Cutting Cattails, Bulrushes, and Reeds

I don't remember the exact date we lost our minds but it must have coincided with the day we decide to plant reeds. Whether you call them reeds, cattails, or bulrushes they are a similar type plant and I would like to show you how we are removing them. Permanently!

We planted ours about eight years ago and have been continually, it seems, trying to manage them. It has been a never ending job and I hate to think of the man and woman hours this has cost us.

When my husband casually pondered the thought of removing them completely, he only had to say it once. I have been wanting to get rid of them for years. Removing them is now down to me, and as God as my witness, I am going to make sure I remove every last stalk, tuber, and sniff of a root of these wretched plants.

In this article, I will use the words cattails, bulrushes and reeds interchangeably but be aware there are differences in the plants. As you can see from our first photo, ours are extremely tall. The man cutting them is about 5'6" and was our gardener a few years ago. Now I have approximately 150 left to remove, these are currently in water which is too deep for me to cut them.

Ok, perhaps I am being a bit too hard on these plants. I've enjoyed watching them blowing in the wind, there is something soothing and calming about them. They have surrounded our lake providing us with a natural privacy screen, a safe haven for water fowl and nesting material for the hummingbirds which nest in our garden.

Where we used to live in England we often walked in nature reserves around fens, or marsh areas where the ditches were lined with tall grasses and reeds. These areas were rich in wildlife and this was what was going through our minds when we planted these tall cattails here on our farm.

In that Brussel sprout eating, tweed wearing country, full of micro-managers, the 'wild nature reserves' are hyper managed by men in green Wellington boots holding clipboards. The reserves are made to look wild when in fact, they are not. Their reeds are removed by mechanical diggers.

With hindsight, we should have listened to the locals who told us we shouldn't plant them. In a tropical climate, plants grow and spread rapidly. We also realized, they were a perfect hiding place for thieves who stole our fish when we were farming tilapia.

To do any job well, you need to have the right equipment. Here's what I use.

• Sickle: The hardwood handle makes it heavy to use, but the muscles soon adapt. Don't use plastic pipe, (I have tried it) it's too slippery, even with textured gloves. My husband keeps the blade sharp. Before anyone remarks on it, the sharpening stone is too fine. I know, I bought the wrong one and he reminds me every time he uses it.
• Rubberized gloves. If you are a man reading this, you may think you don't need gloves. Trust me, after an hour's work your hands will be blistered. The water makes the skin soft and without the protection of gloves, if they aren't blistered, they'll be raw. Any gloves which offer grip. I use ones that are coated in a rubberized latex.
• Long sleeve camo jacket: Depending on where you live you may not need to wear this. Our UV index is in the extreme category so I cover up. We also have found that wasps and bees don't seem to see the camouflage clothing.
• Neck protection: As above, for sun protection, workers here, and I am one of them, wear a face covering. Although a bandanna works as well, I have a stretchy camouflage fabric, that just slips over my head.
• Aerobics shorts: Our water is warm so I don't have to wear waders. If your water is cold, opt for different bottom wear. I normally wear skin tight bottoms. Our lakes have leeches, and I will pull them off my lower legs, but I don't want them climbing any higher.
• Swim shoes: If the area you are clearing has any sharp objects including sticks, glass, cans, or shells you need a pair of swim shoes. I have tried flip flops and they just don't provide the stability. I have also worn running shoes however, they get sucked into the mud.
• Bee net: We have a few different types of wasps here which attach their nest to the reeds. These can be difficult to see when cutting until I am right on top of them and they are alert, protecting their nest. If my lower body is in water, it is protected. Around my hat, I have pinned a makeshift net to keep from getting stung on my face. I created this net after being stung 5 times on the face in one cutting session. To make it, I simply used netting we already had here on our farm and put a drawstring through it. Then using safety pins, I attach it to the hat.

In order to cut the cattails, it may be necessary to clear weeds first. As you can see from the picture, I had to clear a lot of grass in order to start cutting the reeds. One of our problematic types of grass sends out runners that may go 10 feet. There is not an easy way except to keep yanking and rolling it out. Our type produces a mass of roots which almost form a blanket. This floating web of roots can be hooked with the sickle and pulled closer to the bank for extraction.

If you cut the cattails below the waterline, they will die. However, there may already be a new shoot starting that you don't see. This is why you may need to go through and cut some remaining ones in a few weeks. If you cut and the stalk is above water, you're wasting your time. These need to be dug out removing the thick tuber.

If you wish to control and not completely remove the cattails, then you'll need to cut a line between the bulrushes and the water. We found using a spade was the best tool for this. Although not a common tool in the USA, it slices straight down, like a knife. Once this line has been cut, remove any roots beyond that line. Depending on how wet your soil is, the tubers may be quite deep.

Here is the method I use. If you can see to the bottom of the plant, great, I can't our water is very dark. I slide the sickle down to the base of the stalk and then give it a fast tug. It may not cut on the first pull. Try and repeat in the same place. It's better to cut from the side of the plant. Some of them will be wide at the base, perhaps 12” or 30 cm across. You'll find it difficult to cut with the flat part of the plant facing you, step to the side so the width you are cutting is about 2”.

If the water is deep, cut as low as you can. I make a policy that I won't go any deeper than chest deep. You don't have the power when you go any deeper because your arms are the fighting against the water.

Depending on the plants you're cutting, you will have long stalks floating on the water and these need to be pushed out of the way. As you can see from the first image on this page, our reeds are tall. If you have a strong wind, let it help you move the cut stalks to the edge of the lake or downstream. Work in a way which means you're moving the reeds as little as possible. Otherwise you spend more time shifting cut plants than actually cutting.

If you're working on a steep bank, your swim shoes will come into their own. I've worked in mud, sand, and weeds and I feel sure footed when I wear mine.
Also as you cut into the reeds, you can use the stumps you've left behind to wedge your foot in between. Part of the reason for clearing the grass is also a safety measure. Long runners of grass can trip you and work like a rope entangling you in the water. This is why I have found the easy way is to pull out as much grass as possible.

Once you've cut the bulrushes and pulled them out of the water, leave them to dry if possible. They will be much lighter to move. We have used everything from our VW Kombi, our tractor and trailer, a wheel barrow and even our arms to move them. Use whatever is suitable that can take a large volume. Once they are dry they are extremely light. I have been known to pile up the trailer, and then used myself as a weight to hold them down for transporting. We get strong winds and need to keep them secure so they don't blow out. I hate doing a job twice.

We compost our reeds where possible but if it is a mixture of reeds and grass, we will often burn. We don't want the grass to take hold again. I have patches of grass roots that grow about 2' thick in places. It is a pain so I have no problem burning it. We do this on an island so there is no chance of it spreading.

Although it's easy to look at this problematic and often invasive plant and think there is nothing positive about it, there is.

• The stalks have long been used to make seats and backs for chairs, table mats, hats, bags, and baskets.
• The seed heads are used for decorations, food, and as a fire starter.
• Those who forage for food and survivalists praise its uses and year round availability.
• Left to decompose, they enrich the soil. Many of our earlier coconut trees were planted with composted reed stalks.