Is autumn the right time for sorting out my pond?

[gwynleg]

It has a slow leak so I want to empty and find the leak at some point. I have tadpoles at the moment with lots of other insects (water boat men, damsel flies, water snails etc). I imagine what I can do is empty the water and any creatures I find into a big container then clear out pond and put them back in?

Is autumn the right time though? Presume I need to do it before frogs need it for winter?

[queenbee]

Hi Gwynleg,

We are in the process of doing our pond, the last of the Koi were killed off last year, we think by a fox. Anyway it is now delegated as a wildlife pond. We have not cleaned it out for at least 10 years god knows what is at the bottom, but it is teaming with life. We will try to save the vast majority in tubs and old bins. And also some of the mud at the bottom. Do not worry about the frogs as they do not winter in the pond, they usually find damp places in the garden to hibernate. we are making ours smaller as it is built up about one foot from the ground and we are levelling to ground level. Poor hubby, he constructed it 23 years ago and made it so well that we will have to hire a Kangol to break up the brickwork and also hire a skip to take the rubble away. Good Luck with your project.

Regards Gail.

[Ninnyscrops.]

Yes Gwynleg, we did ours last autumn. Be careful of any dragonfly larvae though as they can give you a nasty nip unless you handle them by their middles so they can't  and as Queenbee says, save some of the mud from the bottom to restart your new one.

Ninny