How do I get rid of long, stringy algae?

Long, stringy algae is called blanket weed. This type of weed feeds on the nitrates in your pond water and can be very difficult to control and to get rid of.

Bradshaws have several different ways of controlling blanket weed.

Manual Solutions

The most basic (but most time consuming!) way of controlling blanket weed is to remove it yourself. The Oasis Easy Weeder is the perfect tool for this; the bottle brush style end traps the blanket weed so you can remove it.

Natural Solutions

Adding plants to your pond can help to control blanket weed. The plants feed on the nitrates in your water, starving the blanket weed of food. This is a good long-term method, but you will need plants covering 1/3 to 1/2 of the pond surface to keep the weed completely under control. It is a good idea to supplement this method with another method such as a pond additive, some of which are made from natural ingredients such as barley straw.

Pond Additives

Bradshaws have a number of different pond additives that can control blanket weed, all of which are easy to use. This method is very easy but can get expensive if you need to keep re-dosing your pond.

Electrical Solutions

One of the best long-term solutions to the problem of blanket weed is an electronic blanket weed controller. These introduce copper ions into your pond which stop blanket weed from forming. Bradshaws do two different electronic controllers: the I-Tronic and the Blagdon Electronic Blanket Weed Controller.

Click here to see our range of solutions for blanket weed
Click here for information on combatting green water and algae