Adding a pond in your garden can add beauty and value to your home; however, they also add one big downfall: mosquitoes!
These annoying insects love having easy access to a water source and will indeed make your garden pond their new home. Fortunately, there are several ways to reduce (if not completely eliminate) the number of mosquitoes around your pond – read below to find out how!
Do Garden Ponds Attract Mosquitoes?
Motile insects depend on water throughout their complete life cycle. Mosquitoes deposit their eggs on the water’s surface, where moisture activates the egg until it hatches into the larval stage.
In their larval stage, mosquito larvae swim freely and consume algae as the primary source of nutrition. When they reach the pupal stage, they are still aquatic but are maturing, eventually becoming mature and therefore airborne!
Fresh water and tall vegetation surrounding ponds are also habitats for mosquitoes; this is where they can find hiding spots while mating or taking a break from blood-sucking.
If you dislike mosquitoes, there are two alternatives for you: 1) eliminate the pond or 2) utilize techniques to deter mosquitoes. Other techniques have also been very effective!
Remove the Pond
- Rehome Plants and Wildlife
- Remove any Objects and/or Sediment
Fend Mosquitoes Off
If you have a fondness for your pond, you may consider taking steps to protect it from mosquitoes. Although these insects can be very persistent, mosquitoes can be eliminated and deterred in many ways that have been proven effective.
Pond Wildlife (Frogs and Fish)
The most effective way to get rid of mosquitoes is with good, old-fashioned, mosquito-eating pond critters. This includes fish, such as goldfish, bluegills, catfish, guppies, and bass, as well as frogs (tadpoles especially), turtles, and more.
You can also encourage birds and other mosquito-eating critters to visit (such as dragonflies, which can eat a hundred mosquitoes a day) with eelgrass, baby pondweed, hornwort, and/or a bird feeder!
Insecticide (Wildlife-Friendly BTI)
Another way to help with mosquito populations is to add insecticides that are not harmful to animals into your pond.
Some insecticides do kill animals, but there are types that use Bacillus thuringiensis israelensis (BTI) that are not harmful to other animals and eliminate large numbers of mosquitoes!
Mosquitofish (They Eat 100-500 Mosquitoes a Day)
If you don’t want a huge amount of various pond critters, then you might consider choosing to use mosquitofish only.
Mosquitofish are an excellent method of controlling mosquito populations because each mosquitofish will consume about 100-500 mosquitoes and/or their larvae per day!
With a few mosquitofish in your pond, you will be able to eliminate most of your mosquito problems (including the various stages of development of mosquito larvae).
However, remember that some mosquitofish can be very invasive in certain areas, so do your research to determine if they will remain in your pond, and not go into the surrounding environment via overflow from the pond, flooding, etc.
Additionally, you should also note that mosquitofish require a specific type of environment for their survival, including a water pH level of 6.5-8, and a temperature of approximately 80 degrees Fahrenheit!
Moving Water
Mosquitoes rely on stagnant or slow-moving bodies of water to ensure their safety and comfort. Without this type of habitat, mosquitoes (including their eggs, larvae, and pupae) would be swept away by currents of fast-moving water.
Typically, mosquitoes have an easier time hatching and feeding in calm water than they do in turbulent water.
To reduce the number of mosquito larvae in your pond, it is helpful to introduce some sort of circulation device.
A standard pond filter or aerator is a great choice for improving water flow in the pond. Other options include adding a water wall, waterfall, or bubbler to create additional circulation in the pond.
Keep Any Algae Under Control
There are many different ways to prevent algae growing in the pond. For instance, a product called Barley Straw placed on top of the pond water is recommended because when Barley Straw decomposes, it will produce peroxides that help eliminate algae.
This product can be purchased separately as small assigned bales (mini bales) or can be purchased already in the form of a liquid concentrate.
Another way you can efficiently manage algae levels is by using Baking Soda. The active ingredient found in Baking Soda is called Bicarbonate, which is what dissolves algae from surfaces.
If you need help removing algae from the sides of your pond, brushing away the algae with a brush is very effective. This method works in the form of targeted treatment.
Conclusion
A lovely pond can be a wonderful addition to any yard and adds serenity and calmness, but keeping the water circulating and aerated will decrease the number of mosquitoes in your yard.
Then when you and your loved ones spend time outside, you will not have to worry about being bitten by mosquitoes.