Mosquitos!!!

[Soonermagik]

New home owner and finally getting a grasp on the koi pond I inherited. i don’t feel like their is standing water or water not circulating but my backyard is a mosquito haven! What do you guys do to keep the mosquitos at bay so I can enjoy my peaceful backyard?

I moved from a half mile away and never had a mosquito problem so I assume it’s koi pond related. I want to have friends over to enjoy the beautiful backyard but the blood suckers are really hamperin the good times. Please help with suggestions!!!

 

[Faebinder]

Some concerns:

1- Floating plants = mosquitoes. Get rid of them if they are there.
2- Do you have fish? Make sure you got some minnows, especially topminnows. They will go into small spots where the big fish wont go.
3- Did you put in mosquito dunks? You need 1 per month per 500 gallons. It may be a bit late in the season to put them in but I think its never too late.
4- dead vegetation. clear those.

 

[Lisak1]

Where are you located @Soonermagik ? In our area (northern IL) the mosquito problem never goes away, but it does get better or worse from one year to the next. Much plays into that - how long and hard the winter was, how wet the spring is, how hot the summer is, etc. I wouldn't jump to any conclusions about the mosquito population being related to the pond after one season of experience. Our mosquitos have been TERRIBLE this year, but no worse than our neighbors on either side of us or for that matter for those down the block - just a bad year for them (well, good for them - bad for us!) We had a few weeks there where it was mosquitos all day long - now we're back to about 30 minutes at dusk when they are bad. We just bite the bullet and try to cover as much of ourselves with clothing as possible and bug spray the rest.

Ponds, if anything, reduce the mosquito population. Fish eat the larvae and the pond will attract birds, frogs, and insects who feed on mosquitoes. Dragonflies for example are voracious mosquito killers.

 

[CometKeith]

Hmm... I'm guessing you are in Atlanta or close to it based on your avatar. I've never really had a problem with mosquitoes. My fish will eat anything moving that touches the water and the dragonflies we get eat them too. I even have lights at night that attract bugs so my fish never go hungry. Do you have a lot of bushes at your new property? I have found bushes to be a haven for mosquitoes.

 

[Soonermagik]

Where are you located @Soonermagik ? In our area (northern IL) the mosquito problem never goes away, but it does get better or worse from one year to the next. Much plays into that - how long and hard the winter was, how wet the spring is, how hot the summer is, etc. I wouldn't jump to any conclusions about the mosquito population being related to the pond after one season of experience. Our mosquitos have been TERRIBLE this year, but no worse than our neighbors on either side of us or for that matter for those down the block - just a bad year for them (well, good for them - bad for us!) We had a few weeks there where it was mosquitos all day long - now we're back to about 30 minutes at dusk when they are bad. We just bite the bullet and try to cover as much of ourselves with clothing as possible and bug spray the rest.

Ponds, if anything, reduce the mosquito population. Fish eat the larvae and the pond will attract birds, frogs, and insects who feed on mosquitoes. Dragonflies for example are voracious mosquito killers.

Oklahoma. That is a good point on them attracting mosquito eaters. I hate having to tell people come over but douse yourself in bug spray! But it’s better than being eaten alive

 

[Soonermagik]

Hmm... I'm guessing you are in Atlanta or close to it based on your avatar. I've never really had a problem with mosquitoes. My fish will eat anything moving that touches the water and the dragonflies we get eat them too. I even have lights at night that attract bugs so my fish never go hungry. Do you have a lot of bushes at your new property? I have found bushes to be a haven for mosquitoes.

Actually okc but lifetime braves fan! Chop on!

I think I may try adding the lights to get the frogs, spiders and fish to help knock down the insect populations. The previous owner was a master gardener and has quite a bit of vegetation, bushes and trees everywhere. Any suggestions on cutting down or sprays for bushes? I don’t want to kill the fish while trying to protect my guests

 

[Soonermagik]

Some concerns:

1- Floating plants = mosquitoes. Get rid of them if they are there.
2- Do you have fish? Make sure you got some minnows, especially topminnows. They will go into small spots where the big fish wont go.
3- Did you put in mosquito dunks? You need 1 per month per 500 gallons. It may be a bit late in the season to put them in but I think its never too late.
4- dead vegetation. clear those.

