# Removing Plant Pests with Carbonated Water



## FrothHelmet (May 18, 2006)

Tell me if I am crazy, but I thought that I have read that a prolonged dip in highly carbonated water (like 100% Soda Water) kill snails and their eggs. What about other pests like planaria etc? How long do you need to dip?

Thanks for everyone's input.


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## Seattle_Aquarist (Mar 7, 2008)

Hi FrothHelmet,

Interesting concept. The solution would be pretty acidic so if plants spend too long in it or if it was too acidic I suspect damage could occur.


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## Zapins (Jul 28, 2004)

Also having such a high pCO2 isn't good for animals even if they can stand the pH of 5.5. Fish suffocate when the CO2 levels are elevated too much even though the CO2 doesn't displace oxygen from the water.

Excessively high CO2 levels compete vs. oxygen for hemoglobin in blood. So if the CO2 concentration is very high CO2 will bind to hemoglobin and oxygen won't be transported around the body causing death.

In animals without advanced circulation systems, in other words those that rely on passive diffusion (like planaria etc...) I suspect that having high CO2 levels won't hurt them as much as a higher order animal because they don't rely on hemoglobin to live.

In summation, I believe that a soda dip won't be the most effective method of killing pests.

If you want to kill off unwanted snails, other invertebrates and unwanted algae buy some potassium permanganate (KMgO4) and put half a tablespoon into about half a liter of water. Then soak plants, rocks or anything else you want to sterilize in the solution for about 30 minutes and rinse it off afterwards.


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