Logs in a pond?

[Elean0r]

We've been thinking about putting some logs into our pond, to see if they're any use to the wildlife and because we read somewhere or other that decaying wood is as good as barley straw for keeping down blanketweed.

It's also a way of making a new, natural, wildlife ladder that we thought birds could use for bathing.

We want to be sure we don't add anything that's going to kill any of the creatures in the pond.

We've got some dried hardwood, originally intended for the woodburner, and various bits and pieces we cut from trees and shrubs, including conifers.

We've read that if we use Oak it might make the water slightly brown, but won't cause any harm, and presume Ash would be fine too, as would Willow - provided it's been seasoned to stop it from growing.

Has anybody any experience of deliberately putting logs into their pond, and if so what wood did they use?

[dampflippers]

How big is the pond? In natural ponds logs and branches will fall in.
I would say avoid conifer wood but other than that I'm not sure.

[HedgehogRescue]

I used some branches off a tree and stuck those into the pond so they can be used by animals to climb out, our frogs and toads use it as well.

Depends on the size of your pond but basically I rested one end on the pond surround and the other end went into the water. It actually looks really nice.

If you have a pond with steep sides you can drape plastic mesh over the edge into the water and anchor it into the soil outside the pond to stop it slipping. I used lengths of thick wire bent over to make a pin and pushed them through the netting and down into the earth.

Planting baskets filled with soil and gravel that sit just under the surface are also good at the edge so animals can climb on and get out that way.

Can't remember which tree the branches came off though. It would either be the beech tree or the apple tree.