes and copperheads can both swim quite well.

x2 On clearing the big trees growing on the dam or the back side of the dam. Plant grass back as quickly as possible to avoid dirt loss due to heavy rains.

<><Fish
 
The property is about 5 minutes from where we live now. There is no weird grass or anything growing in it. I didn't think about a tree falling over and causing a breach in the dam. That is an excellent point. Mosquitoes are definitely something I am worried about.
 
FishHunt said:
Just an FYI - Rattle snakes and copperheads can both swim quite well
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X2 don't place any belief in the books that say we're too far north/south for a particular kind of snake!

drkelly said:
Mosquitoes are definitely something I am worried about.
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Chances are IF you didn't get eaten alive while walking around/swimming recently, it's not gonna be a problem...
 
One of the things I am planning on for our new property is putting up several bat houses to help with the mosquito population. Our property has a creek running along the back of it and lots of woods, etc.

http://www.housesforbats.com/page/1390631

My worries about cutting down any trees at this point on the dam is that it WILL kill the root / rot it out, etc. Sort of a catch22 situation since they have already been allowed to grow.

Ponds do take extra work but I think they are worth the hassle. I am planning on a very small, 20x20 pond at our new property / that will be fed with a pretty active stream and a nice rock dam that it flows over. SO the water in my case won't be quite as still, more of a broad point in the creek.

I think you can add those fountains to them fairly inexpensive and they oxygenate the water / less still water for the skeeters, algae, etc.

http://pondfountain.com/

(Had not heard about minnows / will keep that tip in mind!)
 
Caver Dave said:
X2 don't place any belief in the books that say we're too far north/south for a particular kind of snake!
Click to expand...

This is the truth. I once killed a rattlesnake at my house in N. Durham. No idea where he came from, but I know he's missing a head now. :lol:
 
I have been out there three times now and have not gotten eaten up by mosquitoes, so maybe you are right and they aren't bad for some reason. I didn't think about bats, and didn't know about the minnow fish that eat the eggs either. Thanks for the link to the pond aerator/fountain.

DK
 
Blaze said:
This is the truth. I once killed a rattlesnake at my house in N. Durham. No idea where he came from, but I know he's missing a head now. :lol:
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Eastern diamondbacks and pygmy rattlers are found in the piedmont, foothills, and mountains of NC... I have never seen one, and really don't want to
 
Granted, I am from a different area then y'all...Had this on my dirt road next to some swamps-
ai166.photobucket.com_albums_u88_momentumauto_8cac5a07.jpg
 
Nothing much eats mature mosquitos, especially not bats. Fish and tadpoles will do a good job on the larvae, though.

Asian Tigers will travel about a mile and a half from their breeding pools in order to find food. The pond is a concern, but if you've got a stump holding water within a mile of your house, you could still have a skeeter problem. It wouldn't stop me from having a 2ac pond, anyway.
 
Frogs, Minnows, fish, bats, and birds are all good mosquito eaters. If they can't keep it under control, the Mosquito deleto will certainly help. Note: you need enough of the pesky insects around to keep the food chain alive!

Depending on how big the tree's are and how long they have been there, I would most likely leave them there. Sounds like they are already part of the structure of the Dam.
Trimming them back in the fall will help keep them so top heavy, and provide some relaxing shade in the summer I would think.
A fountain is an excellent idea for aquatic life!
Depending on the water flow, and temps will dictate what type of fish you can get to survive there. If there is enough flow in and out, It would be a great source for some irrigation to keep your lawn green all summer.
Just a few random thoughts
 
BigClay said:
Bats really don't eat mosquitos?
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Nope. Think about it this way: if you were a bat, would you rather chase down dozens of crappy little mosquitoes that eat blood in order to breed and die, or would you go after a big, fat moth that has the same amount of calories?

My neighbor is a biologist. She says all sorts of animals will eat a mosquito given the chance, but they don't have any actual predators. What you'd need is a flying whale that eats them like krill. Then, maybe.
 
Ha ya'll are worried about Mosquitoes, you should come spend a day over here at Galloways . . . the over 1500 used tires sitting outside full of water are like free penthouse suites for those things :handed:


X2 on the snakes, already killed two rattle snakes this summer.



btw if you ever decide to drain the pond PLEASE let me know . . . . party at DK's house :driver: :smokin:
 
SHINTON said:
I think you can add those fountains to them fairly inexpensive and they oxygenate the water / less still water for the skeeters, algae, etc.
http://pondfountain.com/
(Had not heard about minnows / will keep that tip in mind!)
Click to expand...
dear god those things are tacky looking. Deacon Jones has one in his pond on hwy70 and that thing is fugly. makes his nice big house with a pond in front go from, "hey look at me, im rich" to "hey look at me, im white trash with money"






before one of you gets your panties in a wad, i am not insinuating that Deacon Jones is trying to show off his money or that he is white trash with money, im mearly stating what it looks like to me.
 
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