Mosquito Control

Mosquitoes are a common nuisance around standing water. Unfortunately, they can also be disease vectors. Mosquito control in ponds is essential for maintaining an enjoyable and safe environment.

Mosquitoes are small, gnat-like flies. The larval stages are aquatic, and mosquito larvae feed on algae and bacteria at the surface of standing water. Some species are adapted to live in salt marshes, while others live in swampy areas or ponds. Many species can even thrive in artificial reservoirs of water. Discarded containers and old tires are common habitats for mosquito larvae.

When mosquitoes mature into adults, they take to the air and become pests. Male mosquitoes feed exclusively on nectar and plant juices, and most females feed on the same substances. Although the females can survive on plant juices, they require animal blood to produce eggs. The blood is broken down into amino acids that are used to create the yolk of mosquito eggs. Without a meal of blood, the female mosquitoes lack these amino acids and eggs will not develop.

Mosquito saliva contains proteins to prevent blood from immediately clotting as the insects feed. The itching felt after a mosquito bite is an allergic reaction to the proteins in the mosquito’s saliva. Some species of mosquitoes also carry disease-causing viruses and parasites. These harmful organisms can be transmitted to animal hosts during the feeding process. Yellow fever, dengue fever, West Nile virus and malaria are common examples.

Although they live in the water, mosquito larvae must come to the surface to breathe. They have tiny openings in their bodies known as spiracles, and air enters through these opening. Most pond mosquito measures take advantage of this requirement by increasing the surface tension of the water to prevent the spiracles from reaching air, or by concentrating toxins at the surface.

The bacillus thuringiensis israelensis is harmless to other aquatic life but is quite toxic to mosquito larvae. Products containing this bacteria, which is often abbreviated BTI, are floated on pond surfaces. They release the BTI, which attacks and kills mosquito larvae, over an extended period of time. The products are often called mosquito dunks, donuts, pellets. It also comes in a liquid biological mosquito control.

Barley straw and barley straw extracts can also be used as mosquito control in ponds. These materials reduce algae growth and starve mosquito larvae. Some products also incorporate BTI into barley straw. These materials have the added benefit of clarifying pond water.

The addition of small freshwater fish, called mosquito fish, is another common means to keep mosquitos to the minimum. These fish occur in two species, the eastern mosquito fish and the western mosquito fish, and are native species in the US. They are voracious feeders, and small populations are usually sufficient to keep mosquitoes under control. In ponds that are too limited to support mosquito fish, BTI-containing products are usually the best control measures.