Aphids On Water Lilies

[WaterGardener]

I have a pool that contains water lilies, no fish. It's a favorite breeding spot for tree frogs and green frogs. Right now it is teeming with little green frogs that overwintered in there as tadpoles and are now fully transformed to frogs. By the sounds near the pool in the evening, the tree frogs are gearing up to breed in there soon.

The problem I am having is that there is a massive number of aphids on the plant leaves and buds.

Is there any way I can get rid of those without harming the frogs?

Thanks for any advice and help.

 

[BKHpondcritters]

The usual advice to get rid of aphids is to simply spray them off with a hose. You might have to do it every day, or even a couple times a day for a while, but I believe that their life cycle is so short, if you disrupt them by knocking them off with water, you will get rid of them.

 

[j.w]

Yep I had that issue too but I have fish and when I sprayed them off the fish gobbled them up! Just keep spraying!

 

[WaterGardener]

I'll try that. Thanks!

 

[GBBUDD]

I have a pool that contains water lilies, no fish. It's a favorite breeding spot for tree frogs and green frogs. Right now it is teeming with little green frogs that overwintered in there as tadpoles and are now fully transformed to frogs. By the sounds near the pool in the evening, the tree frogs are gearing up to breed in there soon.

The problem I am having is that there is a massive number of aphids on the plant leaves and buds.

Is there any way I can get rid of those without harming the frogs?

Thanks for any advice and help.

I'd cut all the lilly pads and flowers so only those coming up from below or left. place them in a trash bag carefully and toss them in the trash.

 

[WaterGardener]

I suppose I could do that, but I really don't want to! They have really outdone themselves this year and the leaves are so thick that there is hardly any visible water. Probably too many of them in there, too.

I'll post a picture later so everyone can see what the situation is.

Tried the water method yesterday, but these guys are so sticky that most didn't come off. I had to wipe them off.

I wish all those little frogs would eat them, and maybe they are. But they need to step it up.

 

[GBBUDD]

Ok how about submersing them . Take the lily and move it to deeper water and drown the little buggers. If your water is not deep enough tie all the stems together and eight them down

 

[WaterGardener]

That would work. I've been trying to dunk them and wipe them off underwater.

This is what the pool looks like. There are so many leaves that it's getting hard to see the blooms.

And one of the little frogs in there. Sorry, he's a bit blurry.

 

[j.w]

Now that is a ton of lilies! Have you ever taken them up to see if they need to be divided? Time to reduce the load I'm thinkin

 

[GBBUDD]

That would work. I've been trying to dunk them and wipe them off underwater.

This is what the pool looks like. There are so many leaves that it's getting hard to see the blooms.

View attachment 158393

And one of the little frogs in there. Sorry, he's a bit blurry.


View attachment 158394

Ah time to thin the heard like dispose of 2/3 rds

 

[WaterGardener]

I redid them all early this spring, fertilizing and dividing them and throwing a lot of plant material away. They have always been pretty thick in there and have been healthy for years. I didn't add any more pots, just cleaned out the overgrown ones and even tossed some. It's always been overcrowded. Thought I was being pretty brutal this spring, but I have a problem with thinning out plants, so maybe not brutal enough. I keep intending to thin them out, but I always lose track of which ones are which.

The fish in the pond usually kill off few water lilies every year, so these are replacements, or ones I want to keep that don't ever go into the pond. But I suppose you guys are right that there are too many of them.

Haven't had as many aphids as there are this year, though. They show up every year and they seem worse than ever in that pool and even other areas of the yard and garden, too. Must be a good year for aphids. I'll keep trying to drown them.

Thanks for all the help and advice.