Mosquito Prevention and Water Features

Mosquito Prevention and Water Features

Mosquitos should not be a problem in a well-circulated waterfall and pond. The continuous circulation of water in a waterfall or pond should be enough for mosquito control. However, if you do find yourself swatting away these pesky bugs and think your water feature is contributing to the problem we have solutions for each type of water feature you may have: Pond, Pondless Waterfall and Fountain.

What to do if you do notice mosquitos:

Pond:

1. We suggest to start with simple mosquito prevention in your pond by introducing fish. We suggest fish such as koi or goldfish as they will eat any mosquito larvae in the pond.

WE DO NOT advocate adding a fish such as the mosquito fish. These fish breed so prolifically that two fish quickly end up to be thousands. They also eat the native tree frog polliwogs whose habitat your pond.

Pondless:

1. A Pondless Waterfall that is usually running should almost never have mosquito larvae. If you haven’t run your waterfall in awhile and notice larvae/mosquitos, turn on the fall to flush them out. By running the waterfall you are effectively drowning the larvae.
2. You can also use “mosquito dunks” which is a tablet that contains a bacteria that is toxic to mosquito larvae. However, we DO NOT advocate adding these to your pond because we do not want to upset the ponds ecosystem.

Fountain:

1. For fountains, we suggest using the “mosquito dunks” mentioned above as the easiest method to ensure mosquito control. Some brands promote over 30 days of mosquito prevention with one dunk.

A broad mosquito control device

1. There is a new mosquito control device that has come out called “Nutone Haven”. It looks just like your landscape lights by emitting an LED light but it also repels mosquitos in a 100 square foot radius.
2. What we love about this device is that it blends into your landscape, while also allowing you to enjoy your landscape mosquito free.
3. It works by dispersing an odorless repellent throughout your backyard.

https://www.nutone.com/haven

We recommend these simple treatments over chlorine in order to keep your water feature safe for wildlife. We want to keep wildlife coming to your backyard, and keeping the water safe to drink.

In a well-circulated water feature, mosquitos really shouldn’t be a problem. But if you do find yourself with mosquitos try a few of the simple tips above. And then you can enjoy your beautiful backyard without constantly swatting away mosquitos or having to put repellent on your skin.

For more information and questions give us a Call at 707-887-0140 or click here