A garden pond can turn your backyard into a tranquil oasis, but without proper maintenance your pond can become a breeding ground for mosquitoes.
Mosquitoes aren’t just annoying, they can spread serious diseases like dengue fever, malaria and yellow fever. [1]
Here are 7 easy ways to stop mosquitoes breeding in your pond so you can enjoy your outdoor area on warm summer evenings without being attacked by mosquitoes.
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Mosquito life cycle
Female mosquitoes can lay between 100 to 300 eggs at a time in still, stagnant water.
The eggs float on the surface of the water and hatch after about two days.
Mosquito larvae live in the water for about 10 days and eat algae, fungi and microorganisms in the water.
The larvae then turn into pupae, which then become adult mosquitoes.
Mosquitoes mature from egg to adult in about two weeks, so it doesn’t take long for your backyard to become overrun with blood sucking mosquitoes.
7 WAYS TO KEEP MOSQUITOES AWAY FROM YOUR POND
1. Keep pond water moving
Mosquitoes need still water for their eggs to survive, so the easiest way to stop mosquitoes breeding in your pond is to install a fountain or waterfall.
For a small pond, a simple solar powered fountain
You can also use a waterfall kit
2. Check for sources of stagnant water
It’s also a good idea to check your backyard to ensure that there aren’t any sources of stagnant water lying around.
You’ll often find small amounts of water in buckets, kids pools, containers, empty flower pots and bird baths which can all harbor mosquito larvae.
3. Try mosquito dunks
Mosquito dunks
This bacteria can kill mosquito larvae in 24 hours and it’s non-toxic to pond fish, pets, birds and humans.
The dunks are effective for 30 days.
You can also buy mosquito bits
Mosquito bits are effective for two weeks.
4. Introduce mosquito eating fish
Large fish like koi generally don’t feed on mosquito larvae so if you’re having problems with mosquitoes in your pond you’ll need to introduce some fish species that will help to control mosquito populations.
Some good choices are guppies, goldfish, bass and bluegill.
5. Encourage natural mosquito predators
Besides fish, some other natural predators of mosquitoes are dragonflies, damselflies, tadpoles, turtles and birds.
If you create a welcoming natural habitat for these mosquito eaters in your backyard, they’ll help to keep the mosquitoes under control.
6. Remove mosquitoes food source
Mosquito larvae feed on algae and other microorganisms in the pond, so keeping your pond clean will remove the food sources that mosquitoes need to survive.
Regularly cleaning up leaves, dead flowers and other debris that falls into the pond will help to reduce algae growth.
You can use a pond scooper with fine netting
7. Trim around the pond edges
Adult mosquitoes like to live amongst the plants and weeds around the edge of the pond so it’s important to cut back any overgrown grasses, aquatic plants and weeds so the mosquitos don’t have a place to hide.
So there are my tips for keeping mosquitoes away from your pond.
It’s important to check your pond regularly during the summer months to make sure that there isn’t any mosquito larvae floating on the water.
Hopefully these tips will help you to have a pleasant outdoor area and enjoy your summer evenings by the pond without being annoyed by mosquitoes.
Here’s a quick video that shows three easy ways to prevent mosquitoes breeding in your pond.
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- How To Keep Cats Away From Your Pond
Have you tried any natural methods to keep mosquitoes away from your pond? Let me know in the comments below.
Are you on Pinterest? I have boards dedicated to Garden Ponds and Water Gardens that you may find interesting.
