EMERGENCY !!! Water bug EATING THRU 45 mil EDPM liner !! leaks everywhere ! HELP

[spanishleprachaun]

( SEE PICS BELOW )

Never in 14 years of designing, building and cleaning ponds have I seen something like this !

I am in disbelief, fairly certain after today - UNICORNS and small, irish dwarfs sitting over pots of gold  are quite the possibility.

I mean this is a creature that eats thru POND LINER !!  What's next ?.... bubble bead melting fly nymphs ? hmmm,............. ( taping chin )


Here in San Antonio, tx - so when it comes to bugs of any types - when we don't have a half decent cold season, they don't tend to have die offs and come thru spring with a vengeance ( unsure if this could be applied to the bugs of the water )

We have 3 seasons here - HOT,  HOTTER, and MELT your own atoms HOT.


Anyways,.... so I get a call from a client that was loosing water from a koi pond.   MAJOR water lose on his 6000gallon pond.  We figure out that it has nothing to do with plumbing or the waterfall - it's all about the pond losing from there. Water drops from skimmer level, to beneath that and seems like it's in no rush to stop as we get closer to the bottom ( As I look at the bottom drain with dread ! eeeek )

Over the course of 1.5 weeks - the pond level continues to go down until yesterday it stops.  GREAT !  Finally I have a water line that I can zone in on, and trace at that to find what ever might have punctured, sliced, cut the liner.

I start on the shallow side of the pond and IMMEDIATLY see one hole,... than another,.. than another ?!?!?!? Looks like someone took a shotgun to the pond !

( terrible choke on the gun  by the way - holes in no tight group )


I also can tell these small 1/8th to 1/4th in holes are coming from INSIDE the pond.  Odd is that many or within a small "dent " for better lack of a term.
Almost like something scooped out a "divot" of pond liner with a mini ice cream scoop !??!!?? What in the world !?!!??!?

Who's having ice cream in the pond, and better question is why was I not invited.

Then I see other areas of more "divots" but not yet to the point of these mysterious 1/4th inch oval holes thru the liner.

I look over and several peculiar jelly bean size oval - looks like algae gobs stuck to the liner above and below the water line.
I peel one off ABOVE the water line -- it's dry and crusty --- hmmmmm
I peel one off BELOW the water line -- flip it over and find a actual worm with head looking thing !?!?!?

AND IT'S MOVING AND WRITHING !!

I suppress the urge to VIOLENTLY RELOCATE my previous starbucks coffee and muffin I had earlier for breakfast and ask client for their microscope so I can take a look at this alien being.

I begin to peel more off below and above water line -- and they ALL HAVE A  HOLE UNDERNEATH OR A DIVOT !!!!!!!

Clients lend me the their microscope and I quickly get it the ALIEN intruder on a slide and take a peek -
small 1/4th inch body - segmented - no appendages - tapered tail - small eyes - and one HECK OF A PAIR OF MANDIBLES !

For ya'll that know what a grub worm looks like -- that's what it's mouth was like.

( In the pic below - mandibles are withdrawn in. Trust me --- great white sharks have  nothing on this little dude !


I think at one point it actually LOOKED UP AT ME and winked,... well I'm fairly sure,.. I was feeling a bit light headed on the account of WRITHING larvae motions in 100 magnification.


I sit back to ponder a quandary of concerns and questions..........
So now ----- what is it ?
how did it get in the pond ?
what's it's life span ?
is it the larvae of a flying adult ?

The clients are VERY careful that no new fish come into the pond ( none of these things were on the fish )
no new plants -- don't share fish nets with anyone - dedicated waders specific for the pond.

Noticed more of them on the side of the pond that had LESS CARPET ALGAE build up.

None on the very bottom of pond as I could tell.

Clients just a month ago went thru several hard core parasite treatments - and obviously none of that did anything to the alien.
Ones that were above the water line as it dropped, exposed to the air and searing heat were fried up and dead. So they must be in water then to survive - the jelly bean blob ,... I can only deduce is their own private house and protection. I'm thinking they must be feeding on the algae underneath and then by mistake keep going and bore thru the liner ?


Has anyone ever seen or experienced such a thing ?

Can we save the pond or shall we burn it up with fire,... yes,... lots and LOTS of fire.

[spanishleprachaun]

more pics ----------------------------

[dperry]

I'll hazard a guess.  The head looks suspiciously like that of a Dobsonfly and from your description of the mandibles, that would also be consistent with Dobsonfly. The larvae of these are aquatic and pupate by digging a scoop-shaped cavity, normally close to their natural habitat of streams.  I'm guessing the larvae have eaten through the liner to make their pupal cavities.  The larvae are often referred to as hellgrammites and are used as fishbait.  Has this pond been in existence for a few years?  I ask, because hellgrammites live for several years before pupating and, if the pond is new, that would rule them out.  Also, does this pond have a natural gas or propane heater nearby?   The reason I ask is the mercaptan odorant used in these gases are attractants for the adults, which would help explain why they came to the pond in the first place if there is a gas leak. In fact, they are sometimes used as indicator species for gas leaks.  Dobsonfly larvae would be capable of eating through the liner and they can bite the sh*t out of you.  As far as "saving" this pond, I can only say that replacement of the liner is an option, but, from the looks of the rockwork, that doesn't look like an easy job. There is also the option of an expensive sprayed-on lining of polyurethane.  If it were mine, I'd consider going over the rubber liner with a concrete shell of impervious reactive-powder concrete containing a crystalline silica waterproofer such as Xypex or Penetron and reinforced with either fiberglass mesh or expanded metal lath.  I don't care how nasty those mandibles are, they won't penetrate concrete.
"

[SueSTx]

Hi Carlos, sorry about your ponding troubles but I still enjoy your commentary.

[spanishleprachaun]

clients are having some " bug pro "  entomologist friends coming over this evening to try and figure out what this thing is and how to keep it out of the pond.  If a solution can not be reached --- clients will have no choice but to close down the pond they have had for 14 years.  They are very sad and frustrated this issue could come down to the  worst case scenario.  They can't afford a concrete or granite pond.  It's liner or nothing.

keep ya'll posted in what I find out. - c

[matherfish]

Carlos, Dipel (brand name) is used to kill caterpillars, and I and others use it on our ponds to kill the China Marker lavae often referred to as sandwich man worms.  The Dipel does not hurt fish, but does kill the worms. I wonder if it would work on your larvae?

[casinokoi]

THE SOLUTION PREVENT WATER BUGS OR ANY INSECT FROM CHEWING THRU EPDM OR ANY RUBBERIZED LINER: If you think bugs eat thru liners you should see what piranhas do! My son is in this business & used teflon impregnated anodized coating fro SLC. most of his jobs landed around Dallas Fort Worth area: I admit I'm somewhat biased on Spray-Lining & Coatings Pond solutions because he contracts with SLC. But if you're near Dallas World Aquarium, Children's Aquarium at Fair Park, or member in Austin Pond Society, teflon impregnated anodized coating is throughout some exhibits.  I used Spray-Lining & Coatings polyurea Koi Pond Kits for basic Seal Tite but some ponds have piranhas for example displayed publicly. That spray-lining or Seal Tite coating called polyurea wasn't expensive for public facilities with that teflon material in it. I uploaded a photos. Forgive my bias towards my little (big) son's jobs but Spray-Lining & Coatings DOES make a Seal Tite with that teflon stuff in it. It works!