Mosquito Larvae

I have been advised that I need some fish in my deliberately fishless
wildlife pond to control the mosquitoes. My neighbour has offered
sticklebacks. But now, probably because of the lack of fish, I have very
large numbers diving beetles and water boatmen on the surface - which I
would guess would eat any larvae.

I would rather not have fish cos I don't want have to have pumps and filters
etc. Anyone any experience of how well my predatory insects might control
mosquitoes?

thanks

Davy



Davy

"Davy" <> wrote:
> I have been advised that I need some fish in my deliberately fishless
> wildlife pond to control the mosquitoes. My neighbour has offered
> sticklebacks. But now, probably because of the lack of fish, I have very
> large numbers diving beetles and water boatmen on the surface - which I
> would guess would eat any larvae.
>
> I would rather not have fish cos I don't want have to have pumps and
> filters etc. Anyone any experience of how well my predatory insects
> might control mosquitoes?

At a Buddhist temple in Northern Thailand, the monks referred to mosquito
larvae as "frog food!"

I'll be putting some Mosquito Fish, from the County Vector Control folks,
in what remains of my former Koi pond. They'll have to shift for
themselves.

--
Nick. Support severely wounded and disabled Veterans and their families!

Thank a Veteran and Support Our Troops. You are not forgotten. Thanks ! ! !
~Semper Fi~

Water boatmen generally are not predatory. They mostly feed on plants and
algae. Great diving beetles are predatory but depending upon their size,
mosquito larvae may be too small to interest them - they would look for
tadpoles, small fish etc.

Depending upon many factors I don't see why you would have to have filters,
pumps etc if you introduced stickleback or mosquito fish (Gambusia) into
your pond. Both species are small with correspondingly small biological
output (they don't poop a lot). Both species are very adaptable with
respect to water quality. I see you are posting from the UK so I don't know
if it is legal to introduce Gambusia or other "exotics" into an outside
ecosystem but stickle backs are native to the UK so they should not be a
problem.

If you introduced a small numer into your pond they would provide mosquito
larvae control over the long term.

As an asside, who advised you that you need to introduce fish? The
municipality where I live has a long, successful record of controlling
mosquito larvae by using a targeted biological pesticide, Bacillus
thuringiensis serovar israelensis

This has no effect on other insects and is environmentally friendly.

So there may be options for mosquito control that either do not require the
introduction of fish, or if you can select the appropriate fish species they
will have a minimal effect on the ecosystem of your nature pond.
"Davy" <> wrote in message
news:HfSdnUN8VNuP0vPbnZ2dnUVZ8s-...
>I have been advised that I need some fish in my deliberately fishless
> wildlife pond to control the mosquitoes. My neighbour has offered
> sticklebacks. But now, probably because of the lack of fish, I have very
> large numbers diving beetles and water boatmen on the surface - which I
> would guess would eat any larvae.
>
> I would rather not have fish cos I don't want have to have pumps and
> filters
> etc. Anyone any experience of how well my predatory insects might control
> mosquitoes?
>
> thanks
>
> Davy
>

On Tue, 12 Jun 2007 04:39:41 CST, "Davy"
<> wrote:

>I have been advised that I need some fish in my deliberately fishless
>wildlife pond to control the mosquitoes. My neighbour has offered
>sticklebacks. But now, probably because of the lack of fish, I have very
>large numbers diving beetles and water boatmen on the surface - which I
>would guess would eat any larvae.
>
>I would rather not have fish cos I don't want have to have pumps and filters
>etc. Anyone any experience of how well my predatory insects might control
>mosquitoes?
>
>thanks
>
>Davy

I've got oodles of dragonflies. They just came, I didn't do anything
special. I have no fish, but green, gold, blue, red, black,
combinations, dragonflies of all sizes and colors, you name it, it's
there. The actual dragonflies keep any flying mosquitoes or other
things in check. Their nymphs seem to control any larvae, I've never
seen any mosquito larvae here, and I'd think a pond in northern
Florida would be an ideal spot for them. There are also "mosquito
dunks" (Bacillus thuringiensis) that you can get from a number of
places. I got a bunch when I moved here (expecting a whole bunch of
mosquitoes to control -- I have three ponds) but haven't found them
necessary. It may be the dragonflies, but then again it may be the
frogs, or perhaps the water snake just scares them away. But I really
think it's the dragonflies.
--
Galen Hekhuis
I may have mispoken

I run a couple deck ponds, up on a shelf so
I have a good look at what is inside - snails,
tadpoles, seed shrimp, tubiflex worms and other
assorted critters.
One thing I noticed was that in a tub that only
had snails I never got any mosquito larvae.
A tub right next to it, without snails, I got larvae.
I figure the snails slurped up the eggs along with
everything else. Sometimes you'll see a snail
crusiing across the water, upside down, seemingly
vaccing up the surface,

I use Mosquito Bits in pondlets and areas that I'm
not keeping a close eye on.

k :-)
http://tinyurl.com/6bguh ~ new pond keeper info
http://tinyurl.com/yp64db ~ slide show of pond

"Davy" wrote:

> I have been advised that I need some fish in my deliberately fishless
> wildlife pond to control the mosquitoes. My neighbour has offered
> sticklebacks. But now, probably because of the lack of fish, I have very
> large numbers diving beetles and water boatmen on the surface - which I
> would guess would eat any larvae.
>
> I would rather not have fish cos I don't want have to have pumps and filters
> etc. Anyone any experience of how well my predatory insects might control
> mosquitoes?
>
> thanks
>
> Davy
>
You can use mosquito dunks. They look like little donuts, and are
essentially BT specific to mosquitoes.



San Diego Joe
4,000 - 5,000 Gallons.
Koi, Goldfish, and RES named Colombo.

On Tue, 12 Jun 2007 07:38:33 CST, "Doug Brown" <>
wrote:

>The municipality where I live has a long, successful record of controlling
>mosquito larvae by using a targeted biological pesticide, Bacillus
>thuringiensis serovar israelensis
>
>This has no effect on other insects and is environmentally friendly.

Even more environmentally friendly than Gambusia which not only feast on
mosquito larvae but eat frog spawn. It is sold here as a product called
Mosquito Dunks. ~ jan

------------
Zone 7a, SE Washington State
Ponds: www.jjspond.us

Doug,

"Doug Brown" <> wrote in message
news:...
> Water boatmen generally are not predatory. They mostly feed on plants and
> algae.

In Britain, "water boatmen" refer to a very predatory beetle-like insect
that lives upside down on the bottom surface of the water surface. They
have two extended legs which they use to 'row' across the surface. They
continually move around the surface looking for prey. They are able to dive
down like water beetles. They have a beak which they thrust through the
water surface to grab any creature floating on the water surface. If you
try to pick them up they give you quite a painful bite.

Davy

Davy wrote:
> I have been advised that I need some fish in my deliberately fishless
> wildlife pond to control the mosquitoes. My neighbour has offered
> sticklebacks. But now, probably because of the lack of fish, I have very
> large numbers diving beetles and water boatmen on the surface - which I
> would guess would eat any larvae.
>
> I would rather not have fish cos I don't want have to have pumps and filters
> etc. Anyone any experience of how well my predatory insects might control
> mosquitoes?
>
> thanks
>
> Davy
>

I assume you have plants in the pond so chlorine or bromine are out of
the question.

Mosquitos won't lay eggs in moving water so lots of pumps for waterfalls
and spitters and sprinklers will do.