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.
I tend to be a magnet for mosquitos and get eaten alive! I am sure these tips will help me out so much in the future. Thanks!
Mosquitos are the absolute worst and truly ruin a perfect night outside in the summer. We don’t have a pond yet but these are helpful tips to keep in mind as I think about what I want to build. A fountain seems easy enough but like you say it’s more than that. I check the yard regularly now for standing water on top of garbage pail lids and areas that collect rainwater. With West Nile virus gaining ground every year we worry. I think getting some nice fish would help. Don’t bats also help with mosquito control? We have neighbors with bat houses and I will admit it is pretty much bug free in their yard
These are great suggestions! You don’t want to ruin a beautifully tranquil pond oasis with an invasion of mosquitos! We get some really big mosquitos here and they are just terrible – they take away from enjoying your time outdoors.
Great tips – mozzies are the one thing that can ruin a lovely summer evening in the garden.
This is so important with all the scares that we have had in recent years revolving around mosquito-borne illnesses! I’m going to be honest, while it may seem obvious, I totally overlooked the possibility of adding mosquito-eating fish to the pond… that’s such a simple and effective solution!
I hate mosquitoes and there was a time when there used to be plenty of them. Luckily with new initiatives there are almost none in our locality. So nice reading about how to stop the mosquitoes from being born. Never knew all the methods except few.
These are great ideas! Back home in India, every summer season we get very similar guidelines from the government to keep mosquitoes in check especially due to the prevalence of air coolers which tend to have stagnant water. I like the idea of the waterfall kit – keeps the water moving and looks so pretty!
These are all fantastic tips, Keeping the mosquitos away is important. Thanks for writing this up!
I need to share this with my neighbors who have a pond. They did have a fish but it recently died 🙁
I didn’t know there were fish that eat mosquitos! Now I’ve definitely learned something. There is nothing worse than mosquitos to ruin a good time. My husband and I stopped by a friend’s house last summer to check out their renovation project, and the back yard was a breeding ground for them and I walked away with 7 bites on my arms, neck, and ankles. I was scratching for days and I was furious. I don’t have a pond in my back yard, but when I do put one in, I’m definitely getting fish that will eat those nasty bugs.
Thank you for your examples of stagnant water and noting that these should be removed to keep mosquitos away. My aunt has an elaborate landscaping project on her yard that she’s proud of, but I always worried about the kind of pests this might bring to her home. Since she’s a very responsible garden owner, I’ll be sure to show her your article and hire a pest control service to get some assistance with regularly checking her pond and garden for mosquitos.
Could I use a pump underwater to create waves? Will it work against the mosquitoes?
Hi Bob, yes, keeping the water moving will deter mosquitoes and stop them breeding in your pond.