Wondering if anyone has had success digging up cattails and transplanting them? A: yes
Is it the wrong time of the year to try? A: yes
early spring is best

Trapper Dahlgren has a fix ^^^^

plantin cattails makes as much sense as baiting crabs.

I find good cover increases my duck hunting also having cattails makes a good place to find muskrats not sure why a guy would not want them for cover and feed.

get the wrong ones and there won't be room for a duck to land.

Had that here years ago they won’t even grow here now.

lily pads are where the money is,or as the rich call them-lotus.

Not hard, but you better think twice about transplanting them, they are very hard to get rid of once they take hold.

https://www.google.com/url?q=https://plants.usda.gov/plantguide/pdf/cs_tyla.pdf&sa=U&ved=2ahUKEwjUtau5pK7nAhVUYs0KHVgsD9gQFjAAegQIChAB&usg=AOvVaw1dNcPGfKViC8wgkQSe9lMe

1=1000 they will choke out your pond or wetland unless you are very diligent in removing them. The man made pond on the farm I bought a few years ago was originally 3/4's of an acre. But because nothing was done with it over some years they knocked back the pond to less than a half acre. They also leave a lot of dead sediment making the pond mucky. Nothing wrong with some in a pond but makes sure you keep fighting them back. That is why your friend has too many in his pond

I think that those who have too many or too thick cattails and also have ice in winter would just mow them off above the ice where they are unwanted you would find that you can configure the portion of the water you want covered.

I have heard the only way to kill them is to cut the below the water line or spray them with some kind of killer that is very toxic.

burn em.

Yes they need to be cut below the water line. But without pulling them they still cause the bottom to become mucky. I am trying to reclaim my pond now and I am finding the cost to be pretty extensive. A pond that was dug to 20ft is now only 12 at its deepest point the vegetation left behind from the cattails is terrible and as they spread the "shoreline" follows

It can be 18 feet tall though

I wonder if phragmites is something that a person could easily spread by accident

Perhaps the time of the year affects when/how it spreads

I didn't realize until now that there's a native version of phrag as well

It seems phrag could be a real pest

I'm not sure if it spreads beyond wetlands

I imagine it can negatively affect landowners & water trappers, etc. I'm not sure if it likes shade or moving water

I have trapped muskrat sloughs for 8 years with Phragmites (common reed) invading the cattail areas. The cattails will predominate and keep any phragmites out if the water level is consistently 18 " or more in depth. Reed will provide winter cover in areas of 0-12" of water but not much food. From there on up to 18" its a battle on which plant survives the best Rats will build houses from reed but prefer river bulrush and cattail here. We are in a big time drought here (common on the Great Plains) so the reed will gain some ground for a few years until the we get high water in the sloughs Whomever recommends Roundup to spray reed (in marshes and sloughs) needs to add that it must be AQUATIC ROUNDUP ONLY, as regular off the shelf Roundup kills all types of invertebrates and small creatures that start the marsh/wetland animal food chain/web..... so be sure to read the label before you apply. And yes Aquatic Roundup is more expensive than regular Roundup. The price we pay for healthier environs. ....................... the mike

Cattails are like a Bamboo root system, if you don't get ALL OF IT, they'll grow back. Generally, they also won't grow if they can't get sunlight. Spray with RU during their growing season, dig roots AFTER they're dead.

Choking out lakes is a big problem

For those who get ice thick enough to walk or work on, try mowing the cattails down to the ice during winter to either get rid of them or to create open areas, trails etc. Redo each winter.

I have done a bit of it and seen some others do it and they took right off well. This was on a very small scale and messy as H and not easy work as you are dealing with wet, heavy, muddy plants. Mine was about half of a 5 by 9 foot trailer. I can't imagine doing it on a much larger scale unless one uses way more equipment to handle. For me one also wants to make sure you are moving or working with our native wide leaf cattails and not the hybrids that are annuals with no root bulbs that supply a lot of winter food.

Bryce