Buying a house with a natural pond in the back yard?

Question

My wife and I are about to make an offer on a house with a natural pond in the back yard and since we know nothing about the maintenance of a large body of water, we thought it would be best to ask the Yahoo users.
The water body looks very clean, not very deep and is about 1/4 acre in size. Just guessing I would say it's about 150 feet from one end to the other and is almost a perfect circle.
While walking around the pond we noticed tadpoles swiming near the shore, no visible bugs (although it was very cold outside) and the water was clear for at least 10 feet out towards the center. The water appeared to be no more than 2-3 feet deep as far as we could see.
The water was not stagnant and has a drainage pipe leading to a swamp area in the empty lot nearby. That lot is lower than our property. It seems that our pond is fed by a spring and rainwater, and then drains to the swamp.

Can anyone give us some advice about this pond? What to look for and look OUT for? Thanks in advance.

Answer 1

In my area these ponds are common. Originally intended for watering livestock, they often silt up as this one apparently has. If it ever dries completely during drought you might have it bulldozed deeper with the displaced soil used to build up the dam forming the pond. Be sure you discuss this work with any homeowners or neighborhood association, or city administration before starting work. In some states there are rules about changes allowed to waterways and wetlands.

Any body of water can be dangerous to small children. That is probably the most significant danger. Secondly, though the pond is spring-fed, the water is mostly still. Still water provides a breeding place for mosquitos, although other creatures living in the pond (fish, frogs) will keep them under control. A bacteria (bacillus thuringiensis israelensis) destroys mosquito larvae without harming any other pond dweller. Third, wild creatures will visit your pond regularly. These will vary from cranes to raccoons to snakes. For the most part, keeping the grass cut between your home and the pond will prevent you from walking upon any of them unawares.

Having a shallow but steady pond will allow you to plant water lillies in the deeper water. Marginals can be planted in the shallow water along the edge and bog plants can sit at the edge above the water line. Be careful with water plants, though; they tend to be invasive. Add decorative plants slowly to see how they do in your area. Below are two links to lists of water-loving plants.

Answer 2

House With Pond

Answer 3

I have a home on acreage with 2 large ponds. My biggest fear is the kids, so we keep the yard fenced and the kids know they don't go in it. It sounds fine to me. If you are worried about mosquito's, they sell mosquito disks at home improvement stores and places like TSC (Tractor Supply Company) They are relatively inexpensive. You will be frequented by nature more. Turtles, fish, snakes, frogs, rodents, heron cranes (The Greater Blue Heron is something to watch and worth any hassle the pond might present) There is no way to tell how deep it is unless it dries up. You may keep an eye on that, as if it is shallow and stagnant dangerous nastys can breed in that water - so no swimming for the kiddos!
Keep the grass mowed down to keep yourself safe from critters, you don't want to stumble upon a snake, or skunk for that matter! We have ducks on our pond, and many turtles, fish, even craw fish. The cranes come every day. Greater and lesser.
Oh, and a note about the turtles, if you have them. Water turtles are much more aggressive than land, most people know about snapping turtles, but even the red slider can deliver quite the nasty bite, and they carry salmonella. So, fun to watch and learn , but leave them alone in the pond. They stay, and it is neat to see them over the years. We have a snapping turtle that is now larger than a dinner plate, when I first saw him he was only the size of a saucer. We also have a huge red slider and many many smaller turtles.

Answer 4

Be careful! We have a lake behind our home - fortunately we don't own it and the HOA maintains it. You definitely will have more mosquitoes and perhaps frogs in your grass as well as more garden snakes. Do you know what the water table is near the home and away from the pond. Do you have a septic system? Are there cattails around the pond? (nearly impossible to eradicate. I'm not suggesting you shouldn't buy the property, but you would be buying into more maintenance and related expense. Good luck with your decision!

Answer 5

Good solid advice from Mindshift and MamaC, I would just add that if you have trees or shrubs starting to grow at the water line be sure they are removed as this will compromise the stability of the edge of the pond. It would be good to be able to add some bass or catfish to the pond to take care of mosquitoes and algae, but with a drainage tube I'm not sure that would work. If you're concerned about mosquitoes you can get a natural bacteria (BT) that will kill the larvae but harm nothing else.

Answer 6

sounds pretty good to me . If its got water coming in and draining off it shouldn't get stagnant, but if it starts to get blanket weed(green candyfloss type algae, due to high nitrate levels) then get some pads of barley straw (from farmer or pet shop) this counteracts it. Things to look out for: crested newts! Go out with a torch at night, you're more likely to see them(they're hibernating at the moment, so try late spring next year). Herons might pay you a visit, looking for fish and frogs. Don't try and scare them away unless you're into breeding expensive koi carp. Personally I'd have herons rather than fish they're more interesting! Get a digi camera, get up early and take piccys of it. 1/4 acre is a good size pond. You could use it as a swimming pond. or, build a coracle and just relax in it!!

Answer 7

okay you dont say where this pond is but if it is in the south I would be very afraid of buying this home so close to a pond . first off you are going to have more mosquitos than you can shake a stick at ,2nd you are more than likely to have an alligator or several alligators in there ,3rd snakes ,like garter snakes and or water mocassins (which can and do bite underwater ) any of these would make me think twice about buying a home near any body of water especially if you have children or small pets . okay you say swamp area which makes me think the south . but please be carefull .

Answer 8

WOW!! I'd buy it and leave it as is. All kinds of wildlife, some good some not so good. The sound of waterfowl and frogs. Nealy every four footed animal will come to drink.Song birds will sing. Mosquitoes will drive you crazy. Porcupine, skunks and raccoon will play with your dog. Deer and rabbit will munch on what you plant. All in all, nature is what you'll get, go for it. RScott