How to Control Mosquitoes in Your Pond (Without Chemicals)

Ponds are one of the most beautiful landscaping features you can have. They do however come with a few disadvantages, the biggest of which is mosquitoes. Mosquitoes lay their eggs in still water, and the more water there is the more mosquitoes it attracts. That means that a pond owner needs to take precautions to prevent their pond from becoming a breeding ground for mosquitoes—or else get used to being bitten. Many pond owners use the easy way out and add chemicals to their ponds, but chemicals have serious disadvantages. They require constant maintenance for one thing, and they also make it much harder for fish and aquatic plants to survive. Fortunately, there are two chemical-free alternatives for getting rid of mosquitoes. The first and most basic is to keep the pond water moving. If you have a good pump driving a fountain, waterfall or your filtration system you already have a great anti-mosquito device. Mosquitoes only like still water, not moving water, so using an AirFlow Pump to keep the water circulating will do the trick. Just make sure it’s really moving the water in all parts of the pond. Shallow areas, especially on the opposite end from a waterfall, may end up very still. You may also need to trim back plants that hang into the water to avoid creating sheltered spots for mosquitoes. Another option is to go the natural route. Many species of fish love eating mosquito larvae. Why not let them do the work for you? Be aware that traditional pond koi are too large to bother with mosquito larvae, so you’ll need something different. Regular goldfish are a good choice, as are guppies. These fish will get along with koi in relative peace, and they will snack on all the mosquito larvae they can find. In a fish free pond, consider adding tadpoles instead. Of course, there’s no reason you can’t combine these methods. If you keep fish you’ll want to have an AirFlow Pump Corp filtration system anyway, so just make sure it’s keeping the surface of the water moving. You’ll be practically mosquito proof! There are many other methods to control mosquito populations but we find these particularly effective, and they don’t require constantly testing the water for chemicals. Plus, the combination of a waterfall and goldfish is visually stunning. How do you deal with mosquitoes around your pond?    

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