Are you saying any aquatic plants or just floating plants? The Lillie’s and some water grass are grounded in the bottom of the pond if that makes a difference. I’m pretty new on terminology on some of the botany/pond topics.

I will add some topminnowa ASAP.

I put 2 dunks in a 6000 gallon pond about 30 days ago. Guess I’m gonna need a lot more!

There isn’t really dead vegetation but there is a ton of it! The last guy made some great landscape, I just don’t know much about plant life so I don’t know what’s overgrown or what’s plants vs weeds so I’ve been hesitant to remove it. I’m about to tear it all out though and just leave the pond if that will help!

 

[CometKeith]

Are you saying any aquatic plants or just floating plants? The Lillie’s and some water grass are grounded in the bottom of the pond if that makes a difference. I’m pretty new on terminology on some of the botany/pond topics.

I will add some topminnowa ASAP.

I put 2 dunks in a 6000 gallon pond about 30 days ago. Guess I’m gonna need a lot more!

There isn’t really dead vegetation but there is a ton of it! The last guy made some great landscape, I just don’t know much about plant life so I don’t know what’s overgrown or what’s plants vs weeds so I’ve been hesitant to remove it. I’m about to tear it all out though and just leave the pond if that will help!

There are a lot of expert gardeners here on GPF. i think if you can post some pictures people will be glad to help you. I'm guessing most of it are perennials ie. they come up every year. It's easy for them to overgrow their original boundaries and need to get cut back every year or so. A few things to keep in mind is different plants flower at different times in the season. You may want to learn about the plants you have before cutting them so you can maintain flowering plants from Spring to Fall.

 

[zeuspaul]

If the pond is breeding mosquitoes you should be able to see the larvae in the water.

 

[Faebinder]

Are you saying any aquatic plants or just floating plants? The Lillie’s and some water grass are grounded in the bottom of the pond if that makes a difference. I’m pretty new on terminology on some of the botany/pond topics.

I will add some topminnowa ASAP.

I put 2 dunks in a 6000 gallon pond about 30 days ago. Guess I’m gonna need a lot more!

There isn’t really dead vegetation but there is a ton of it! The last guy made some great landscape, I just don’t know much about plant life so I don’t know what’s overgrown or what’s plants vs weeds so I’ve been hesitant to remove it. I’m about to tear it all out though and just leave the pond if that will help!

I'm talking about water hyacinth, water lettuce and frogbits or duckweed. I'm not sure about lilies but I believe they also have the same problem. The grass should be ok.

Definitely plants outside the pond can be part of it. Cut your grass low and get rid of the weed. That should help.

 

[sissy]

Are you sure your neighbors do not have standing water around .I keep mosquito dunks in my rain barrels .The smallest amount of standing water will breed them like crazy .I have lots of creeks around my house and farm ponds but very few mosquito's ,but lots of flies since this is farm country .Do you have frogs because they will help .I also bought a bug zapper for the flies .

 

[Lisak1]

Do post some pictures of your pond and surrounding yard. Perhaps we can spot some problem areas that you could target.

But again - mosquito breeding goes with the weather conditions. Here they predict the season just like they do the weather. We start to hear in April how they think our season will progress, what kind of mosquitoes they expect to proliferate, what the risk of West Nile looks like, etc.

 

[addy1]

I have 11 ponds, some are small, with occasional water flow (the stream) Some are fishless, some have fish. All have plants, lots of plants. We have zero mosquitoes.

Neighbors one street over complain about non stop biters, I have not seen one.

We also have frogs, dragon flies, 100 plus bird houses, toads, etc. The mosquitoes don't have a chance. I never see larvae in any of the ponds. We have been so wet, there is standing water that we miss. If they manage to breed and fly they must be getting eaten.

Look around for any non pond related standing water. Flower pots, a lid, tire etc.

 

[Tula]

We're rarely troubled by mosquitoes....if anything I think having the pond helps reduce their population.

 

[poconojoe]

It's been an unusually bad season for mosquitoes here in northeastern PA. Day time, night time, way more than usual. Whenever we go outside for long periods we use the Off Clip-Ons. They work really well for us. It's a clip on fan with refillable cartridges. You have to buy the refills, but they work. We also use our tiki torches filled with citronella oil.