Q: How do you get rid of leeches?
- Richard of Waterbury Center, VT
A: The “muck” at the bottom of your pond is a great breeding ground for leeches. So the absolute best way to get rid of them would be to get rid of the “muck”. Pond-Clear Natural Bacteria is the best way to do this. Pond-Clear will eat up to 5″ of “muck” per year!
Another thing you can do in the short term is trap them. To do so, do the following:
1.) Start with a coffee can with a plastic lid.
2.) Poke holes in the sides of the can with a nail. Holes should be 1/8 to 1/4 inch in size. The nail holes should leave a sharp burr on the inside of the can (approximately 50 holes).
3.) Put about 1/4 cup of raw meat in the can (ground beef, liver, chicken or turkey giblets are recommended).
4.) Put the lid on the can and submerge it completely in your pond. A rock placed on top of the can will prevent it from falling over and will help prevent snapping turtles from tampering with it.
5.) Check the trap a couple of times a week and remove the leeches. Keep the trap in the pond until the leech numbers decrease, or you no longer catch any leeches in the trap.
Filed under: Leeches, Pond & Lake, Pond Clear | Tagged: Leeches, muck
I tried this leech trap. I only caught 1 leech in 2 traps in 2 weeks – checking them every few days. The ground beef I used rapidly turned into beef spagetti. I must have a fair number of leeches because I often see them when I rake up debris. Since leeches are attracted to movement I was wondering if anyone knows of a “bobbing” or “moving” trap that might work better. I have some ideas, but wondering what others’ thoughts might be.
Mark
i had them bad a few years ago they were so bad they had attched themselves to my cat fish i took him out of the water put salt on the leaches it seamed to kill them then i put rock salt in my pond and for a long time i didnt see any i have them back this year the salt did not kill my gold fish or cat fish now iam haveing green water have not had that for years trying toi get rid of that
I tried the coffee can trick-didn’t work. I am going to try again but I am wondering if it would help to have fish in my farm pond. In the past we had hybrid bluegills-no longer have them-and we did not have leeches then. Do you think the fish would help? My grandchildren did not want to swim with fish in the pond and now they won’t go in with the leeches.
Thanks for any other help you can give me.
Christy,
Yes, adding fish will help. Having a fish population will keep some of the leech population down. If you had to choose between swimming with the hybrid bluegill and the leeches, I would swim with the hybrid bluegills. One thing with the hybrid bluegills is that if they have enough of a food source in the pond, such as fathead minnows, they usually won’t bother you or come up and nibble at your toes.
To All Pond Owners with Leeches,
Anyone have any other thoughts on controlling leeches besides what has been said already? Any comments are welcome!
I also tried the can and hamburger thing here in Minnesota. I did not work. I wish I knew where they came from. I am thinking of trying bleach (chlorine) before I put my fish back in. They are a great food source, the fish were in a frenzy for weeks. The algea was saturated with leech eggs. DNR confirmed that they were leeches. My only concern with chlorine is if the pump can tolerate it and not destroy any seals. Anyone with dosage info or other ideas would be appreciated
My leeches don’t look like the picture on top of this page, they look more like very small worms, about one inch long, black and skinny. i took a sample to the Pond shop and the guy thought it was leeches. But now I am very confused. Any suggestion?
Gerta,
What you have sounds like a leech even though they might not look like the picture above. I plan to right another blog post about leeches because the one above isn’t the best.
What you really need to do is to get rid of the environment that they burrow is, which is the muck. If you can use a Pond & Beach Rake to remove the muck and use MuckAway to help keep the muck levels down you will have better luck at controlling leeches.
Hopefully this helps you.
We are at Lake Brownwood in Texas and several of the kids have had small red worms attached to their feet from walking on the shore. Anyone know what these are called and if they are harmful?
Stephanie,
Those red worms are probably what you would refer to as blood worms. They are actually a type of worm that a lot of fisherman will use for bait. You shouldn’t have any problem.
I take a piece of cooked ham roll it into a tube and tie a piece of string around it. An hour later removing it slowly it was black with leeches. Not only on the outside but within the folds of the roll.
