Raccoons are adorable little creatures, these tiny, furry masked bandits go around eating whatever they can from wherever they can. They eat foods from the garbage, pet food, and anything in your pond.
If there are fish, and other wildlife in your pond, then raccoons are likely eating them, you may be wondering if raccoons will eat water lilies too, this article explores this topic
Raccoons do eat water lilies, raccoons eat all types of pond plants, water lilies included. These animals love the soft, succulent leaves and flowers of the water lily. Another reason why raccoons enjoy water lilies is that unlike insects and small animals, water lilies don’t have to be chased and caught.
Table of Contents
Do raccoons eat water lilies?
Raccoons are omnivores, they eat both plant and animal matter, this includes fruits, eggs, small animals, nuts, insects, vegetables, fish, and other wildlife.
They also eat water lilies.
To humans, water lilies are beautiful plants with stunning colorful flowers and floating green pads, to raccoons, water lilies are simply another type of food.
Accessing the flower:
Water lilies are easy for raccoons to grab and eat, these animals simply need to reach into the pond with their strong and dexterous hands and grab the lily.
Water lilies don’t need to be chased and caught as insects do, this makes them more appealing to raccoons.
Raccoons love water, in fact, you can usually find these animals living close to water sources in order to have easy access to water.
Some people have even found raccoons “swimming” in their ponds. Their love of water makes finding water lilies easy
Eating the plant:
Not only are water lilies an easy meal for raccoons, but these animals also enjoy eating the tender, succulent water lily pads and flowers.
If they have to, raccoons will also eat the tougher water lily stems.
Water lily roots keep lots of carbohydrates, raccoons may also choose to eat these too if they have to.
How do I keep raccoons out of my fish pond or fountain?
Below are some tips on how to keep raccoons away from your fish pond or fountain.
The perfect solution for you may be one or a combination of the tips listed below so try your luck to see which works for you:
Pond drops:
If you’re planning on building a pond, create it in such a way that the edge of your pond drops one or two feet in depth. A sloping edge attracts wildlife, building a pond with a cliff will attract less wildlife.
Mesh blockades
Mesh blockades will keep raccoons from entering your pond or fountain. Install this blockage around your water feature and make sure that it is more than two feet wide so raccoons aren’t able to reach over it.
Pond netting
Pond netting can be used over your pond to prevent raccoons from entering it. This is also helpful in keeping other animals such as deer, and beavers away from your water lilies.
Don’t feed:
Make sure that you, your family, and your neighbors aren’t feeding raccoons in the area, feeding attracts raccoons to your homes and ponds, if raccoons visit the neighborhood they tend to wander into ponds
What animals eat water lilies
Raccoons aren’t the only animals that eat water lilies, other animals and insects eat water lilies:
Deer: These animals can be the most destructive to water lilies. Deer eat all parts of the water lily, the flowers, the stems, and the pads
Aquatic beetle: Aquatic beetles chew into water lilies, this chewing creates holes in the leaves of this plant and also causes stippling.
Aphids: These tiny insects suck the sap out of the plant’s tissue. This results in the leaves having a distorted shape and or becoming brown or yellow.
Aquatic moth larva: This insect usually eats water lily stems and leaves.
Beavers: Beavers have strong teeth and powerful jaws, this allows them to eat water lilies as well as the tough, fibrous water lily roots.
Humans: Humans don’t necessarily eat water lilies but it is worth mentioning that water lily pads are sometimes used to wrap tamales in Mexico
Other animals that eat water lilies include ducks, beavers, grass carp, and other types of fish.
Conclusion
In conclusion, yes raccoons do eat water lilies, these animals enjoy the plant’s soft and succulent flowers and leaves, they will also eat the tougher roots and stems if they have to. Other animals that eat water lilies include aphids, beavers, deer, aquatic beetles and aquatic moth larvae
If you enjoyed this article then you may also be interested in other raccoon related articles. Here are some articles that you may be interested in: Do raccoons eat water hyacinth?, Do raccoons eat worms?, Do raccoons eat wet cat food?, Do raccoons eat wood?, Do raccoons eat wild mushrooms?
