I have a pond in which are fish (pla nin), trutles, crabs, shrips and I don't know what else.

The pond is now almost entirely covered with water lilly, two times the last 5 month we pulled them out but they coming back very quick. When pulling them out the roots stay, it is impossible to pull them out. I'm wondering if anybody know how to get rid of them. I do not like to use any toxic substances as they will most probably harm or kill all animals in the pond, not to mention the environment. Or I am wrong with that?

Any suggestions are much appreciated.

Maybe this post would be best on the farming page.

I think that you are talking about Lotus, haven't seen any water lily here apart from in public gardens, not that it changes things. Very difficult to get rid of, no poison known to man can do it. (Well diesel oil would do it, you may have a 40 year wait before you can enjoy your pond again).

I suggest getting a guy to excavate your pond at least 60cm wider and deeper than it is now, or even deeper. Animal life will come back readily. There is a ready market for soil.

PS DON'T PLANT LOTUS in your tropical garden pool!

Perhaps this will help decide which the OP is asking about. First picture is waterlilies, (pink but also could be white) which can be found on many lakes and waterways all over Thailand, not just limited to garden ponds!

This is Lotus, which could also be pink...

The lotus has thorny stems, and would be miserable to remove...

I think what you have been doing (regardless of which type) is the only answer... yanking them out... I have a neighbour with a large pond with lilies, which gets an annual thinning, by someone going and getting them out.

Perhaps too, prevent them from going to seed? .... but I think that would be a bit tedious Lotus seeds taste a bit like peas... when they are green !

I think I saw the Lily stems being used for cooking cut into 2" pieces on my last trip to Songkhla a few weeks ago... but I did not try!

From the description, isn't this more likely to be water hyacinth (a major problem across the globe), rather than water lily or lotus?

From the description, isn't this more likely to be water hyacinth (a major problem across the globe), rather than water lily or lotus?

Well if it is water hyacinth, it would be easier to remove, since they just float .... and yes, usually breed like rabbits, except at my place where I can never get them to survive!

We need the OP to respond! ..... Although really his only option is to hand pull out which ever type of water plant it is!

Here is a picture of Water Hyacinth !

From the description, isn't this more likely to be water hyacinth (a major problem across the globe), rather than water lily or lotus?

Well if it is water hyacinth, it would be easier to remove, since they just float .... and yes, usually breed like rabbits, except at my place where I can never get them to survive!

We need the OP to respond! ..... Although really his only option is to hand pull out which ever type of water plant it is!

Here is a picture of Water Hyacinth !

The expression "breed like rabbits" is profoundly offensive to us rabbit-lovers (though that's love in a purely platonic way). The politically correct expression is "breed like Queen Victoria".

From the description, isn't this more likely to be water hyacinth (a major problem across the globe), rather than water lily or lotus?

Well if it is water hyacinth, it would be easier to remove, since they just float .... and yes, usually breed like rabbits, except at my place where I can never get them to survive!

We need the OP to respond! ..... Although really his only option is to hand pull out which ever type of water plant it is!

Here is a picture of Water Hyacinth !

The expression "breed like rabbits" is profoundly offensive to us rabbit-lovers (though that's love in a purely platonic way). The politically correct expression is "breed like Queen Victoria".

oh sorry about that!!!

We had about a 2 rai pond of lotus which the wife gathered daily and sold for a year or so maybe, we dried out the pond and put on some more soil, now we've bamboo growing in the elevated rows, that's about 11 months since she did away with the lotus,,, but still we see them coming up in between the rows of bamboo where the water sits and that's after pulling out what we can see,,, I'd say if it's lotus the OP has, then it'd be difficult to get rid of then while there's still water around them

first of all thanks for the feedback to all.

We are speaking about Lotus sorry for any confusion casued, the option to dry the pond is not realistic, as it is a ground water pond, currently just 1m water, but I think it is not possible to get the soil dried out.

I thought there might be some kind of fish which will go for them and slowly but sure get one by one out, or perhaps some other animal. From what we heared and what I got here on response it seems we need to consider to get an excavator with a long arm to dig out the soil with the roots.

Perhaps there is still somebody out there who has experience for another way.

I'll add to my above comment charly and say that we did our best to remove all the runners and everything we could see from the lotus before prepping the land for the bamboo but still we see the lotus plants coming up in between the bamboo rows where the water sits,, so I'd think you'd be fighting a loosing battle whilst the waters still there,,