Maintenance of many of the detention ponds, canals, secondary ditches and roadside drainage facilities depend on the use of herbicides to control vegetation within a prescribed budget.  Most herbicides are applied through broadcast spraying, and some herbicides are applied in granular form to standing waterbodies.  

The broadcast herbicide mixtures consist of mostly water, one or more herbicide, and nonionic surfactants.  Surfactants are added to the solution to help the herbicide stick to the foliage.

The herbicide mixtures used represent minimal harm to the environment, animals and people.  Collier County Road Maintenance Division Aquatics Section is overseen by a Florida Aquatics Herbicide Application Certified supervisor.  The Road Maintenance Superintendent also maintains the certification to further insure a high level of responsible use.  Contracted application vendors are also required to maintain the same level or higher certification.

Following is a short description of each herbicide potentially used by County staff.  For more information, please call Road Maintenance Division Aquatics Section at 239-252-8924, or visit the Florida Department of Environmental Protection’s Bureau of Invasive Plant Management website.

Cutrine-plus – is an algaecide especially formulated for the control of Chara, Nitella, and other bottom growing algae in potable water reservoirs, fire ponds, farm and fishponds, golf course ponds, and fish hatcheries.  It is granular and usually broadcast with a fertilizer spreader.  It is designed to release copper for four to five weeks.  The use of copper-based herbicides is no longer permitted in this area and was last used April 2014.

Garlon 4 – is used for control of woody plants and broadleaf weeds.  It is non-soil active, non-volatile, and quickly penetrates plants to become rain fast within 2 hours.  Except for lactating dairy animals, there are no grazing restrictions following application.

Reward – is a fast acting and broad-spectrum herbicide that is especially effective for controlling elodea, watermilfoil, coontail and duckweed in ponds and shore areas.  Target plants absorb it within minutes, with no toxicity to fish, aquatic organisms or wildlife.  It has no swimming restrictions.

Rodeo – is used as a foliar spray to control many herbaceous and woody plants in and around aquatic sites.  It moves through the plant from the foliage to the roots.  It has a strong affinity to soil particles that prevents it from leaching out of the soil profile and entering groundwater.  The degradation process is primarily biological degradation by soil microflora.

Sonar (Fluridone) – is an aquatic herbicide used to control common nuisance plants like pondweed and watermilfoil and hydrilla.  It is absorbed by the leaves, shoots and roots of vascular plants and kills susceptible plants by inhibiting their ability to produce carotene, a substance that plants need to maintain essential levels of chlorophyll. 

Renovate 3 - is labeled for control of submersed, emersed and floating plants in and around aquatic sites such as ponds, lakes, reservoirs, non-irrigation canals, ditches, marshes and wetlands.  Renovate 3 (liquid) Aquatic Herbicide carries no restrictions on recreational use such as swimming and fishing, or on livestock consumption of water from the treatment area.  Renovate 3 can be used near active potable water intakes.

Hydrothol 191 - is a selective, rapid-acting, contact herbicide and algaecide. Very effective against a broad spectrum of submersed weeds, also controls Problem Algae at the same time.  Water treated should not be used for irrigation or human and animal consumption for 7 to 25 days depending on the application rate. May be harmful to fish at recommended application rates.

Clipper – is an aquatic herbicide that delivers fast and selective control of tough invasive and nuisance plants such as cabomba, watermeal, Eurasian watermilfoil, water lettuce, duckweed, giant salvinia and more. Plus, Clipper dissipates quickly from the water column and does not accumulate in sediment.  There are no water use restrictions post application.

Updated 04/16/2024.