Pond Snails Any Good?

Frank99

I have a garden pond that i used to have for fish however it is now just a weedy pond full of newts, i want to keep it for the newts as a wildlife pond but i have to cut back most of the plants in the winter because it becomes too full.
I recently heard that pond snails can eat some of the algae and weed, i have some blanket weed but the main problem is duck weed constantly blocking out any light which i have to remove almost daily.
Anyone have any experience of pond snails?

twopenny

Pond snails are good at keeping the water clearer and the sides clean certainly.
For blanket weed use a cane to fish it out and leave at the side.
Duckweed comes with the travelling wildlife so hand is best.
I wonder if it's compostable. Gives you an incentive  

WeAreGhosts

I'd be interested in people's experiences with pond snails too. My pond tends to freeze easily in winter, would they survive?

I also have a terrible duckweed problem, scooping it out by hand or with a net is the best way, but they multiply every 24hrs so becomes a chore.

Woolsery

Pond snails live in my polytunnel water butts and cause no problems, other than blocking the spout of watering cans! They'll survive.

Duckweed is introduced by wildlife and once established it's virtually impossible to eradicate. Vigilance is key here, but obviously size of pond and location may make this difficult. With persistence, it's certainly possible to keep it down in a normal small pond.

twopenny

Put a ball appropriate to the size of your pond in it in winter.

A rubber duck is funny too.

It may freeze around it but it tends to move with breeze/wind or you can pop it out during the day allowing anything that wants to to get out or daylight/oxygen to get in and also to allow the ice to thaw somewhat.