specialist CURLY WATERWEED CONTROL services

OUR SPECIALIST CONTROL SERVICES WILL TREAT OR ERADICATE THIS SPECIES. TO FIND OUT IF YOU HAVE CURLY WATERWEED USE OUR FREE ID TOOL OR BOOK A SURVEY

treatment & removal

Curly waterweed can be treated with a suitable aquatic herbicide or manually removed by hand-pulling or dredging. With large scale colonies excavation may be required in order to completely remove any remaining roots systems. As the plant waste is deemed as special ‘controlled waste’ it will need to be taken to a suitably licensed landfill.

To find out the best way to control or remove Curly waterweed, and the best time of year to have treatment or eradication carried out get in touch.

WHY IS CURLY WATERWEED A PROBLEM?

In slow flowing rivers, drainage channels and canals, Curly waterweed’s dense growth from water bed to surface can be several metres thick, blocking light penetration below the water’s surface. This matting impedes water flow, choking the waterway which then exacerbates flooding.

ABOUT CURLY WATERWEED

SCIENTIFIC NAME: Lagarosiphon major
ORIGIN: South Africa

Curly waterweed (also known as curly water thyme) is a totally submerged aquatic with rhizomes rooted in the water bed and shoots which reach the water’s surface. An aggressive weed its most active growth period occurs during the winter, it can also spread easily from broken fragments.

• Fully submerged aquatic plant.
• Brittle stems up to 3m long.
• Tends to form dense stands.
• Tightly spiraled leaves 6 – 30mm long, 1 – 3mm wide form in whorls around the stem.
• Flowers July and August.

HABITAT

Can be found in inland surface waters. In the wild they have spread very quickly across the UK but predominantly in Ireland, but with climate warming will become more profuse and problematic in the future.

IMPACT: HIGH

Because of its speedy growth and dense formation it can quickly out-compete native species thereby posing a threat to biodiversity. It thrives in alkaline waters such as those found in limestone areas and can affect the water’s pH, making it even more alkaline which prohibits photosynthesis by other plants. It can cause fluctuations in the amount of oxygen available in the water which is harmful to invertebrates and fish.

TOXICITY: ZERO

Curly water weed presents no physical danger to either humans or animals.