Pond Boss Forums GENERAL QUESTIONS Help Lily pads being attacked

First I noticed a number of lily pads with stems attached floating loose around the pond. They were green and otherwise healthy looking. Then there started to be more & more of them until I went out to investigate the plants yesterday. I found that virtually every stem has been neatly detached from the base of the plant (the only thing holding them there was that they were still tangled with the few remaining attached). The stems look to have been cleanly cut from the base - absolutely no shredding, single clean cut. Has anybody seen anything like this before?

The known inhabitants are LMB, BG, GSF, FHM, GSH, CC, 3 observed turtles (2 medium snapping & 1 mud turtle), and some crayfish. I didn't stock the crayfish so I don't know how thick they might be. The plants are in about 5' of water and since I have a lot of detritus being washed in, I don't think there's much oxygen down there which almost makes me believe it's the turtles - although I have no idea why they'd be doing this. If there's enough oxygen then I'm thinking crayfish as the cuts are very sharp and clean.

The plants have been in there for 3 or 4 years with absolutely no problems before this. I don't think they're going to make it if this keeps up. Any ideas?

I notice crawfish eating the ones I put in my pond. I caught them red handed.

My vote would be either turtles or possibly muskrats.

Any chance of beavers? I had cornstalks floating all over my pond to discover beavers were the culprits. The stalks obviously didn't come from the pond but when you said floating loose around the pond, made me think of the Beav's.

Just a thought.

No beavers or muskrats - pond's right behind the house and I'm down there every day plus can see it from the deck.

The more I think about it I'm thinking crayfish. All the pads are cut off at the same length, like something would do if it were standing on the bottom. I'm thinking a turtle might cut them off anywhere - unless it was going after the root. Can't imagine the snapping turtles doing that with all the fish and frogs to eat (I don't even know if they'd eat plants) but I don't know about a mud turtle.

I didn't stock any crayfish in my pond but I posted this picture of a Northern Crayfish from earlier this year out of my silt trap:



It wouldn't take many of these to wreck my lily pads as I only have 4 bunches.

My friend has had to remove a snapper two different times to save his lily pads.

Hey RAH,

Do you know what they were doing to the lily pads? Were they getting tangled in them or actually trying to eat them or what? I had no idea that turtles could be a problem with lilies.

They just cut through the leaf stems as described. I do not know why. I have snappers in my pond, but I have a lot of water lilies, so I can weather the damage.

Turtles. Same problem!