mosquito tips

Hi, I missed the post regarding mosquito control around the pond. I used to
think my goldfish were keeping things under control, now I'm beginning to
think having the pond is making things worse! Do you think the larvae can
live in the plants around the pond or on top of the net (which has some bits
of algae that I haven't sprayed off). Maybe I should do a thorough hose
off of everything around the pond. And that mosquito dunk (?) that I've
heard of, is it really safe for the fish...or would another method work?
Thanks--
Kirsten

On Sat, 19 Jun 2004 09:25:35 -0400, "k conover"
wrote:

Hi, I missed the post regarding mosquito control around the pond. I used to
think my goldfish were keeping things under control, now I'm beginning to
think having the pond is making things worse! Do you think the larvae can
live in the plants around the pond or on top of the net (which has some bits
of algae that I haven't sprayed off). Maybe I should do a thorough hose
off of everything around the pond. And that mosquito dunk (?) that I've
heard of, is it really safe for the fish...or would another method work?
Thanks--
Kirsten


Our 7,000 pond has goldfish and minnows of all sizes. Occasionally I
will see mosquito larvae, but they don't live too long. I read an
article that stated having a pond with fish actually decreases the
mosquito population. The dunks would work well in a smaller pond,
and they are very fish safe. You could go to a fisherman's bait shop
and buy a dozen minnows for dirt cheap.

Hi Kirsten!
Mosquito larvae can live in tiny pockets of water, in the 'v' of tree branches,
forgotten dog dishes, the inside of abandoned tires, temporary pools that form
from wet springs (even here in our arid climate).

While mosquitoes will come around your pond looking for egg laying sites you've
also attracted all sorts of mosquito preying insects. Damsel and Dragonflies
are huge mosquito comsumers.

If you are worried there is no harm in adding a mosquito dunk to your pond. It
is safe for your fish. Go to Froogle.com and type in Mosquito Dunks.
Also using mosquito repellent on yourself and family is wise, while your yard
is not contributing to the problem there are still plenty of places out there
for mosquitoes to breed.

I feel my yard is relatively mosquito free because of our ponds. I have so
many damsel and dragonflies out there it sometimes feels like I'm in an airport
flight path and they are so fun to watch.


kathy :-)
algae primer
http://hometown.aol.com/ka30p/myhomepage/garden.html

no, larvae need water to be in. and every study shows fish in ponds takes care of
the larvae and lowers the abundance.
mosquitoes fly up to 5 miles per night. Ingrid

"k conover" wrote:

Hi, I missed the post regarding mosquito control around the pond. I used to
think my goldfish were keeping things under control, now I'm beginning to
think having the pond is making things worse! Do you think the larvae can
live in the plants around the pond or on top of the net (which has some bits
of algae that I haven't sprayed off). Maybe I should do a thorough hose
off of everything around the pond. And that mosquito dunk (?) that I've
heard of, is it really safe for the fish...or would another method work?
Thanks--
Kirsten




~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
List Manager: Puregold Goldfish List
http://puregold.aquaria.net/
www.drsolo.com
Solve the problem, dont waste energy finding who's to blame
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Unfortunately, I receive no money, gifts, discounts or other
compensation for all the damn work I do, nor for any of the
endorsements or recommendations I make.

"k conover" wrote in message
...
Hi, I missed the post regarding mosquito control around the pond. I used
to
think my goldfish were keeping things under control, now I'm beginning to
think having the pond is making things worse! Do you think the larvae
can
live in the plants around the pond or on top of the net (which has some
bits
of algae that I haven't sprayed off). Maybe I should do a thorough hose
off of everything around the pond. And that mosquito dunk (?) that I've
heard of, is it really safe for the fish...or would another method work?

The larvae will only survive and flourish in standing water, so if you water
is moving you are probably safe. Some skeeter eaters are also good to have,
IMHO. The dunks work very well, and I can say from personal experience, they
have never harmed my fish.

BV.