I use my leaf blower on a very low setting and try to get them off before they get to dried. If they they are to dried or you use to high a setting on your blower you will tear the leaf's apart and they will fall through the net. Some of them get stuck in the netting and dry out and crumble, falling into the pond anyway. Good Luck

If you make you net extremely tight they should blow off via prevailing winds in your area.

Don't let them stack and get wet or you net will sag into the water and if left they freeze that way and you will have that messy looking arrangement all winter.

I have a net year round and find some leaves get in as do pine needles and acorns. Plan on using your skimmer net during fall in addition to the net for a more total approach to leaf and other debris removal on an on going basis.

In spring I vac and I find, despite my best efforts, leaves have made it into my pond anyway to some extent.

Thank you, that's just the help I was hoping for. My prevailing wind seems to blow from every tree within a half-mile radius and stop at my pond. What a mess last year despite skimming, cleaning skimmer at least once a day.

I don't expect the net to be a perfect solution (hoped though) and can cope with whatever slips through. I intend to run all winter, for the first time, and want the net off then for whatever pond tending is required.

Thanks again - Mike

I finally broke down and ordered a net for my big pond the other day. These darn trees....too far to give my pond shade, but somehow they manage to drop every single leaf right in the pond.

ccoombs1 - I covered everything--upper pond, 2 streams, lower pond. Most leaves washed in from streams I think. Honestly, the fine black mesh is almost invisible. I have trees that give shade as well as leaves. There are already quite a few leaves on the netting but none in the pond yet, hope I can clear them away OK, not too wet, not too dry--right. I used landscape staples to hold it down, invisible but easily removed. We'll see - Mike

I finished putting the net on today. It had become more important than convincing the delinquent gourami they need to come in now. I swear they are laughing at me as they scoot away to form small packs outside my reach. They should get easier to catch as the water cools down more. I know there will be leaves in the bottom in the spring. I have too much time on my hands so I spend it contemplating such things as how the leaves get through the net even though it looks impassible. As I watched dried and leathery red oak leaves resting on the net, a wind came up. To my amazement, almost every leaf stood on it's stem and began to rotate in a counter-clockwise dance. As the wind changed the leaves dipped and turned catching the deep lobes in the mesh and curling in tighter as it worked it's way through the small holes. It takes a while for the larger leaves but the small ones get through in a matter of minutes. Those leaves that are still attached to a woody stem get trapped as the petioles grab the netting and 'sew' themselves to it. Most of the nuts bounce of of the net but enough work their way through to stain the water if I fail to remove them. Leaves from other trees have their own dance but they do all dance. I think I will be able to get them all if it doesn't get too cold for me to be outside. As I passed one of the aquariums in the bedroom, I dropped in a pinch of food for the recent captives and was startled by the reaction. I took a closer look and there were babies!! A lot of babies, LOL! Guess I need to find some sales on tanks. Sandy

Sandy,
A dancing leaf troupe sounds like a nice way to spend some time. Top hats and canes? At this point only some of the advance guard of leaves has gotten to my net. And already there are a few leaves floating. I have a good skimmer and don't mind cleaning it, but not twice a day like last year.

I too have too much time on my hands so I have been watching the leaves on the net, finding a way through or under. The ceaseless energy of nature.

I will start looking for the dancers soon. I'll look for the counterclock wise pirouettes. Same direction of spin as the drain. My leafblower is waiting--another adventure in ponding.
Mike

I mentioned the dance to a new aquaintence today. He is a biology teacher and he mentioned that not all of the leaves spin the same way although the ones from the same tree will. I was very surprised to find out that trees can be left-handed as well as right-handed. Nature is full of surprises. Sandy

Hi All,
I'm a new "Ponder" and I also have trees around my pond, which of course want to drop leaves on my pond. What I was thinking of doing was get some 1/2" plastic conduit, stick them in the ground on one side of the pool, bend them and again stick them in the ground on the other side. Then cover the conduits with clear plastic drop cloth with mini holes cut into it to allow the wind to blow through, sort of like a Quanset hut affair. The open ends will proably be netting, but the roof of the structure "shouldn't" have anything for the leaves to snag on. Does anybody have any pros or cons on the idea?

