The ubiquitousplant pests , such as aphids or snails, also appear on aquatic plants. However,pest controlin the pond is a bit more difficult than in other parts of the garden, as commonly used plant protection products are toxic to fish and other creatures living in garden ponds. So how to fightpests of aquatic plants ?
Aquatic plant pests - frogs help fight snails
Symptoms:clusters of greenish or black insects on leaves and flower petals, leaves turn yellow and die, weaker flower development and shrunken plant shoots,
Cause:aphids are pests that abound in many garden plants, mainly in summer,
Combating:Remove the most mastered parts of plants, rinse the remaining aphids with a water jet, preferably using a garden hose, collect the rinsed aphids from the surface of the water in the pond with a thick casserole, it is worth bringing natural enemies of aphids into the garden (min. . ladybugs and golden-eyed).
Symptoms:oblong, irregular marks on floating leaves of water lilies, heavily perforated leaves turn yellow and wither over time,
Cause:larvae and midge beetles, larvae are dark brown, 7 to 9 mm long, adults are yellow-brown in color and about 6 mm long,
Fighting:larvae and beetles must be collected, fished out of the water and destroyed, remember that beetles' natural enemies are birds, fish and predatory insects,
Symptoms:small, oval pieces of tissue or shoots cut out of the leaves, curled fragments of leaves floating on the surface of the water,
Cause:caterpillars of butterflies, such as the Świtezianka nymph and the Blackbird, appear most often in summer, female moths lay their eggs under the surface of aquatic plant leaves, caterpillars bite off oval leaf fragments, wrap in them and are secured they swim like boats on the surface of the water,
" Fighting:Regular inspection of the plants will allow you to spot the pest in time and remove the cocoons with caterpillars, remove the boats floating in the water, the natural enemies of these pests are birds, fish (common dace, roach, rosary) and insects predatory (yellow-marginal swimmer, dragonfly larvae), "
Aphids are pests of various garden plants, including aquatic plants
Symptoms:irregular holes in the leaves, glassy pits and traces of mucus, these symptoms worsen in late spring and early autumn,
Cause:excessive numbers of snails, such as marsh harrier, but when the number of snails is not too large, they do more good than harm,
Fighting:observe the vegetation in the pond and regularly collect the snails you see, as a bait in the evening, throw a few leaves of Chinese cabbage into the pond, in the morning remove the leaves with feeding snails and destroy the snails, they will help in the fight against snails their natural enemies, i.e. frogs, toads, lizards, hedgehogs and birds, so it is worth creating favorable conditions for these creatures to stay in the vicinity of a garden lake, for birds and hedgehogs snails can be placed in a flat vessel with a small amount of water,
Symptoms:wild ducks roam the reeds, destroying and eating plants,
Fighting:in many cases birds are our allies in the fight against pests of aquatic plants, but when birds cause damage it may be necessary to scare them away, see more: how to scare birds away?
