Pond Dip

Pond dipping is a fun way to observe the many creatures that live in small ponds. The main things required for pond dipping are a long-poled net with mesh material and a white tray for observing your specimens. A magnifying glass and a pond-life guide book are useful, as well. Practice safety while you are pond dipping, and always wash the equipment and your hands thoroughly when you are done.

Steps

Selecting Equipment

1. Pick a net with a long handle. If you're buying a net for pond dipping, choose one with a pole that’s long enough to reach the water. If you have to lean too far over the water, you may lose your balance, and you don't want to fall in the water! Also make sure the net has small enough holes that things won’t slip right through the net.
   • Your height may affect the length of pole you need. Make sure it is long enough that you can reach the water but not so long that it becomes hard to use.
   • For the best results, use a net that’s more like mesh than like a typical string net.
2. Make a simple net if you don’t have one. Bend a wire hanger into a circle. Attach a pair of pantyhose to the hanger with strong tape so that the opening of the pantyhose goes around the hanger frame. Tie the legs into a knot and cut them off below the knot. Attach a long pole to the hook of the hanger with strong tape.
   • It may look a little silly, but it's a simple and effective net if you need one!
3. Choose a white observation tray. When you scoop up specimens from the water, you’ll dump them into a tray to look at. Choose a shallow, wide tray for the best result. A white tray helps you see the creatures better. A small dark bucket would make it pretty hard to see anything.
   • Find a container that fits your needs. It can be a wide mouth butter tub, or a plastic basin you’d wash dishes in. A shallow tray is easier to examine things in than a deep bucket-like container.
4. Take a magnifying glass and a pond-life guide book. Use a magnifying class to see the creatures more clearly. Look at a guide book to identify what you are seeing and learn more about ponds. You'll have more fun if you can really see what you're looking at and find out what it is.
   • Look online or at your local library for pond-life guide books. Your local parks and recreation department may offer a guide designed for your local pond environment.
5. Fill the tray with some pond water. Create a mini pond environment for your critters to swim around in while you look at them. Use the tray to scoop up some pond water and set it on a flat spot on the ground. This gives the specimens a place to move around while you observe them.

Dipping for Specimens

1. Stand on the edge of the water near some vegetation. Find a place at the edge of the water where you can easily reach the net in. If there is a dock, this is a great place because it is sturdy. Find vegetation because pond creatures love to swarm around plants. Look in the water and see where the most action is.
   • Make sure that wherever you stand won’t cause you to slip and fall into the water.
2. Dip the net into the water slowly. Don't thrust the net into the water quickly, or you'll scare the creatures away. That makes it hard to catch them! Make sure you don't scrape the bottom or you'll only pull out a bunch of mud.
3. Swirl the net in a figure-eight motion. Move the net slowly through the water so you don’t stir up too much mud from the bottom. A figure-eight motion helps you catch creatures as they flee when they feel the water move. You want to get as many little pond friends as you can.
   • Swirl the net in a figure-eight a few times. You’ll pick up some vegetation and pond-slime, which is okay. Within all of that, plenty of creatures will be hiding.

Observing Your Catch

1. Pull the net from the water and gently dump it into the tray. After passing the net through the water, pull the net out. Make sure the opening faces up so you don’t lose anything from the net. Turn it over gently and dump the contents of the net out into your observation tray. Don't spill anything on the ground, or the creatures won't be too happy!
   • Use the hand that’s not holding the net to dump it out, but make sure you don’t squeeze the net. It’s important to be gentle so you don’t squash anything that’s in the net.
2. Push slime or debris around to reveal anything stuck in it. Grab a stick and gently spread the plants and slime out around the tray. Small pond creatures hide in the plant material. Be careful not to poke the plant matter too hard or you might smash something. Watch the critters begin to scurry out of the slime!
3. Look at your catch with a magnifying glass. You’ll be able to see some of the specimens with your naked eye, but a magnifying glass gives you a closer look. Watch the small creatures swim around and observe the variations in the plant matter you picked up. Bet you didn't know one little net would catch so much!
   • Use a plastic spoon to lift individual specimens out of the tray so you can look at them in an isolated environment.
4. Match what you see to the information in the guide book. A colorful guide book tells you about all of the plants and animals in the water, but you could look things up on your phone too. See how many different things you can identify in the water.

Cleaning Up

1. Dump the contents of the tray back into the water. After you’ve spent some time looking at all the pond-life in your catch, return it all safely back into the water. Stand at the edge where you dipped and lower the tray all the way to the water. Gently pour the contents back into the pond.
   • Be sure to walk carefully so you do not spill the tray. Any creatures you drop on the grass may die because they won’t have a way to get back to the water.
2. Rinse all of the equipment thoroughly. If you have a clean water source, like a water spigot, nearby, rinse the net and tray completely. You also don’t want to transfer any bacteria from one pond to another if you pond dip in multiple locations. Some creatures wouldn't like germs from another pond.
   • If you can’t clean the equipment onsite, wrap it in trash bags to transport it somewhere you can clean it all.
3. Wash your hands carefully. Anytime you pond dip, make sure you wash yourself with hot water and soap. You may be grimy from touching things and pond water contains lots of bacteria that you don’t want to transfer around. This is especially important if you’ll be eating soon after pond dipping.

Warnings

• Children should always have adult supervision when pond dipping.
• Practice safety when standing at the edge of the pond. Falling is a risk for this activity.
• Never get pond water in your mouth. Also avoid getting it in your eyes and nose.

Sources and Citations

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