Untie the ham, scrape the leeches off and reuse
Thanks for your comments Milton!
When you scrapped the leeches off of the ham did you then kill them or how did you keep them from going back in your pond? I am using the liver and can method as I commented below. It seems to be attracting them but it is a very slow process. I’m wondering if the ham will work better. We have several red ear fish but they are not keeping up with them.
Thanks
I tried the coffee can with beef liver as the bait. IT WORKED. Two days later we took the can out of our pond and behold it had many leeches inside it. We took it over to the barn and washed the can out therefore washing the leeches into the stone drive. My question is, will the leeches find their way back to the pond? If so, how do you suggest killing them? I am thrilled because I think this will take some time but definitely do the job. I just want to make sure that we are really getting rid of them and that they don’t make their way back in.
Thanks for your help!
Anita,
When there are excessive organics in a pond, usually the population of leeches can increase. The best way to help remove leeches is my removing some of the “muck” on the bottom of the pond. Leeches will burrow into this muck and call it home. If you can remove this muck via a Pond & Beach Rake or usually MuckAway you will help be able to keep them at bay.
Are Leeches harmful to humans?
Marylyn,
If a leech gets attached to you, it is not immediately harmful, but can be so it to important to remove any as quickly as possible. Here is a quick article on the subject.
Which is best–MuckAway or Pond Clear? I have what looks like a small variety of leeches–less than an inch long but they sting like a horsefly when they bite! I use a bluing agent and have fish–the leeches just started this year so hopefully by getting after the muck I can get rid of them. The muck isn’t deep and not present all over the pond.
Thanks–Nancy T.
MuckAway is the best at digesting and eliminating muck. These pellets are natural bacteria that will sink into the muck to be the digestion process.
For some quick results you can rake the muck out using a lake rake and then continue to use MuckAway to keep the muck levels to a minimum.
We have a camper on a large lake. We have leeches at our area but they do not seem to be elsewhere. Our shoreline has
mid size gray rocks to hold the shore line. We brought them in
many years ago due to excessive erosion Could they be the reason we have the leeches and they are not elsewhere?.
Mary,
Do you have a muck layer on the bottom of the shoreline in your area? This is where leeches like to burrow and to help keep the population down, I would suggest MuckAway to help digest some of the muck in your area.
I wouldn’t think the rocks you brought in would cause you have have leeches.
I have a small pond in Vermont that is 4 years old. Last year, I noticed a black leech about 4″ long in the shallows and scooped it out and threw it into the meadow. This year, I have been dealing with tiny creatures that look leech-like when seen with a magnifying glass – they are about 1/16th of an inch – and are clustered on the inside of my pond standing drainpipe. They move in the water as it flows out. I take a spatula and scrape them off the surface and wash them down the pipe. They keep coming back.
In reading about environments for leeches, my pond has little muck and vegetation. What about crawfish? or adding table salt to the pond to change the Ph?
Hi Hannah, thank for your question. One of our pros, Sue C., has a great way to trap leeches, so try this: Get a metal coffee can, punch holes in the side, place meat inside can and secure lid. Leeches will crawl in and will not be able to get out. Works like a charm! Let us know if you have success with this as well. Thanks!
Hi!One Day my brother and i was fishing in my grandmas pond.about 6 year old pond and the bobber fell off our fishin’ pole so my brother got in the pond with all the muck and then got out and a leech was on his leg.As I was reading all the ways to get rid off them what if te leeches are in the muck where would i put the muck and everything?How would i kll the leeches?and keep them away for good? As soon as you can answer my question please email me back i need to get rid of these pests asap for my 3yr olds sake.
Thanks-Carissa and Carol
Carissa,
Muck is really a fertilizer, so when removing you can actually place it into your garden or flower beds. Or you could just toss it as yard waste. I would use a rake called the Pond & Beach Rake to rake out as much muck as possible and then use MuckAway to keep the muck levels down.
To keep leeches away for good, you need to get rid of their mucky environment.