Mowing pond banks

[sandman2234]

I mow about 10 acres up at the church, which has a pond on it. The banks at some points are extremely steep, too steep for me to drive on. On the parts I can drive on, I used to mow it with a six foot mower behind a JD2555 but because of the wheel tracks having to be right at the edge of the pond, two wheel drive and not so good of brakes, I often got stuck in the edge of the pond.
I purchased a 15 foot batwing, but only have two remotes, so I built a "T" to allow me to hook both wings up. The wing running along the water edge has the tire over the edge, and isn't doing a great job. Basically I still can't get far enough out to cut everything. Kind of dis-heartening! While the batwing got closer, I thought it would do better.
How do you guys cut around ponds, short of buying a complete offset boom mower?
David from jax

 

[countrybumpkin]

Sickle mower

 

[jcummins]

Use to use sickle mower now batwing. I lift the wing over the water just enough that it's right at the top of the water not in it. The wheels behind the center section at the edge of the pond.

 

[Tigershark]

I mow as close as I can with my bush hog then on the steep parts I have to weedeat it which really stinks

 

[big bubba]

how much are you willing to invest for the job? that would be the 1st question i'd ask myself. if you are in shape for a walk behind, that would be my recomm for dam/bank mowing. 36"-48" would be my choice. imho mowing pond embankments w/a zero turn or small tractor as yours is pretty much a waste of time esp in wet conditions. of course every job & circumstance is different.

Hydro Drive Walk-Behind Mowers - Encore

 

[John Fitzgerald]

My old DR 10.5 HP field and brush mower does a good job on the pond banks. However, I find that my walk behind string trimmer can get closer to the water easier and is much lighter and easier to control.

 

[bcp]

Self-powered mower and a side boom to tow it. (found photos-not me)

Maybe use an old riding mower with a bad transmission as the towed mower.

Bruce

 

[rbtjr]

We have a pond with two areas on the perimeter that are pretty steep banks. One is on the dam, about 300 feet long. I think the slope is either 4 to 1 or 5 to 1. I mow within about two or three feet of the edge of the water with a 61" Wright Sport X zero-turn mower. I really like this mower for this job. I previously used a 66" Exmark zero-turn mower you ride on in a seat. I also had a 61" walk-behind Husqvarna that I used to mow close to the water. As an aside, I bought all of these mowers with lots of width because IMO the extra width helps provide stability on steep banks. A little over a year ago I sold both the Exmark and the Husqvarna and bought the Wright Sport X. It is very versatile and to me is a safe option in that if something goes wrong I can just step off the mower. I have determined to my satisfaction that I can do this. However, if you were to consider a similar solution, please make your own determination about this. Also, I am very careful to make sure that I know every depression, every rock, etc., around the area on the pond bank that I mow. A great example is that muskrats tunnel into the dam under the water level, and this can create a risk of the mower going into the water if the downhill wheel of the mower breaks through the surface of the ground into the muskrat tunnel. In fact, a man I knew died in a drowning accident when he was mowing around the edge of his pond with a rider zero-turn mower, the mower's weight caved in a muskrat tunnel, he and the mower went into the water, and the mower control levers got caught in his belt so he couldn't get free of the mower.

For mowing the vegetation between the water and where I mow with the Wright mower, I use a 6' rotary mower (brush hog) with the tractor and back the mower down the dam perpendicular to the water's edge so that the mower protrudes a little over the water. Again, I am very careful, go slowly, etc., and I do this only about three times a year, just enough to prevent the pond's edge from getting grown up out of control.

I use a 7' sickle mower to mow around the edge of the pond where the bank is not steep.

Hope this helps. Above all, I emphasize that I resolve all doubts in favor of being safe. If my Wright mower ever gets in danger of going into the water, I will for sure let it go without me.

 

[ericm979]

A ditch bank flail mower is made for this sort of thing. They're significantly less expensive than a boom mower.

 

[Sawyer Rob]

I use a NH451 sickle mower, you can mow right under water with it, so it works great for cattails ect...

SR