Thanks,
Raykos

Sounds like a plan to me. If I had lots of trees and falling leaves that's what I would try. Glenda

Hey there, Raykos. You don't say how big your pond is and that is really important for your project. There are a large number of plans available if you do a search on PVC greenhouse and several that merit purchase. Three or four years ago there was a huge interest on this forum and some of the finished structures were very impressive.
If you do this project do not cut holes in the cover. The first wind will rip the cover to strips.
Half inch PVC does not support much weight and most successful structures use 2 inch pipe.
Simply sticking the end of the PVC in the ground will not work. It is too short. By the time you have buried enough to make it stable it will be too short to be useful. Rebar, 24 inchs or more, hammered half way into the ground will give you a better anchor.
Structures of this kind are notorious for their resemblance to kites. It is a wondrous but alarming and sometimes dangerous sight. The Police do not find it amusing to have a giant box kite come down on a highway.
I found a large gazebo on sale and used the top portion as the framework for my netting. I replaced the legs with a short section of 2 inch PVC and covered it with 1/2 inch bird netting. It looks rather attractive and the final cost was far less than the cost of a PVC structure with all the connectors that are necessary. I got annoyed with finding enough of the right connectors at this time of year and the huge price tag. If I manage to enlarge the pond in the future I will simply add another gazebo top. Sandy

I went out to see that there are more leaves in my pond than on my net. Right now I am getting little leaves that lie on the net and fall through with the wind, it seems. Leaf blower a lesson in futility.

Also seems that the leaves manage to get blown under any tiny space at the net's edge and around the skimmer, which is hard to enclose. I found that it doesn't take many damp leaves to cause a sag to the water level.

Has anyone experienced this? I think because the net is nearly invisible it is hard to fasten down and see gaps--although I thought I did a good job. What about stretching it tight to avoid sags--seems that only opens the mesh to more leaves slipping through.

But I did learn that the leaf blower is great for rounding up floating leaves and putting them together for easy, quick skim netting.

Ponding is a hobby - Mike

Try your wet/dry shop vac for removing leaves from your net. I removed the filter on ours last night and sucked up all the leaves from our net. I also picked up all the leaves from the area around the pond. It worked pretty slick. I believe I was using the crevice head on the end of the hose. The opening was about 1/2 inch by 3 inches. Every once in a while a large leaf would get stuck in the opening, but it was fun listening to the leaves go "down the hatch". The refuse container doesn't get heavy and is easy to roll to the compost pile and dump!

Another great use for the shop vac!!!

Dig

HI Dig, I'll give the shop vac a try. Just made me realize my leaf blower can be a vacuum and might work real well--also worth a try.

The small leaves that go through the net are accumulating--no easy fixes. Yesterday involved a yowling cat encounter, a huge splash and two very angry and upset wet cats facing off on the patio. Glad they weren't caught in the net--rescuing scrambling cats and their claws might not have been fun.

My frustration is gone, figure I just have to adapt to the situation as it evolves and enjoy the entertainment.

Except for a sudden infestation of moles I hope doesn't head toward my underlay and liner before I hopefully get control of the situation.

Mike

Hi Mike,

Was out there again last night with the shop vac. Our pond is quite large so I really have to stretch with the shop vac wand extensions. What I like about this solution is I can also pick up the leaves that are floating (caught) around the pot edges, the rock that is around the edges, and the leaves that are stuck everywhere. I just lower the wand to the water surface and woosh, the leaf is gone.

We have a skimmer that works really well, but I have the opening covered with hardware cloth wire so my new baby fish don't get sucked into the skimmer. I had the screen off for 2 days and found one of my nicest baby fish dead in there. So, I do leaf duty every morning and evening. Our pond in only covered by the net about 3/4 of the surface area. It would be almost impossible to get our whole pond covered. And, like you said, the leaves dry up and drop in the pond anyway and also seem to find their way into the pond. The pond is like a leaf magnet. Of course having our pond situated at the edge of our woods doesn't help (not my idea).

By the way, Liquid Fence makes a mole/vole/gopher/chipmunk product that goes on the end of your hose. The product seems to work pretty good. Our yard was chipmunk heaven until I sprayed everything down with this product. It has no smell that I could smell and I've seen no vermin since I sprayed with it. You might try it and see.

Sorry if this sounds like a commercial, but I appreciate product recommendations.

Dig

Hi Dig,

I like your idea. I realize now that using the electric leaf blower as a vacuum on the pond isn't a good idea. I have a small shop vac and a larger one that pumps water out that I use for cleaning the pond. Whichever reaches farther is what I will try. My pond isn't as large as yours altho some of it is hard to access due to big stones (pics posted on Gallery - new pond in late summer), sure I can find a way.

