Mosquitos and Ponds?

For discussing about your pond, and for questions that don't fit the other categories.

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Amanda Lawson
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Joined: Thu Dec 07, 2006 1:51 am
Location: Faribault, MN

Mosquitos and Ponds?

Post by Amanda Lawson »

Hey!
Living in Minnesota means living with those nasty mosquitos. While at work, I overheard some people saying that what's keeping them from getting a pond installed is the mosquitos. Does having a water feature mean more mosquitos because it would allow them a place to breed? A pond with a beautiful waterfall would be wonderful but I don't want to create more nasty mosquitos!
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Jake Langeslag
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mosquitoes and ponds

Post by Jake Langeslag »

Hi Amanda ,
When someone mentions a "pond" often one of their first visions are of a green nasty water hole with thousands of mosquitoes coming out of it. This is not the case with a properly installed backyard pond, waterfall or stream!

Here are a few reasons why -

1.) Mosquitoes don't like moving water. They prefer stagnant water, often found in old tires, buckets that have not been flipped over, or any other area that collects and holds still water. Waterfalls, streams and ponds will have a current associated with them. Some larger ponds may not have a heavy current. In this case reason #2 and #3 become important.

2.) Ponds attract some of the mosquitoes natural predators - such as toads, and dragonflies. Dragonflies can be very efficient mosquito eliminator machines on wings.

3.) Fish will eat up the larva. Fish are constantly patrolling your pond looking for a tasty meal. Smaller fish love to eat mosquito larva. There even is a special species of fish called a "mosquito fish” (very accurately named). This smaller fish looks like a guppy and can get into hard to reach areas of the pond to remove mosquitoes.

Finally, It has also been stated that ponds stocked with smaller goldfish, koi, and mosquito fish can actually ELIMINATE mosquitoes from your backyard! Your pond now becomes a "mosquito POPULATION SINK" The eggs the female mosquitoes lay will now be eaten up in this hostile environment, preventing her from laying those same eggs in a stagnant (often hard to find) location in your yard where the larva will mature into blood-sucking adults! Yikes!

This year I doubled the size of my pond in my backyard and added more fish. I never had to wear mosquito spray ONCE in my backyard all summer long! It was very strange to me how I could go from my yard to my friend’s yard and then get eaten alive. Was this phenomenon due entirely to my new pond? - Maybe - Maybe Not. I guess I will have to see how the next few summers go!

Thanks for your question. Now you can tell the lady at work that not all ponds are mosquito breeding havens and could potentially become mosquito traps!
Jake Langeslag

"Creating Waterscape Paradises"
http://www.aquaeden.com
jake@aquaeden.com
Faribault, Minnesota
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