Bugged by water beetles

[RP]

I have a small 100 gal pond in Dunedin, FL. Some small black water beetles
are eating my water lily and mosaic plant. I was hoping the two 4" koi
would take care of them, but no luck. Any suggestions would be greatly
appreciated.

Thanx,

Rob P.

[Benign Vanilla]

"RP" > wrote in message
om...
> I have a small 100 gal pond in Dunedin, FL. Some small black water beetles
> are eating my water lily and mosaic plant. I was hoping the two 4" koi
> would take care of them, but no luck. Any suggestions would be greatly
> appreciated.

How big are they? Can you get a pic?

BV.

[Benign Vanilla]

"RP" > wrote in message
om...
> I have a small 100 gal pond in Dunedin, FL. Some small black water beetles
> are eating my water lily and mosaic plant. I was hoping the two 4" koi
> would take care of them, but no luck. Any suggestions would be greatly
> appreciated.
<snip>

Oops, I hit send on that last post before I intended to.

How big are the beetles? Are you sure they are not aphids? Can you post a
pic? PP may be the way to go, check out
http://www.iheartmypond.com/Treatment/PotassiumPermanganate/default.asp.

BV.

[RP]

I doubt they are aphids. They are approx 1/8-1/4 inch, hard black shell
and swim fast. I caught one the other day, it had a multicolored sheen
over the black. At first only the lilypads where getting eaten, large
chunks missing, then they moved on to the mosaic. I also had a small
amount of duckweed which is completely gone.

Sorry, I don't have a digital camera. Here is a link to a pic.

http://darwin.wcupa.edu:16080/beetlemaniaweb/stills/tropisternus_adult.jp
g

Thanx,

RP

"Benign Vanilla" > wrote in
:

>
> "RP" > wrote in message
> om...
>> I have a small 100 gal pond in Dunedin, FL. Some small black water
>> beetles are eating my water lily and mosaic plant. I was hoping the
>> two 4" koi would take care of them, but no luck. Any suggestions
>> would be greatly appreciated.
> <snip>
>
> Oops, I hit send on that last post before I intended to.
>
> How big are the beetles? Are you sure they are not aphids? Can you
> post a pic? PP may be the way to go, check out
> http://www.iheartmypond.com/Treatment/PotassiumPermanganate/default.asp
> .
>
> BV.
>
>

[Ka30P]

Do they swim in circles like demented bumper
cars?




kathy :-)
algae primer
http://hometown.aol.com/ka30p/myhomepage/garden.html

[RP]

No, they're not Whirligigs. I've only seen them underwater. Two weeks ago
I saw one swim into a plant pot, I removed the pot, but never could find
the little guy. Last week I removed a few of the iris plants because of
the hurricane. When it was time to put them back in the pond, I caught
two of them in the holding tank. One approx. 1/4" the other was very
small, probably 1/8". From what I've found online they appear to be water
scavenger beetles, maybe burrowing water beetles.

Still not sure how to get rid of them.

Thanx for the help,

Rob P.




(Ka30P) wrote in news:20040909165541.04845.00003103
@mb-m24.aol.com:

> Do they swim in circles like demented bumper
> cars?
>
>
>
>
> kathy :-)
> algae primer
> http://hometown.aol.com/ka30p/myhomepage/garden.html
>

[Ka30P]

They should have to come to the surface to breath, whatever the little guys
are.
I remember Brett in Texas saying he used to pour oil on top of his water to
kill off a type of beetle that was chowing down on his infant fish.
Probably you can use something that is cheap, maybe corn oil? When you suspect
they are all dead then overflow the pond and get rid of the oil. It is 100
gallons I think so it should be doable... If you try this let us know how it
works for you.

good luck!

kathy :-)
algae primer
http://hometown.aol.com/ka30p/myhomepage/garden.html

[~ jan JJsPond.us]

As visible as they seem to be, I'd hand pick (fish net) them out as you see
them. There are probably fewer than you think, and if they don't have time
to lay eggs (may be the wrong time of year now) that should do it. ~ jan


>On Thu, 09 Sep 2004 21:19:20 GMT, RP > wrote:

>No, they're not Whirligigs. I've only seen them underwater. Two weeks ago
>I saw one swim into a plant pot, I removed the pot, but never could find
>the little guy. Last week I removed a few of the iris plants because of
>the hurricane. When it was time to put them back in the pond, I caught
>two of them in the holding tank. One approx. 1/4" the other was very
>small, probably 1/8". From what I've found online they appear to be water
>scavenger beetles, maybe burrowing water beetles.
>
>Still not sure how to get rid of them.
>
>Thanx for the help,
>
>Rob P.
>
>
>
>
(Ka30P) wrote in news:20040909165541.04845.00003103
:
>
>> Do they swim in circles like demented bumper
>> cars?
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> kathy :-)
>> algae primer
>> http://hometown.aol.com/ka30p/myhomepage/garden.html
>>

~Power to the Porg, Flow On!~

[tim chandler]

If they are indeed Tropisternus as your link implies, you can find a lot of
info on Google. Here's a link that upon reading supplies several good hints
on how you might combat them:
http://www.wlu.ca/~wwwbiol/bio305/Database/Tropisternus.htm
It says the larvae are poor swimmers, moreover they pupate above the water
line so you might be able to find and remove them then, too. Other than
that, netting is often effective in a small pond although you'll have to
make many passes over several days or weeks!

Tim C.

"RP" > wrote in message
...
>I doubt they are aphids. They are approx 1/8-1/4 inch, hard black shell
> and swim fast. I caught one the other day, it had a multicolored sheen
> over the black. At first only the lilypads where getting eaten, large
> chunks missing, then they moved on to the mosaic. I also had a small
> amount of duckweed which is completely gone.
>
> Sorry, I don't have a digital camera. Here is a link to a pic.
>
> http://darwin.wcupa.edu:16080/beetlemaniaweb/stills/tropisternus_adult.jp
> g
>
> Thanx,
>
> RP
>
> "Benign Vanilla" > wrote in
> :
>
>>
>> "RP" > wrote in message
>> om...
>>> I have a small 100 gal pond in Dunedin, FL. Some small black water
>>> beetles are eating my water lily and mosaic plant. I was hoping the
>>> two 4" koi would take care of them, but no luck. Any suggestions
>>> would be greatly appreciated.
>> <snip>
>>
>> Oops, I hit send on that last post before I intended to.
>>
>> How big are the beetles? Are you sure they are not aphids? Can you
>> post a pic? PP may be the way to go, check out
>> http://www.iheartmypond.com/Treatment/PotassiumPermanganate/default.asp
>> .
>>
>> BV.
>>
>>
>