You’re told algaecide’s the answer. A quick fix for your lake’s algae problem. A simple prescription to get rid of the green and clear the water of algae.
But what if that algaecide “cure” is actually going to become an addiction, so you need more treatment, more often, over time?
That might sound extreme. But there’s been a lot of scientific research done into the effects of algaecides, because it has been known for a long time that, while they may give you a quick cosmetic improvement, – that’s very temporary – but they also have serious long term negative consequences. And what makes them worse is that they instigate feedback loops that get more intense, more vicious and more destructive every time an algaecide is used – so you need to use more next time, and use it more frequently as your lake effectively becomes dependent on, and addicted to, algaecide treatments.
It’s another “win the battle and lose the war” scenario because the negative effects of algaecides compound through feedback loops every time you use them. A quick short-term win but a devastating long-term loss.
I’m going to cover just six feedback loops that turn a quick fix into a permanent problem. And as I do that, I’m going to show you all the scientific papers that contain the research that I’ll be referencing – and we’ve provided a link below so you can go and check for yourself, paper by paper, that this is science – not sales.
For decades, the go-to response to an algae bloom has been to reach for chemical biocides: algaecides, usually copper-based. It seems logical and convenient. You see nuisance algae, you kill it. The water looks clearer for a while, so the problem appears to be solved.
But it’s a dangerously deceptive illusion. You’re not solving the problem; you’re feeding it. You’re treating a symptom with a chemical that reinforces the root causes and creates a vicious, self-perpetuating cycle of dependency and decay.
It’s no coincidence that over the 20 or 30 years that these algaecides have been regularly used, more and more lakes have progressed from minor algae overgrowth to invasive weed takeover and regular toxic cyanobacteria HABs.
So let’s get to the bottom of what’s really happening by drilling down into six of the most serious feedback loops that algaecides set up.
