Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations How can I encourage more dragonflies?

I do have dragonflies at my pond, but the mosquitoes still are a problem during the evening. Does anyone have suggestions on how I can increase dragonfly populations & thus reduce mosquitoes?

Are you sure that the mosquitoes are coming from the pond and not any other standing water somewhere else? They don't need much, even a cup full of water will be enough.

I try to avoid standing water outside my main pond & forage pond for fear of mosquitoes breeding there. Is there some way to help dragonflies but not skeeters?

I have noticed dragonflies perch on weeds around the edge of the ponds I presume to lay their eggs to drop into the water???? Maybe better habitat for them? Just a thought, don't know if it is a good thought or not.

I am no expert on dragonflies, but could you try to encourage some native bats?

When the skeeters are eating me on the patio in the evening, I almost always see our neighborhood bats come out and start wheeling through the sky.

I think ours are little brown bats (Myotis lucifugus), and on the endangered list.

Who knows, you might even get some help from the state, if Texas has funds for bat enhancement?

Knowing you, it could be a fun project - like our threads on encouraging wood ducks!

P.S. My wife also likes having a potted citronella plant or two on the patio. Frequently if the mosquitos are eating my ankles, I can brush through the plants twice and it sufficiently dissuades the mosquitos.

P.P.S. I also agree with esshup that ruthlessly hunting standing water locations is probably your best defense. When our skeeters are horrific at the house, I almost always find a wheel barrow left "right side up" and full of water and larva, or a similar whoopsie. Of course, even in your forest they will always find one curled up leaf to raise babies!

I doubt they are coming from your big pond due to your abundant fish fry, but do you have gambusia? A handful in your forage pond might make a difference in the years there is some water in the bottom, but no BG in that pond.

I haven't seen mosquito larvae in any abundance in waters that have a viable fish population. Now any minor standing water in a small container, even a dog water bowl or tire that is not on a rim? Yes, mosquito larvae are in there. One female mosquito can lay up to 5,000 eggs....... You can go from eggs laid to a biting mosquito in as little as 8 days.

Thanks for the replies! After some thought, I've come to the conclusion that likely my biggest skeeter issue is the forage pond. I usually raise BG there during the summer, and drain it directly into the main BOW in the fall. It's deep for a forage pond, around 8 feet in the center, so wading in & seining is not really a good option.

Trouble is, after draining it still contains a foot or so of water. Even during the blazing heat of summer, or during a drought, it never dries completely. As there are few or possibly no fish left, mosquitoes can breed uninterrupted.

Not sure exactly how to deal with this. I feed, so maybe can use cast nets or even trap some panfish with pellets and transport them quickly to main BOW, leaving others behind. That way skeeters would never have a predator free zone to breed. Not as easy as what I had designed it to do, but I'm tired of being forced to leave around sunset!

You might consider mosquito fish which may already be in your main BOW. Some would remain after draining. They can live in water that won't support other fish. Water that gets too hot and too oxygen starved to support other fish. If you don't already have them and want some and don't mind making a trip to the Dallas area, we could meet up to get your start in few minutes at a pond I know of. Numbers are low this time of year but in June it should be a cinch. You just need few females to get started. Once mature, most all female are in a fertilized state.

bat houses!!

After you get the bg seined out of there, throw in a handful of gams or fatheads. A few dzn would be plenty. When you want to grow another crop of BG, they won't impact the BG's and could be another food source for them.

Good idea, thanks!

Our county has a mosquito abatement service. Technicians come around during mosquito breeding season, sample skeeter habitat for larvae, and then add mosquito dunks, Bacillus thuringensis (sp?), cakes to the water.
Never have they found a single larva in in our fish pond. They do capture occasions wigglers in our sewage.lagoon.
I'd have to imagine that bt dunks could solve your larvae problems in your ponds without fishes.

Thanks, 4Corners. Mosquito bt dunks look like something I need to investigate

Bacillus thuringiensis israelensis I believe is what is used for mosquito control. I'll buy it in 2.5 gallon jugs and use a 2.5 gallon pump up sprayer to spray it into standing water every 2 weeks.