Beware of alien pond invaders (From Warrington Guardian)

Beware of alien pond invaders

WINSFORD and Middlewich's pond owners and garden centres are being urged to weed out alien plants that are invading canals, lakes and ponds throughout the county.

The Environment Agency claim that foreign species like Australian Swamp Stonecrop and Fairy Fern - also known as fairy moss and water fern - are clogging up still waters throughout the region.

And the agency is strongly advising garden centres to withdraw these plants from sale and pushing for changes in legislation to make it an offence to plant or grow these foreign species.

Fairy Fern and Australian Swamp Stonecrop can pose a real danger, especially to children and animals, as they rapidly form a dense floating carpet which can appear solid enough to walk on.

And the unwanted imports have a devastating effect on the environment. They deoxygenate water, killing fish, aquatic invertebrates and other plants.

Dr Elaine Fisher, the Environment Agency's regional senior scientist, said: "We are urging pond owners to be careful in their selections and avoid these alien species.

"The spread of these plants is a real problem and one which is hard to tackle as many continue to grow through the winter and the use of herbicides is restricted to those approved for use near water courses."

She added: "It is wise to avoid buying plants from communal troughs containing invasive species as there is a risk of transferring fragments of these into your pond."

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