Hey everyone, I've found myself in a pretty unfortunate situation. I was just doing some fence work and accidentally sprayed Textrol wood oil over the fence, which ended up coating a small pond on my neighbor's property that I didn't even know was there. I'm really worried I might have harmed his newts and messed up the entire ecosystem in the pond. Is there any way to remove the oil or mitigate the damage? I'd really appreciate any advice. Thanks in advance!
4 Answers
One option could be to use unbleached kitchen paper towels. Just spread them over the surface of the water to help lift the oil. How big is the pond by the way?
You might want to check out some oil pads from Screwfix. They can really help deal with this kind of spill. But just a heads up, it's possible you've done some serious damage to the pond already.
This isn't good news, unfortunately. You should read up on this thread: [Oil Spill in Pond](https://www.fishlore.com/aquariumfishforum/threads/oil-spill-in-pond.382903/). The wildlife there is likely suffering already. It might be best to pump out the contaminated water and oil, then refill with fresh water (just make sure it’s not straight from the tap). And whatever you do, don’t let the waste water go down any drains to avoid bigger pollution issues.
You can also look for hydrophobic oil soak pads—they soak up oil without pulling in any water. Just keep in mind that the ecosystem is probably already impacted, so acting fast is key.