Does anyone have one of those yard ponds?
Were looking for a way to control mosquitos in a home made artificial pond. The recirculating plumbing is broke so the pump don’t work.
Probably chemical treatment but we’re open to other suggestions.
Don’t want to spend a lot so coi(sp) are probably out.
Mosquito Fish. Or feeder guppys, or feeder goldfish.
There are also some bio-controls available from various eco-supply stores, such as “Real Goods”.
At WalMart (garden center) you can buy “dunks,” which are objects that look like hockey pucks, but will kill mosquito larvae. We use them at our farm, and they work. You get a pack of 6 or 8. They’re cheaper at WalMart than other places.
You don’t need expensive koi, any type of goldfish will work. They’ll also help control algae (a bit). However, you’ll need to add some kind of biological filter to the pond (like a sponge filter) unless your pond is really large.
Natural predators such as dragonflies, aquatic beetles and other insects do a great job on mosquito larvae. A long as the water is open to the air and reasonably close to other areas of standing water, these predators will find it and keep mosquito numbers down in most cases. Mosquitos breed quickly in standing water, so their strategy is to look for recently formed small bodies of water to oviposit and emerge before predators arrive in numbers.
If you are looking to augment natural control, Mosquitofish (Gambusia affinis) could be stocked in the pond as well. If you are looking for a chemical treatment, methoprene (Altosid trade name) is a good choice. This insecticide is a so called biorational chemical that interferes with mosquito metabolism and is less harmful to non-target species
Some sort of long-chain alcohol might work. It would form a layer on the surface of the water and thus blocking the lavae breather tube.
Something like cetyl alcohol perhaps.
I just did a search based on my last suggestion. Looks like someone has already thought of the idea.
They use ethoxylated alcohols, which would be more biodegradable. Stuff would be 1000 times cheaper at a chemical supplier.
If you do a chemical control, you might want to make sure that it’s okay to use in your state/county. Agnique MMF, for example, is currently NOT on the list available for mosquito control agencies to use here in New Jersey. And sometimes formulations have been available on the market that is not approved for use in this state, so a little homework may be in order. It depends on how your state approaches mosquito control.
The dunks mentioned are B.t.i., a bacillus that specifically targets culicids and simulids (mosquitoes and black flies). They’re fine for larval control, and pretty safe. They are ineffective against pupa since the bacillus needs to be eaten, and pupa don’t eat.
If you’re interested in Gambusia, you may want to contact either your local mosquito control agency or the state DEP. Again, each state differs, and here in New Jersey, the use of mosquitofish for mosquito control is regulated through the State Mosquito Control Commission, in NJDEP. They make sure that fish are released in areas with enough water and no outlets. They supply the fish and will put in enough to ensure success.
Here is a link to homeowner and agency mosquito control guidelines. Gambusia recommendations (including numbers to stock) are about 3/4 the way down. If you have a lot of emergent plants in your pond, the fish are less effective against certain types of mosquitoes, but should get the Culex and Aedes species.