Wildlife pond attracting wildlife and pond wildlife for I spot

I had a pond with fish and frogs. The tadpoles were brought to my pond from someone else’s garden I havnt had any frogs this year unlike last year the fish that lived for many years have passed away now and the pond is covered with duckweed iv decided I want to turn it into a wildlife pond but im not sure weather removing all the duckweed will help attract more pond life or not and would like to know how to do it I might send some species on i spot if I get any but I would like to know what to do from here and how to get to that first. It is a small pond not tiny but small

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Have always wanted a pond myself but I have pine and oak trees around the garden so I would have to look after it a bit more. My neighbours have ponds and so I get frogs, toads and even newts in my garden as a result. We also get herons visiting, so its common to have them try to pinch fish and amphibians.

It sounds like yours might benefit from having at least some of the weed removed to give some open area of water but you’ll want to leave what you take out on the side for a while to allow any small creatures in it to get back into the water.

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Ok. Thanks. I used a net to get most of the duckweed out. It would apear that I had some wildlife in the pond that I wasn’t aware of it I don’t think it is an insect though and they struggled to get back in so I ended up having to help them out eventually it was a water slater common water slater




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We dug a pond when we first moved into our home about 20 years ago. It has been a source of endless pleasure and, occasionally, frustration.
I would say:
Be careful what you introduce. Some plants which start of nice and friendly become real thugs. Obviously, it depends on how big your pond is but ours is about 10 sq meters. We constantly battle to stop the greater reedmace and yellow flag-irises taking over. But public enemy #1 is the water lily. We planted three and they looked lovely. But they soon began to choke up the entire pond. (Yes, they started in baskets but they soon spread). A couple of summers ago I nearly broke my back attacking the root systems and getting up loads of it. The next summer, it was a case of ‘thanks for the refreshing root pruning’ and they bounced back as strong as ever.
But, despite our travails, we do get a great variety of amphibians and insects, so I wouldn’t be without it.
Also… make sure that there is a gentle slope at one point so that animals that fall into the pond can get out.
When we first filled the pond, we added a bucketful of water from a nearby stream, just to kick-start the wildlife. This included a few sticklebacks and probably all sorts of larvae and diatoms.
I’ve not really answered your questions but I hope this is at least of interest.

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My pond is small not tiny just small

I sunk an old bathtub into the ground at the allotment.
It first looked like the water was covered with oil. On closer investigation it was thousands of larvae. These attracted big biting water beetles that kept everything else out for two years. This year a couple of mallards came onto the plot and turned everything into filthy mud.
I will just have to wait for something interesting to arrive.

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You do need some open water - and the water needs to be oxygenated. You can get oxygenating plants from a garden centre. You don’t need a lot as they will multiply. Try to keep decaying vegetable matter out of the pond as much as you can. Equally, you don’t want the surface of the whole pond clear or it will get algal growth during the summer. Introduce some pond snails if you can as they eat algae. Then I think the best thing is to let nature take its course.

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Hi Zo, when I built my pond, most of the information came from [Pond Advice Centre - Freshwater Habitats TrustFreshwater Habitats Trust] and the very good links on the site. I recommend it.
Jane

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This is before my pond was cleared of most of the duckweed but this is how big the pond is

It would be rather nice if we had a Project (maybe we do have) of iSpotters garden ponds. Any suggestions?
It would be fun to follow these posts - would we see dragonflies eventually?

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Have a read of this https://freshwaterhabitats.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/algae-and-duckweed-1.pdf on duckweed and algae. I have duckweed but don’t worry about it, just occasionally scooping some of it off.
.
Pag 19 of this has solutions for duckweed if you’re concerned: https://freshwaterhabitats.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Creating-Garden-Ponds-for-Wildlife.pdf

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Thanks for the links. I managed to get most of it out yesterday but
that’s the only photo I got of the pond at the moment cause it’s raining. I have gone out somewhere to look at some pond plants this morning. They had native plants and There was 2 I was thinking of getting Water forget me not and watercress but I got watercress

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That does sound like a good idea.

It’s stopped raining now. Some stones fell in to my pond so I had to get them out with my crabbing net

There was other things in there apart from just stones there was a green net bag with small stones in it and also something torn from a packet so iv got rid of that and checked for anything else but havnt found anything else so far Iv got rid of as much leafs as I can aswell


I don’t know how all the stuff that got in and built up got in the pond but cause of all the duckweed I wouldn’t of been able to see it before I Exspeacially don’t know how the green net bag thing got down there or that something torn from a packet got in. the shrub on the left of it in a border is going to be cut back but the thing is that the leafs that went in and built up are from the leafs of the tree on the other side of the garden and not the shrub so il probably have to just make sure I get any out that falls in

Should I also plant ones underwater or floating ones cause I have been thinking about it since I want to attract more Wildlife. A bee fly checked out my pond and a drone fly had dove for a drink but pond wise I only got water slaters and unfortunately mainly wood lice that have fell in. There is snails but I don’t know if there pond snails or not but that is about it Wildlife wise at the moment

Do you think it would be ok to plant floating natives or under water natives in a small pond the size of the pond I have in the photo or would it cause problems cause of the size?

I’m no expert - but we have water forget-me-nots and they are lovely. In terms of oxygenators, I think that the floating ones are a very useful addition. If you plant marginal plants in the shallows, I would go for something that is not too vigorous - it’s extraordinary how even quite small clumps of plant can suddenly become monsters and take over large tracts of the water surface. Ideally, you want about half of the water surface clear so that sunlight can get into the pond.
From the photo, I find it hard to judge the size of the pond. Is it approx the same as a typical family bath, for example.
We have water crowfoot Ranunculus aquatilis which is rather nice and not too vigorous.
This might help: Best Pond Plants | BBC Gardeners World Magazine but I think it’s best to do a bit of research before you buy anything the BBC recommend - their TV progs about ponds sometimes have some debatable suggestions; and also they often work with ponds the size of a public swimming baths (before they were all closed).
Don’t buy yellow flag-iris. They are thugs and we have a constant battle to stop them taking over the lawn as well as the pond!!!

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The pond is smaller than the size of a swimming pool so not as big And wide. and smaller than a average bath