How To Get Rid Of:

How To Get Rid Of Lily Pads

Lily pads, or water lilies, are one of the most common flowering plants that you will see floating in the water. They particularly grow in water bodies that have freshwater and tropical climate. There are many types of water lilies, but each of them can bloom into a beautiful and colorful flower. Indeed, water lilies add life to a very tranquil and simple lake. T Lily pads might be pleasing to the eyes of those who do not have them growing in their lot, but for those who spot a couple of lily pads on a part of their lake, these lily pads can start to be one of their biggest problems.

Lily pads can spread all over the lake in no time. Once a couple of them start to appear, you can expect more lily pads to cover the whole perimeter if you do not take care of it. While  a few floating lily pads can be tolerable, when they pile up, the fishes and other animals and plants living in the lake will have low chance of surviving. That is why, if you have a lake that is filled of lily pads, you must keep an eye on it and start treating the area before your lake can become lifeless, except for the unwanted water lilies. Here are some things you can do to get rid of lily pads in a lake.

Take them out with a rake

The simplest way to get rid of the lily pads in your lake is to manually rake them. You can just use a rake that has a long handle and start to pull the lilies towards you. Be careful when raking them in order not to break the roots. If the lilies are in the middle of the lake, you can ride on a traditional boat or canoe. Avoid riding on electrically operated water vehicle because you might create waves that will shoo away the water lilies or make their roots all tangled up. Place the lily pads you have collected inside a garbage bag and dispose properly.

Add fish to eat lily pads

Another environmentally friendly way to get rid of lily pads is to place some more carps in the water. Carps feed on lily pads and they will help you get rid of the unwanted plants naturally. There are also other types of fish that may feed on lily pads. You can ask local aquatic and fisheries department on how you can get these fishes to eat the lily pads.

Treat them with detergent and water solution

There are actually only a few things you can do to eliminate the water lilies. If the infestation is quite widespread already, it is more practical to use some chemical solution to get rid of the lily pads. But before you use herbicides, you can use detergent and water solution first to make the lily pads more susceptible to the chemicals. Using it can also be enough to kill the lily pads already.

Simply mix some hot water and liquid detergent. Pour it over a spray bottle. Spray the solution directly to the lily pads. The solution will help weaken the unwanted growth in your lake.

Use glyphosate-based herbicide

If the detergent was not enough to kill the lily pads, you can resort to glyphosate-based herbicides. Some people say Roundup is a good option. Just do the treatment section by section because treating them all at once will resort to suffocation of other lake growth due to the gases brought about by decomposition.

What worked for you?