I have thought of putting fine mesh over skimmer opening to trap leaves externally, cut down on cleaning it and leaf baskets all the time. How much does the screen impede water flow once leaves start accumulating--enough to reduce flow or is it ok with regular vacuuming? Trying to find the best combination of methods to get me through the upcoming heavy leaf fall time.

You are right about pond as leaf magnet. We have trees in abundance in the vicinity and they all send leaves to our property and the pond.

About to take what seems daily trip to big box and will try to find Liquid Fence, see what it is. I prefer not to kill them with some of those heartless traps.

Appreciate the info--not a commercial. Forum has helped me find good stuff over the years and kept me away from troublesome products and vendors. Only do that naming names, I think.

I'll be reporting on whatever comes next with this "simple" netting program.

Mike

Hi again Mike,

The hardware cloth that I'm using has squares approx. 3/4" by 3/4". The leaves sort of accumulate in front of the screen until I lean over and remove them. Our pump, which is located in the skimmer (Savio 16" weir opening) is pretty powerful, approx. 6,000 gph and still sucks in lots of water even with the leaves in front of the screen. I imagine alot depends on your pond level entering the skimmer. We keep our pond level rather high, so only about 2 inches from the top of our weir opening. Again, I only use the hardware cloth to save baby fish from being sucked in the skimmer, but I must admit that I have the hardware cloth in front of the skimmer opening throughout most of the summer.

Our first year with our pond we lost numerous fish and many, many frogs. They would pass through the weir flap and not be able to return through the flap because it is hinged on the bottom. The fish and frogs drowned from the force of the water passing through the skimmer chamber.

Liquid Fence is the #1 deer repellent in our area and I was happy to see they also have the mole/vole/rodent repellent too. It isn't a poison, just a repellent. Critters don't like the smell, so they don't set up shop. I think its pretty long lasting and doesn't need to be reapplied after every rain. Try to Google it to read up on what it can do for your problem. I think it is available on-line too.

Yes, we use our shop vac in spring for pond clean-out too. It really does a good job at getting all the crud from the bottom. I wish ours was larger but then I'd never be able to wheel it around when full of wet crud or full of wet leaves for that matter.

Good luck!

Dig

Ugh, I found a dead baby turtle in my pond last week. I wonder if it was because he couldn't get out because of the net? Funny thing is that I've never seen an adult turtle near the pond. I wonder what this will do the the frogs that I've seen hanging out around the pond?

Hi Dig,
Found a different brand of mole repellent, same principle. Never thought to look at deer repellents, find Liquid Fence. There is a strong caution not to use near lakes, ponds, streams etc. 75% castor oil, no poisons, so I'm willing to give it a shot--moles not near pond yet.

I'm going to think about the hardware cloth as one possibility in my package of fall cleaning. I have to remember the big leaves will get netted, mostly and the small leaves are what they are--endless and a step ahead of me.

Sounds like you have a nice set-up, strong pump (I'm into this for running water). I too keep my pond very full, like the look. I do have a serious splashing problem on the bend of one stream that I need to fix before winter as I can't imagine trying to top it off in January. I guess moderate flow and make physical changes, test it out.

The pond-vac is a great tool. I have a basic 6(?) gallon and a 16 that pumps water out. I couldn't handle it full either--and as you say, wet leaves are a load. Trial and error, the situation will define itself.

Bgtimber, I don't know a whole lot about turtles and frogs, but my guess is that turtles can get under the edge of a soft net. Just need a way out of water and place to get to the net. I had one leopard frog for a while but it disappeared. If you look at some of the frog posts, it seems they can take quite awhile to appear, more than a season for many folks. I can see that the net would keep them out.

Mike

I have a Chinese Elm with leaves about 1"x1/2" so the 3/4 inch nets don't work at all.
I happened to find at a flea mart, 2 over the bed mosquito nets for $5. I keep these on for most of November and it seems to do the job unless there is a HUGE rain or wind. There is an opening that I can open to feed or check on the fish. I keep the opening down wind so the wind doesn't open it up. Nancy

Nancy - what an idea! How do you support such light and flexible netting? I can see a piece laid over my existing supported net where the real small leaves accumulate the most, attached somehow--twist ties or even light aluminum poles attached making a rigid framework along the sides?

Thanks for your response, the Forum and members are great.

Mike